10 Steps to Nurse Entrepreneurship

As a nurse entrepreneur for more than a decade, I've been around the block a few times at this point and have seen so much of the ups and downs of this particular professional journey. While I'm not specifically a business coach, my career coaching practice and experience as a nurse business owner have taught me a thing or two about getting a business up and running — and keeping it going. Nurses come to me on a regular basis expressing a desire to work for themselves, and I have cause to believe that this growing wave has yet to crest. So what is a nurse to do if they feel the entrepreneurial itch? 

Non-Traditional Nursing Careers: Where There Is No Box

Ask just about anyone what a nurse does and where a nurse works, and the general response is, "Oh, she works in a hospital." Apropos of that statement, when I tell someone I'm a nurse, they generally say, "So, do you work at the hospital?" I have nothing against hospital nursing, but there's more to our profession than meets the eye, and many of us are waking up to the multiplicity of non-traditional opportunities just waiting to be grasped by the savvy nurse.

Nurse Innovators and Trailblazers: An Embarrassment of Riches

I recently spoke with a nurse career coaching client who's thoughtfully searching for what she should do next with her nursing career in order to more fully reach her potential as a healthcare professional.

As I've previously discussed on both this blog and my podcast, the sky's the limit in terms of what nurses are capable of, even though nursing schools (and by extension many of your nursing colleagues) will lead you to believe that acute care is the only place where "real" nurses choose to make their professional nest.

Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

Common Questions About Nurse Entrepreneurship

Nurse entrepreneurship is exploding in the 21st century, and many nurses ask me for advice about nursing-based business. So, let's dig into some of the most common questions that nurses have about potentially launching a business or entrepreneurial endeavor.

Photo by Josefa nDiaz on Unsplash.com

Explaining What Nurses Do

This post about what nurses do and how nursing is perceived by the general public was originally posted in 2012. It's been updated and republished for your enjoyment and edification. 

When I tell people that I'm a nurse, they will often innocently ask, "So, how many hours do you work at the hospital?" While such questions are well-meaning, they belie the fact that so many people make wild assumptions about nurses and nursing, and most everyone has little idea what nurses actually do. I've expounded on this topic before, and will no doubt do so again.

If we're put in boxes by others, do we also unthinkingly put ourselves in boxes, as well?

National Nurses in Business 2016!

If you're a nurse who has ever considered starting a business or entrepreneurial venture, The National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA) annual conference is where nursing meets business and entrepreneurship in a powerful, potentially life-changing way. Whether your idea has already blossomed or the seed is still waiting to sprout, this intimate conference puts you face to face with some of the most powerful movers and shakers in nurse entrepreneurship today.

The Nurse As Defiant Optimist

Let's face it, folks; there's a lot of negativity out there, whether it's inside of nursing and healthcare, or out in the big old scary world. From the backlash against Joy Behar and "The View" to the bad news on your television screen, there's apparently no end to the violence and vitriol. Having said that, are you prepared to be a nurse who lives his or her life as a defiant optimist?

Wealth and Wellness for Nurses!

From April 17th to 19th, 2015, I will be in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia for what promises to be an amazing event for nurses and nurse entrepreneurs, and I encourage you to join me there!

Nursing Innovation in the 21st Century

When the average person thinks of a nurse, he or she may not readily recognize that nurse as an innovator. But in reality, nurses are indeed true innovators, and that power of innovation is our professional birthright.

Santa Fe Coaching Retreats With Nurse Keith!

I don't often write explicitly about my coaching practice for nurses, health professionals and nurse entrepreneurs here on this blog, but my latest launch is so exciting, I couldn't contain myself and had to tell my Digital Doorway community all about it!

Nurses and Collective Success

Collectivism and collaboration are hot topics in the entrepreneurial spaces where I currently hang out. Just last weekend, my business partner and RN.FM Radio co-host Kevin Ross and I were at the National Nurses in Business Association annual conference in Orlando, and our presentation was entitled "Cross-Pollination: Collaboration on Steroids". This notion was well-received by the audience, and our assertion that competition belongs in the dustbin of history seemed to hit home with most everyone who was present.

Entrepreneurial Compost

This past weekend, I spent four days in Orlando at the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA) conference with dozens of nurses. It was a great event, and the networking and connecting between nurse entrepreneurs and businesspeople was “epic”, to borrow a term applied so liberally these days.

Nurse Keith at the NNBA

This weekend, I'm in Orlando at the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA) annual conference, along with many of my nurse entrepreneur colleagues, including my business partner and RN.FM Radio cohost, Kevin Ross.

Board Certified Nurse Coaches: A New Reality

This week, dear Readers, I'm writing this brief post to share with you the exciting news that I am now a Board Certified Nurse Coach (NC-BC)!

Hang in There, Nurses--The Tsunami is Coming!

Many new nurses and nursing students are voicing a great deal of concern over the lack of positions and competitive salaries in the current job market. While this may be disconcerting to some, I encourage all nurses to hang in there as we wait for the economy to rebound and the "Silver Tsunami" to reach its peak.

Nursing: More Than Meets The Eye

Many of my online endeavors put me in contact with a growing number of nurses, and what strikes me most is that nurses are an incredibly diverse, passionate, talented and interesting group of people. I'm honored to be a nurse, and find the profession simply blossoming with richness and diversity.

RN.FM Radio Continues to Grow!

For those of you who have been following the evolution of RN.FM Radio--our Internet radio station focused on nursing, nurses and nurse entrepreneurs--we continue to grow and expand the scope of the show concurrent with our growth as hosts and producers.

Internet Radio for Nurses Takes Off!

Our newly birthed internet radio station for nurses---RN.FM Radio---is maturing into a reliable weekly source of inspiration, encouragement, interviews and nursing news that many nurses are flocking to every Monday evening at 9pm EST.