Caring Residential Treatment: How House of Eden Is Serving People with Healthcare Needs in Tulsa—Thanks to Help from TEDC

Table of Contents:

A Change in Career Plans Opens Up Possibilities
Taking Steps on a New Path
Finding Support from TEDC Creative Capital
Pushing Past the Challenges
A Bright Future in Sight

When a serious injury forced Kayla Adia Nsien to slow down and reassess her life plans, she could have stayed down—but she didn’t. Instead, she leaned into the opportunity presented to her and leveraged her love of serving people and her entrepreneurial spirit to launch House of Eden Residential Care with the help of TEDC Creative Capital.

A Change in Career Plans Opens Up Possibilities

“I’ve always been in the medical healthcare world,” says Nsien, owner of House of Eden, a growing residential care business with facilities in north Tulsa and south Tulsa. She has worked in emergency care, physical therapy rehabilitation, and even hospice.

But if you asked her as a college student what her plans were post graduation, she would have told you it was professional sports. She played Division 1 soccer at Oral Roberts University and dreamed of going pro before a serious injury put her on the sidelines.

“I had what people will call a ‘come-to-Jesus’ moment,” she says. “I had a really bad accident during college, which required many ACL surgeries, including a double meniscus transplant. My soccer career ended right then.”

During a two-year recovery process, Nsien was often on crutches or unable to get around on her own. It derailed her plans and left her unsure of what to do next.

“I just remember being in my bed and pleading with God. I thought I was going to be a pro soccer player,” she says. But as she lay there meditating on what to do, she told God, “You know what? I’ll do whatever you want for me. I’m listening. Now you have my full attention.” And after that, she says, her world turned around as she realized she could help people get the healthcare support they needed.

Taking Steps on a New Path

The concept for House of Eden was developed in late 2019 when Nsien shared her idea with her mother, who had run a successful residential care home and knew what it entailed. “You have to be careful what you say you’d never do,” she says. As the two discussed it, they realized it would be a good fit for them to collaborate. Her mother had the licensure, while Nsien had the energy to create a startup.

As it turns out, House of Eden is just one of Nsien’s concepts for entrepreneurial success. She also has a patent that she is pursuing, which is totally separate from her residential care business. She even went to the popular ABC show Shark Tank with it. She contemplated what to do next and how to find funding, so she asked herself which idea would level up more quickly. She decided to build House of Eden first so it could support her patent pursuit with its income.

In 2020, Nsien established an LLC for House of Eden and wrote her business plan. She found a location that would fit her goals. But to open House of Eden, she needed funding—and that’s when she turned to the team at TEDC Creative Capital.

An Assist from TEDC Creative Capital

“TEDC was amazing,” Nsien says. “They gave me a chance for my small business.” The funding process was easy, partly because she’d studied what she needed to know about business while at Oral Roberts University. She knew how to pull together the necessary information—it was just a matter of finding someone to financially support her vision.

“I presented my documents and concept to TEDC’s team,” she says, “and they said, ‘Yeah, you have it exactly where we need it.’” The preparation part was fairly easy, she adds. “TEDC actually pushed very hard for me to be where I’m at right now. And they have done so every second of the way.”

Pushing Past the Challenges 

That’s not to say everything was smooth sailing. As with any new startup, Nsien had challenges to work past. Getting to the point that House of Eden could receive residents took time. She found a 7,000-square-foot facility in north Tulsa that could house 16 beds. However, there were many permits and requirements to meet with the City of Tulsa first.

“The city had never really seen something like House of Eden in north Tulsa,” Nsien explains. “So they had to go back to their rule books and come together.” There were issues to work through, she notes, some of them significant. She and the City of Tulsa collaborated, but the process was time-consuming. Then, there were the requirements to meet at the state level. But in the end, her efforts came together.

With the building ready for renovations, TEDC’s financial infusion helped Nsien accomplish practical, high-cost tasks such as installing a sprinkler system, fire-resistant doors, and other essentials to turn a space with good bones into a functional facility that met municipal requirements. She says, “It started actually becoming real when TEDC wrote a few very large checks, and I sat there and cried as I had those checks in my hand. I was like, ‘Oh, this is a real business.’”

With funding secured, city and state requirements met, and furniture donated from Catholic Charities for every single room in her facility, House of Eden was officially ready to accept new residents from places she’d contracted with, such as local hospitals.

Serving People with Dignity and Respect 

Though working in the healthcare world isn’t easy, Nsien enjoys it. “There’s never a dull moment,” she says. “Anything can happen at any second. You’re dealing with people who have bad days, good days, forgetful days, and days where they don’t feel like listening to you. You still have to provide the best care possible. You have to work with them and meet them where they’re at. It’s very challenging.”

She knows that people who come to House of Eden are going through an adjustment, and her goal is to make that process positive. “We want to make sure that our residents are celebrated at all times. We want to make sure that they know we’re going to treat them with respect and dignity.” As a small-sized facility, House of Eden can create a more personal feel for its residents. The staff-to-resident ratios are better than many large facilities can offer, allowing people to receive individualized care and attention.

A Bright Future in Sight

Now, Nsien is already moving into her next step for the growth of House of Eden. She’s opening a second facility in south Tulsa, with plans to add a few more locations. Then, once the business is going strong, she says she’ll retire from it and focus more on her patent, which she hopes to bring to TEDC when the time is right.

Nsien says the most important thing for fellow entrepreneurs is to push past the fear of starting. Tackle what makes you afraid, learn from the opportunity, and keep moving forward. Create and lean on your support system to make growing your business easier.

“There are so many resources in Tulsa. You’re free to step out and ask questions and see who can help you. When it is time to present your idea to someone like TEDC, they’re going to take you seriously. They’re going to work with you because they cater to small businesspeople, and they believe in Tulsa so much that they’re willing to help you in any area.”

TEDC Creative Capital is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that offers a multitude of funding vehicles to small businesses throughout Oklahoma. With various finance options, from microloans to SBA 504 loans and more, as well as educational programming to help new business owners learn the ropes, TEDC’s experienced and helpful team makes it simple to identify ways to build a successful business. Connect with TEDC today, and visualize the next steps in your entrepreneurial journey.