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Anyone who knows me personally or through social media knows I’m a business person. I’m always talking about business or coming up with business ideas for others. Even when I had a full-time job, I was always thinking about business.

I’ve been thinking about a career transition for a while now, and I know that since the pandemic began many nurses have had the same thought. While my transition has been planned before the pandemic hit, I’ve made changes to my plan because of the pandemic.

When I initially planned to transition into project management, I thought I’d get my CAPM and data analytics certification, find a remote job somewhere, and then start a project management business in a couple of years. I did succeed in getting my CAPM certification in June and I’ll be starting school later this month for Data Analytics. Those aspects have stayed the same, but finding a remote job after everything is said and done just isn’t where my heart is.

I’ve been entrepreneurial since I was 12 selling popsicles on my patio. Growing up I had a disdain for going to school for 12+ years only to go to work for someone else and make them money. Yes, I thought that way as a pre-teen. But I got sucked into enough school to become a master’s prepared nurse practitioner, working for someone else, and making them money.

I went against my own pre-teen mindset and became the person I didn’t want to be. I was coming to the clinic early and staying late seeing all the patients the physician I worked with didn’t see because he was habitually 30 – 45 mins late every morning and expected to leave exactly at 5 pm every day. I was his pawn and the job stressed me out because I didn’t want to be the last parent to pick up my child at daycare because he didn’t pull his weight and took advantage of working with an NP.

When I was furloughed in late April, I took it as an opportunity to focus solely on my business. By April I was burned to a crisp with my position as an NP. After some reflection, I realized that I won’t be happy working for anyone else even in a new profession, so why try?

Before I embarked on my transition to project management, I did tons of research on the field. One of the most interesting things I found out about project management is that many project managers are accidental. In addition, business owners implement project management process all the time without realizing it. After 7 years, I’ve managed numerous projects within my business.

While studying for my CAPM, I realized that I have enough experience to start my own project management business and didn’t need a “starter” job in project management. At the time, I just didn’t know what my business niche would be and how to approach it. I’d been wracking my brain on niches to go into as a new project manager and how to structure my business when I came across a course that covers everything you need to build a 6-figure project management business. “How to Project Manage Any Online Course” was created by Arielle Hale, a project manager who focused on launching online courses. Arielle started out as a VA with no formal project management experience and built her business up to 6-figures, traveling the world with her young son. Goals!

Having your own business means freedom you don’t have if you work for someone else. I know a lot of members in my Facebook group have been asking about project management, so I decided to write a series of posts about everything I know and how I’m transitioning. I think project management is great for nurses for a variety of reasons and you can read about it here (link to “Why Nurses Make Good Project Managers.”)