The First Step

So you have decided that you want to be your own boss. What next?

Most of us did not receive any business courses in graduate school. If you did and you have a grasp on business principles, well, then good for you (high five!). If you haven't you might want to check out the Small Business Development Organization (www.sba.gov). They have a lot of online free advice on business steps. Everything from "are you ready to be a business owner" to an outline of the dreaded "business plan". You can even take some online courses at no cost to help you get started.

If that doesn't sound appealing to you then you might want to check out a local community college that offers low cost options. You will need to understand finances, budgets, projections, marketing, etc. All very non-nursing kinds of thought processes.

Wait a minute, business plan, more courses, what are you talking about? I know, but let me tell you, if you do your homework on the front end, it makes the back end of this so much easier. Trust me, I have seen it done both ways and success is definitely in being prepared.

Sometimes knowing that you do not want to do this is enough for you to know not to get started in your own business. This saves a lot of heartache and brain ache months to years down the road.

Sometimes this is enough for you to say, "yahoo, let's get going". I love learning all things new, so this was me. I was totally ready to wrap my brain around another aspect of health care. I did both online courses as well as some local half day courses to better understand what I was going to have deal with besides health care.

I took courses with exciting titles like "Small Business Primer", "Marketing 101: A Guide to Winning Customers", and my personal favorite " How to Prepare a Loan Package". I attended a local college that offered half day business courses and there learned how to prepare a business plan. I would not say all of these were my favorite, but they all definitely help me think through what I was getting ready to do and how to be best prepared to do it well.

And so my business journey began.

Life Happens...

Okay, so it was over a year ago that I sat down to start this blog on running your own business. This is a prime example of how difficult it is to do too many things at once. On top of having my own health care business I am also a wife, mom of two small children, the medical co-ordinator for the local half marathon, and currently the president of a local non-profit organization. I also managed to injure myself training for and finishing a half marathon in October 2012 and am still trying to recover from that injury. I like to stay busy, but I had to put some things on hold to do these other roles well (apparently not the running bit), and this seemed to be the easiest. If nothing else, this should be a good example on prioritizing things in your life.
My kids are now one year older than they were and are currently playing/fighting/playing in the living room while I re-address this burning desire to share my business expertise with other NPs who want to start their own business. My business has continued to grow with over 100 new patients so far this year. There have been some peaks and valleys, but mostly peaks. My goal here is to endeavor to impart information more consistently on how I managed to make my own business happen as well as grow and how I have found such great pleasure in it. Stay tuned....

Why did I do it?

It has been a while since I was asked this question, but it still comes up every now and then. All I can say is that I am my best boss. I have worked with some fabulous doctors in this business, some who have taught me how I want to practice and others who have taught me how I don't. Believe it or not it was another NP who pushed me into this. Not for the altruisitc reasons of "come on girl, you can do it", but more because I could not longer work with or for her. It is true sometimes that nurses eat their young and this was the case. I could not work out an acceptable contract and thought, okay I am smart, why can't I do this on my own. Plus my husband was a background cheerleader, leading the parade to a new location. So my journey began!