How to Become a Nurse Entrepreneur

Maybe you’ve been in the same position or facility for years and need a change. Or you always had the entrepreneurial bug, but never had the chance to jump. In either case, more and more nurses realize how valuable their skills and expertise are, and are contemplating the idea of starting a nursing/healthcare-related business. 

But starting a business can be difficult, no matter the field. While you may have the experience, not everyone is fit to be an entrepreneur. And some businesses are much tougher to get in and succeed than others. In this article, we’re going to show you how to become an entrepreneur, and a few great business ideas you could consider.

Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Nurse Entrepreneur?

Before you start looking at how you can become a nurse entrepreneur, you have to know if you have what it takes in the first place. The last thing you want is to quit your day job only to find out that it is not for you. Some of the skills and traits needed include:

• Great organizational skills
• Problem solving
• Tolerance to stress
• Ability to sell yourself
• Basic math and accounting skills
• Good communication and leadership skills

One of the most important traits a nurse entrepreneur needs to have is the ability to stay in control. If you decide to start your own practice, for instance, you’ll have to deal with a variety of situations at once, whether they implicate patients or members of your staff. You’ll need to be able to address the situation before spiraling out of control. 

Nurses who work in stressful positions at the early stages of their careers tend to resist stress easier. Working in challenging conditions over the years helps them become more aware of stress coping skills and techniques. For example duties of ICU nurses include caring for patients with life-threatening illnesses, which is why having to stress coping abilities for such professionals is a must. They often need to make accurate decisions in a short period of time and act quickly when a patient’s status changes.

Knowing when to take a risk is another trait most successful nurse entrepreneurs have. All businesses have some sort of risk element, and unless you have the courage to take risks when necessary, you will end up stagnating and eventually failing.

In addition, nurse entrepreneurs also need to be able to be innovative. Not only do you need to find new solutions to old problems, but you need to stay abreast of the most recent changes in the industry and how you could use them.

Options for Nurse Entrepreneurs

There are many options for people who want to become a nurse entrepreneur. And they don’t all have to deal with patients, though most of them do. You could:

• Offer a service
• Open your own practice
• Offer consulting
• Work in marketing
• Academic opportunities

All of these models have their pros and cons, and some might be more suited for you depending on your expertise and level of education. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best business options for nurses.

Starting Your Own Clinic

One option you could go for is opening your own clinic, or even offering 24 hour home care services to meet the needs of patients requiring continuous support. For instance, you could get an FNP degree and open an independent family clinic. It will then be your choice to work with patients or only in an administrative role.

For many however, the challenge will be to get the qualifications in the first place. But know that there are many RN to MSN bridge programs that will allow you to fast track your way from registered nurse to certified family nurse practitioner. This new title be accomplished by studying smarter and not necessarily harder. By utilizing an online educational website you can get a key tool to learn upper extremity and other complicated anatomy topics. The service will provide you professional resources to help you study faster and get higher grades on exams. You can either decide to condense your studies by taking alternative shifts, or stretch out your studies – there is no need to leave your position. And you’ll get the same level of formation as you’d get from any other accredited school, minus the headache.

Concierge Nursing

According to NursePreneur founder Catie Harris, concierge nursing remains one of the top businesses for nurse entrepreneurs. 

“Concierge nursing is a brand-new model”, she said. “Nurses are being hired directly by patients who are ready to pay for their services at a premium rate”, she added. “One of the most common forms of concierge nursing is when plastic surgery patients go home after care. Being able to have someone bedside once they get home or at the hotel is comforting.” 

This is a great opportunity if you already have experience in outpatient care, and have access to a network of nurses that have the same experience.

Healthcare Consulting

Working as a consultant is also an option many nurses go for. As a healthcare consultant, you might be asked to work with healthcare facilities, local, state, and federal governments, hospices, or nonprofit organizations. 

Another thing you could do is offer consulting services to nurses and healthcare professionals specifically. You could help them navigate their future and find new opportunities, or help them perform their functions better. Harris said:

“One of my students started a service where they help professionals explain different cancers and treatments to patients using metaphors. Patients can then understand the condition better, and make more sound decisions as far as treatment goes.”

Holistic Nursing

If you gravitate towards alternative care, and find that there is a lack of supply for nurses who can administer it, you could always get into holistic nursing. This is a highly specialized field, and there is indeed need for more nurses who understand it. You could choose to offer at home care, or work in a clinical setting.

Healthcare Marketing

Another thing you could do is start a marketing firm aimed specifically for healthcare facilities. You could help them get more online presence for instance, or help them with things like social media marketing. 

Another thing you could do is work in the pharmaceutical industry and work as a sales representative. Nurses have a great advantage when it comes to this as they often have privy to information on all sorts of drugs and their effects. They also know which drugs are being introduced, and what issues there were with previous solutions.

You could also sell medical equipment, and the great thing is that commissions can be huge. Some equipment can sell in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But you could sell anything from everyday supplies to scrubs as well.

Starting a career as a nurse entrepreneur is a major shift, and one you have to be thoroughly prepared for. But with the right skills, tools, and disposition, you should be able to turn your venture into a success.