It never ceases to amaze me how many aspiring nurse business owners don’t have a plan for their business. To be honest, I’m not completely surprised.

In my lurking of several NP Facebook groups, I always see an NP student half-way through with school and they have concerns about the job market or don’t know what care one specialty vs another is capable of when they graduate. I always shake my head and wonder why they didn’t plan before embarking on an expensive and time-consuming journey to only be potentially disappointed when they graduate.

This scenario is similar to starting a business without a plan. A business plan is absolutely necessary when starting out. A proper business plan will guide you through starting your business, detailing your products and services, marketing, and more. These are all important components in starting and maintaining your business.

Another thing I see fairly often is having a “business” that doesn’t offer a monetized product or service. I hate to break it to you, but if your business isn’t monetized in some form or fashion, it’s not a business, it’s a hobby. Harsh, but true.

I’m not talking about someone who is new in business and hasn’t made a profit yet, with proper marketing and positioning in the field, most likely you eventually will. I’m speaking of people like myself (I’m getting personal here) that didn’t have a proper business plan in place when they started. I wasted years trying to sort everything out because I didn’t start with an actionable plan. During that time I didn’t make any money either because my only product was my book.

My “business” was effectively a hobby until I started treating it like a business by writing out a clear business plan for my goals and aspirations in addition to offering other products besides my book that bring in money.

Since then, profits have increased, I’ve gained social proof, and now I’m exploring other ventures. All because I finally sat down, wrote a plan, and started treating my business like a true business instead of a hobby.

After 7 years in business, I’ve learned a few things and I want to share what I know with other aspiring nurse business owners (or even business owners who never wrote out a true plan and are spinning your wheels). I’ve created a detailed business plan that covers 9 main aspects of business (over 55 – editable pages) and gives you an actionable plan to turn your hobby into a true business.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s covered:

• Business Summary
• Brand Summary
• Brand Identity
• Competitor Analysis
• Niche Research
• Services & Products
• Building Your Audience
• Content Strategy
• Marketing & Growth

And I haven’t left my bloggers out either since blogging can easily be put in the “hobby” category by others. I created a specific blog business plan that will help you launch and turn your blog into a business within a month!

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