HighPoint Medical’s essentials for business success

Skip Meyer is not a doctor, but he certainly knows how to ease the pain of small business professionals. He started HighPoint Medical in 2009, providing medical billing and coding services to local practitioners.

If you don’t know, ask

When Skip visited his bank for help with an SBA loan to take over a failing business, his banker offered him a business card for Bill Jhung at North Idaho College’s Small Business Development Center. “I’m a firm believer in, ‘if you don’t know how to do something, then ask,’” says Skip. At the time, the business had eight clients, 12 full-time employees, and one big problem. Their fixed costs exceeded current revenues. While the solution was obvious, just how to cure the problem was unclear.

Skip met with Bill, Director and Business Coach at NISBDC, monthly to find where to reduce costs. After 4-5 months of scrutinizing numbers and improving operations, Skip was able to squeeze out a profit. “These weren’t always fun meetings,” Skip recalls, “sometimes it was like going to the principal’s office.” Bill always had more questions than Skip cared to remember, “but I knew that I had to grow to make this work.”

You can’t improve what you can’t measure

Soon, HighPoint was making more than they spent overall, and business was looking up; they were finally doing OK. His continued meetings at the SBDC took another direction as they began looking at the future of Highpoint. They added complementary services such as records management to medical practices. When they saw a need for IT and hosting among their clients, they formed subsidiary HighPoint-IT and became collectively known as ‘HighPoint.’

As they grew, they began developing metrics to improve each business unit. In breaking down the financials, they were able to identify what type of clients created win-wins.

Leadership is clarity

“I wanted a business that didn’t need me to be there to run it,” he says. He pictured high performing teams that could perform well even when the leader is not present.

“Bill has always told me that ‘leadership is clarity.’” By holding regular ‘leadership time’ with his board, they were able to develop a clear mission and vision for the company. He created an environment where the decision process is not a funnel to the top where decisions are made by just one person.

When HighPoint was faced with the unprecedented challenges brought on by COVID-19, they already had key leaders in place, accustomed to making high level decisions together.

As a critical business providing support to a high number of medical practices, they needed to navigate the situation quickly. Together they tackled the tough decisions of how they would be able to create a safe, comfortable environment for employees and clients.

Vision

Skip envisioned a company that was different. “We wanted it to be a company in which our clients {and employees} KNEW that we cared about them.” The office reception area was designed with the intent on having a space where employees felt at home, while away from their own homes.

He also knew that to best serve their clients, they needed the best employees. HighPoint partnered with NIC’s Medical Billing and IT programs to create an internship program. This led to a talent pipeline that serves both the college and company well.

Get another opinion

Skip attributes business success to his associating with capable leaders and seeking help from other experts.

“There are a lot of cheap opinions out there,” Skip says. “People will give you their opinions every day. But I value the opinions of someone who has what I want. When I can learn from another business owner that built a multi-million-dollar business, — I am taking notes!”

“Surround yourself with people that have what you want, whether in business, personal, or their spiritual lives. Those are the people that I want to emulate.”

Next level of care

Today, HighPoint serves clients from Hawaii to Florida, across five time zones. “We now offer 24/7 tech service and customer support to our clients." Currently opening their Boise market, they are looking forward to the next decade.

Skip freely shares business successes with fellow business owners. He encourages those starting out to seek guidance from other business professionals and coaches at their SBDC. “It’s not so much about getting a million ideas, but sometimes it’s one or two crucial ideas… that sets you on a whole different trajectory.”

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Katrina Boyer is the Training Coordinator at the North Idaho College Small Business Development Center. To learn more about growing your business or to schedule a no-cost meeting with a business coach, visit NISBDC.com or contact 208-665-5085. Click links to register for the free Business Acceleration Series or Special Topic Wednesday Webinars.

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JUNE CLASS SCHEDULE — Register at NISBDC.com

Weekly Webinars — Wednesdays at 8 a.m., Special topics for Business Leader

• Bidding Strategies, June 1, Taught by Warren Mueller

• eCommerce Strategies that Work, June 8, Samantha Dascomb

• Starting a Business in Idaho, June 15, Katrina Boyer

• Developing a 3-year Plan, June 29, Dennis Weed

SPECIAL EVENTS — LUNCH AND LEARN

BOOKKEEPING BASICS

Wednesday, May 25, noon to 1 p.m. in-person at the NIC Hedlund Building No. 143

PLANNING YOUR EXIT

Wednesday, JUNE 22, noon to 1 p.m. in-person at the NIC Hedlund Building No. 143

In-Person — Business Accelerator Series

Thursdays, 5:30-9 p.m.

• Marketing Strategy for Profit, June 2, Bill Jhung

• Managing Financials for Profit, June 9, Jamie Morgan

• Operations for Excellence/Hiring Winners, June 16, Bill Jhung

• Digital Marketing Strategy, June 23, Jamie Morgan