As a nurse solopreneur, it is important to have a strong business strategy in place. Business planning can be helpful, but it is not as important as strategic planning.
Strategic planning takes into account the big picture and helps you stay focused on your goals. In this blog post, we will discuss the differences between business strategy and business planning, and what nurse solopreneurs need to know in order to create a successful business.
Starting a business is not easy, and it’s even harder if you don’t have a plan. As nurses, we are often good at taking care of others, but we need to remember to take care of ourselves too. That means making sure we have a solid business strategy in place so that our business has the best chance of success.
Why do nurses need a business strategy?
1) To set realistic goals for your business that will move the needle forward.
2) To determine what services or products you will offer to best serve your clients, patients, or customers.
3) To create a budget and financial plan that you can realistically stick to.
4) To develop marketing plans and strategies that will allow you to connect with your ideal audience.
5) To create policies and procedures for your business that align with where you want to end up.
6) To identify your target market and understand how you can better serve them.
7) To find mentors or advisors who can help you with your business goals.
Business Strategy
The first step in creating a successful business is to develop a strong business strategy. So, what’s a business strategy?
It is a series of choices that a company or business owner makes based on the collective consideration of how they want to position themselves against their competition.
There are many factors that go into a business strategy. But, the most important factor is how well you understand your target market. Who is your ideal customer? What do they need or want? How can you provide it to them in a way that’s even more convenient than your competition?
It is essential to understand your target market so you can develop a strategy to reach them. Your target market can be reached in a variety of ways. The most important thing is to find a way to connect with them personally.
Business Planning
This is where most people get stuck. Business planning is important- but, it’s not going to help you if you don’t know where you’re going or how to get there. As is the case with strategy.
While creating a business plan can be helpful. But, it’s not as important as having a strong business strategy. A business plan is a roadmap that will help you get from point A to point B.
It’s the “stuff” that you need to be done in order to make your business function. However, it is the action that is taken in strategy that makes the difference. It typically looks like a to-do list or an elaborate calendar.
Strategy vs. Planning
Which is more important? Planning or strategy for business? The majority of the time, your time is better spent on strategy than planning.
Why? Because strategy is action based. Strategy is the roadmap that will help you achieve your goals.
Nurse solopreneurs don’t have time to waste on things that won’t help them succeed. The best way to stay focused is to have a clear business strategy.
Creating A Business Strategy
Now that we’ve discussed the difference between business strategy and planning, let’s take a look at what a business strategy looks like.
A business strategy should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. That means that you should know the next steps you need to take in order to achieve your goals. To do that, you need to determine your product or services so that you can understand who your target audience is.
Then, you need to find a way to reach them. Lastly, you need to understand them well enough to be able to speak to their problems, needs, questions, and concerns.
A business model canvas is the easiest way to do that. This is a tool, created that will help you understand your business, how you will interact with your target audience, and how you reach them.
If you’re not familiar with the business model canvas, don’t worry. We’ve created a free email course that will walk you through each step of the process. You can sign up for that course with the link.