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.