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Become a Nurse Entrepreneur

A number of nurses today are taking a “leap of faith” from traditional patient care to a career as an entrepreneur. If you are one of them, whether changes in the healthcare setting or the desire to be your own boss are at the root of your desire, personal effectiveness is an essential part of success as a nurse entrepreneur.

Transitioning into the role of entrepreneur can be an exciting, as well as challenging, experience for health care professionals. Nurses considering an entrepreneurial role may want to ask themselves “What do I want to do?” “What is it I do best?” and “Do I have a passion for it?” Being good at what you do is a wonderful start. However, you will need business, marketing and people-relations skills, as well as others, to be effective in the business world.

In his bestseller book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey, an internationally known speaker on human and organizational effectiveness, cites seven habits for personal effectiveness, which can be adapted to any nursing career. Let’s consider the “seven habits” as they relate to nurse entrepreneurs.

Be Proactive

Moving into the role of a nurse entrepreneur requires a concrete definition of your business and the ability to promote it to potential clients. Combining our expertise in diabetes care, education and management, we have developed a successful nurse-dietitian partnership. Together, we share a passion for working with diabetes patients to promote understanding and confidence in self-management of their disease.

Diabetes educators have historically been a proactive group of health care professionals. The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) is a multidisciplinary association of diabetes educators — 56 percent of whom are nurses. For a number of years, AADE has been proactive with educational sessions, which include how-to’s on marketing yourself and your diabetes education service, reimbursement for diabetes education services, and starting your own business. Keep your professional association memberships current. Their resources are invaluable to remain on the cutting edge in your area of expertise.