Many patients wait months or even years for sight and limb preserving surgeries. This waiting time has a significant impact on the quality of life for many of my patients so I wanted to offer a faster option for patients.

Images by LSC, which is a non surgical cosmetic medical facility and medi-spa, was started as an offshoot of Langley Surgical Centre three years ago.
CK Impower Strategies was started two years ago as a web based multimedia company to help people reach their potential. This has been a dream and passion of mine for years. I have spent much of my time studying the psychology of success and the mind body connection and wanted to translate this wellness training into practical strategies that could help others and in the process generate money for causes that are close to my heart. 

It consists of:
CarolynAndersonMD.com is my personal website where I blog and do book reviews. I’ve been asked to speak at various events and have started a professional speaking career. I’ve learned so much over my years of juggling multiple businesses and wanted to share what I’ve learned. My focus is on Energy Management.    
Impowerage.com I started Impowerage, a magazine for active older adults, because I wanted to recognize the experienced population that I work with everyday in my practice. The face of aging is changing and people are remaining active well into their 70s, 80s and even their 90s. I wanted to encourage a healthy lifestyle and feature inspiring older adults. My goal with Impowerage is to raise money for macular degeneration, a chronic age related degenerative disease that affects eyesight. 20% of all proceeds from advertising and other revenue streams are donated to macular degeneration research.
Impowermed.com was started by a desire to help other physicians find balance in medical life. I’ve seen so many physicians burnt out and unhappy with their work and life balance. I wanted to help them restore their joy in practising medicine again. Impowermed is a coaching business for physicians who want to create their dream practice that suits their interests, lifestyles and financial goals. It’s possible to make more while working less by working efficiently and following a few strategies. 20% of the proceeds from this consulting business go to the Cancer Society.
Impowerwomen.com As a busy mother, doctor and entrepreneur, I have developed some strategies that can help other women find their passion, take time for themselves, confront their fears and impact the world.  20% of the proceeds from this business benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation for female research.

What do you like best about running a small business?
I like the flexibility, the autonomy, the sense of accomplishment and the excitement.  I work three days a week in my medical practice and one day a week and nights on my other businesses. I can then enjoy a three-day weekend with my family.

What were your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 
Finding the time to accomplish everything is my biggest challenge. I started many of my businesses before I got pregnant. Since having my little boy my priorities have changed drastically. I must focus on the important tasks that will move things forward and let go of anything that I am not passionate about.  I’ve come to realize over the years that I will never get more than 24 hours in a day so I need to manage my energy rather than my time. I make it a priority to eat well and exercise and write weekly goals and to-do lists for each of my businesses and areas in my personal life. I avoid tasks that I find draining and play to my strengths instead. Anything that drains me gets leveraged off to someone else who enjoys it.   I don’t try to multitask but focus on the task at hand before moving onto the next project.

What’s the best advice you would give to someone looking to start their own business? 
Find your passion. Make sure you love what you are doing. Running a business is a ton of work but if you love what you are doing it doesn’t feel like it.  Also find an amazing team to surround you and help you accomplish your dreams.

Who’s your mentor? 
I’ve had many people help me be successful. I am a huge reader and read at least one book a week. I’ve learned so much from successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists.  While I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him, Robin S. Sharma has been a big influence as have Tony Robbins, John C. Maxwell, Stephen Covey and Louise Hay.

How has technology helped you run your business better? 
The field of ophthalmology is very driven by technology. The development of new laser technology has led to effective treatments for glaucoma and macular degeneration. Diagnostic equipment enables us to detect with precision many eye disorders. In addition, the technological advances in the lenses that are implanted for cataract surgery have been a huge positive for patient outcomes.
Impowerage, the online magazine for aging powerfully, couldn’t have existed 10 years ago. Being an online magazine cuts down on the publishing and marketing costs considerably. Social Media has made it possible to reach more people and interact with my peers on a consistent basis.
With Impowermed, I can coach someone through Skype rather than having to meet in person or paying long-distance charges. Eventually, I’ll host webinars and offer e-courses online as well.

Describe the excitement of being “first in market” with your product.
There are an abundance of life coaches but few specialize in helping physicians. With my experience in the public and private sides of healthcare and my entrepreneurial background I am able to help other physicians create their own power practices.
Impowerage is one of the first magazines to look at aging as something to embrace rather than fight. As someone once said, “Aging is better than the alternative.” As the population ages, I hope people begin to realize that life is far from over at 60. It is just beginning in some cases. 

How has being a business owner made you a better person? 
It has taught me the importance of perseverance and determination. Many great ideas take a long time and a ton of effort to get off the ground. As long as the focus is always to make a positive difference for others I know we must never give up on our dreams. So often people give up when success is just around the corner. 

How do you connect with your community and what have you done to give back? 
I see thousands of patients in my practice each year and truly make it my mandate to connect with them. I’ve donated to several community projects, as well as been involved in overseas cataract surgery projects. I often volunteer my time to speak for free at various events.
Through Impowerage, I host Senior Boot Camps in the community where participants are given a crash course in aging well physically and financially.
I have set up my multimedia company to benefit Macular Degeneration research, the Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke foundation.

Where do you see your business 10 years from now? 
I see my medical practice at Anderson Eye Surgery continuing to be successful. As the population ages there will be an even greater demand for cataract surgery. I hope that with technological advances I’ll be able to cut down on the wait lists that patients currently experience.
Langley Surgical Centre will continue to thrive and dependent on the political climate may even be awarded government contracts to perform surgery.
After the birth of my son, I’ve had to really focus on what my greatest strengths and passions are and have therefore given up my role as medical director at Images. I remain a partner in the facility but will not be actively involved in cosmetic medicine.
The multimedia business is a huge passion for me (CarolynAndersonMD.com). I love to write and speak and to be honest running this business does not feel like work. With Impowermed, I want to develop courses and audio programs so I can reach more people than the one-on-one coaching I’m currently doing. I would love to do more speaking to groups of physicians on how to create balance in medical life and manage their energy. I see Impowerage as the leading magazine for active older Canadians. And I hope to become an internationally recognized speaker and to publish books expanding upon the topics I speak on.