Monthly Public Health Consultant Spotlight: Brittani Steward, MPH
Each month, I will introduce you to a public health consultant or entrepreneur and they will share their path to self-employment and outline key pieces of advice for aspiring business owners.
Today we welcome Brittani Steward from Upper Marlboro, Maryland (USA)!
1. Please share your educational background and business title/name.
I am the CEO of Ability Health Consulting.
Degree: Master of Public Health (MPH)
2. Tell us how you entered the field of public health and what your education and work experience was prior to consulting or starting your own business.
I originally thought I was going to be a physical therapist. However, after working for nearly three years in a physical therapy office, I realized they do the same thing pretty much every day. So, at the tender age of 22, I started researching other professions that checked off my must haves: (1) Limited time at my desk, (2) active and engaging, and (3) impactful. After much consideration, I made the decision to pursue my master’s degree in public health at Morgan State University in Baltimore Maryland. At orientation a guest speaker shared about her experience as a public health professional and what career opportunities she had within her office. My ears perked up and I knew I couldn’t let her leave without introducing myself. I told her I didn’t have any public health experience, but I was hoping for the opportunity to start with her office. She told me to send her my resume and a month later I started as a Program Associate helping to impact health disparities and access to care through community-based programming.
At this point I was working and studying full time. Although it was exhausting, it was also the perfect set up for me to put into practice what I was learning in the classroom, while simultaneously taking what I learned in the real world and applying it to my schoolwork. I moved on from my associate position and started working as a Chronic Disease Program Coordinator at Baltimore City Health Department. Here is where I started to develop my understanding of grants management, program development and evaluation, process improvement, policy change and so much more. Working for the local government helped to close gaps in my resume and knowledge that I didn’t know existed. I also realized I was missing a strong component of population health, which was data analytics.
I currently work for a health insurance company as a full-time Practice Transformation Consultant. I analyze population health data and develop strategies for primary care providers to improve the quality of care while decreasing medical cost. As I’m sure you can imagine, this is far from my humble beginnings with grassroot organizations and nonprofits. I missed being able to see first-hand the impact I was having on communities and individual’s lives. This is when I started thinking about the possibilities of starting a business.
3. When did you start your business and what were your motivations for pursuing self-employment?
If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t start my business with the intention of being self-employed. I actually enjoy the structure and consistency of a full-time job, and my company in particular provides a lot of flexibility. The original purpose of starting my business was to continue using the skills I developed while working in nonprofits and local government. I didn’t want to be so far removed that my skill sets became outdated and useless. Before starting my business, I became a peer grant reviewer for government agencies and foundations. This kept me in the funding loop and also sharpened my grant writing and program evaluation skills. When I wasn’t reviewing grants, I found myself giving friends advice or guidance on how to develop or sustain programs. When I started to pay attention, I understood the need wasn’t solely with the members of the community, but the people or organizations trying to meet their needs. I wanted to create a consulting business that took the time to help organizations better understand the ins and outs of successful programs in public health. My desire was to fill the gap in understanding and be a resource that helped expand their capacity. However, I wasn’t sure how to go about making this desire a reality.
One day in the fall of 2019, I was offered a full-time position in Fort Worth, Texas. I debated picking up and moving, but after speaking to a few trusted advisors I decided to put consulting on the table instead. I was feeling confident until I realized I had no clue what it took to be an individual consultant. Not to mention, I still had a full-time job I planned on keeping. I started researching and reaching out to other public health consultants to pick their brains on how they started their business and what lessons they learned along the way. Ironically enough, Leah Roman was the first person I reached out to and she connected me to other public health consultants through the amazing network she created. After being inspired by other consultants, I decided to take my business seriously and became the official sole proprietor of Ability Health Consulting in December 2019.
I started my business with zero clients or network. There was no way I would quit my good paying job to start with practically nothing. I decided to avoid any potential issues at work and fully disclosed my business to leadership. Thankfully, my company found no conflict of interest and gave me permission to continue my business as long as it didn’t interfere with my work responsibilities. Balancing both roles has its challenges, such as overlapping meetings, but for the most part, my business tasks are completed after hours and on weekends. As my clientele continues to grow, I plan on reaching out to my newly developed network for sub-contracting opportunities. This will keep me from having to turn away clients in order to continue balancing my full-time job. I can’t say I’ll never quit my job and run Ability Health Consulting full-time, because God always seems to have something up his sleeve that challenges my faith in him as well as in myself.
4. Who is your ideal client? What services do you offer?
Ability Health Consulting is committed to supporting health initiatives that improve conditions and behaviors affecting health outcomes. Our ideal clients are community organizations, local governments, non-profits, and health facilities who are committed to addressing health issues impacting communities. We meet our clients where they are and provide services that help expand their capacity to serve their target population. We offer one-time or long-term grant writing services to create highly competitive grant proposals for our clients. We also conduct research for grant opportunities that fit our client’s organizational needs and we provide a comprehensive report summarizing key information about the funders. If a client already has a proposal they developed, we provide a thorough review process to identify any areas of improvement to increase their chances of being awarded funding. If our client has the manpower and resources but lacks the knowledge to fully execute a successful program or grant, we offer workshops to help coach staff or personnel. We currently have workshops on grant writing and program planning.
5. Do you have a particular product or service that you’d like to highlight? Tell us all about it!
I’ll be expanding Ability Health Consulting’s training services by including self-paced online workshops. The first online workshop, Grant Writing Basics, will be available March 1, 2021. This is a great opportunity for nonprofits or staff members to gain an understanding of how to properly prepare grant applications. Participants will also have the opportunity to practice what they’re learning in real time. Additional trainings will be added this spring to include Proper Program Planning and Capturing Community Needs. Your readers can register for future courses by visiting the events section of the website.
6. How has your consulting business been impacted by COVID-19? What adjustments have you made in order to continue to be successful?
Thankfully my business has been positively impacted by COVID-19. A number of clients reached out for assistance in completing grant applications for COVID-19 funding. I also supported individuals, start up nonprofits and community programs who needed assistance developing community resources to serve families, schools and assisted living facilities due to COVID-19.
7. Many of our readers are considering a career as a self-employed public health consultant or entrepreneur. What is your best piece of advice for those considering or just starting out?
As a new entrepreneur, I would strongly suggest doing your research before jumping in headfirst. Although I didn’t have any clients when I purchased my sole proprietorship, I did research potential clients, pricing, projects, networks, and so much more before I accepted any clients. I also participated in online trainings, workshops and conferences not only as a learning opportunity for myself, but to also see what was already being offered and how the information was being presented. Research will allow a new entrepreneur to scope out the competition, identify other business opportunities, expand their network, and decide which services they’d like to offer. This doesn’t guarantee they’ll have all the right answers or be so well prepared that they won’t experience any barriers or roadblocks. What it will do is prepare your mindset for change and opportunity. My mantra for my first year of business was “just do it!”. There were times when I lacked the confidence I needed to give my elevator pitch, facilitate a workshop, network, or to simply market my material. There was always this little voice asking, “are you sure”? I honestly wasn’t sure, but I did it anyway.
8. How can readers connect with you? Please share links to relevant websites and social media accounts:
Readers can connect with me via the website, LinkedIn, and Instagram. They can also sign up for courses/trainings on the events section of the website.