Being a nurse solopreneur brings with it many unique challenges. There are so many similarities when it comes to being your own boss and being an employee at the bedside.
There are also many myths that I hear all the time when it comes to working for yourself. If this is your first time here, find out more about what a nurse solopreneur is. And learn how you can become one.
No matter what your nursing experience is, or what type of business you decide to start. At the end of the day. You’re trading a product or service for money.
The main thing that remains constant throughout both career choices is that you have no control over anything. Just how you respond to what happens.
When it comes to running your own business there is so much that is out of your control. The same is true for when you’re a nurse on the floor. You just have to believe in yourself (or be crazy) enough to do it.
Similarities
- You are the one in control of how you respond and react to the unknown.
- When you’re in business for yourself, you’re in the real world. Just like in healthcare, this is the real world now. It’s not textbook anymore. It’s real-world situations that you have no control over. But that doesn’t mean you have no control over the direction you want to be headed.
- Nothing is ever going to go as planned.
- Did any of your shifts ever go as planned? Didn’t think so.
- You aren’t the one that matters in all of this.
- Patients needs, wants, everything come first. Your customers are what your business revolves around now.
- The opportunities and flexibilities are endless.
- Businesses solve problems that they see in the market they want to break into. You worked directly inside of healthcare. I know you can think of a couple of problems, just off the top of your head.
- This is a team sport.
- Teamwork makes the dream work. Could you have ever survived a 12-hour shift if you were the only one running the entire unit?
- Burnout is real.
- Burnout exists in every industry. If you aren’t taking care of yourself first then you aren’t going to be running a successful business for long.
Differences
- You’re the one writing the rulebook.
- Don’t like the way some things playing out? Do something about it.
- You control your schedule.
- This one can be super hard for people. You could set regular business hours for yourself or you can decide to only work when inspiration strikes. It’s up to you.
- You control your time off.
- Want to go on vacation? No one can stop you. Don’t want to work for extended periods of time. Brilliant. Don’t do it. There are so many ways you can use automation to create the work-life balance you desire.
- No one is writing you a check unless you give them a reason to.
- Just because you are a nurse and know what you are capable of, doesn’t mean that a random person who wants to hire you does. If you want someone to pay you, you have to give them a reason to. Did you have an RN job lined up the second you decided you wanted to go to nursing school? Probably not. You probably had to prove yourself by investing a lot of time and money into yourself by going to nursing school.
- You don’t need to have a formal business education.
- You got your formal education when you went to nursing school. You don’t need to go to business school to make money for yourself. All you need to know is the value you can provide, and who you can provide it for.
The Biggest Difference
As a nurse, your instinct is to help everybody. But when you are a business owner, it’s not possible to help everyone that comes your way.
At the bedside, people come to your employer because they have a medical problem and you’re the expert who is going to help. When you’re a business owner, you are the one responsible for showing people that you are an expert in whatever it is that you want to do.
How you do that is up to you. Lucky for you, I created a FREE 10-day mini-email course for nurses like you who want to create a complete strategy for their businesses. Sign up below and start thinking like a business owner.