Let’s talk about side-hustles.
When it comes to nursing services, advanced practice nurses have quite a few options. You could start a telehealth-only practice, mobile IV hydration services, or offer health coaching. And it’s also become common for nurses to branch out for their side hustles and join MLMs or get into Real Estate.
At first glance, side hustles are attractive. They promise flexible schedules, multiple streams of income, and tapping into a broad spectrum of target markets. But, when you take a closer look, side hustles are sometimes even more complicated than owning your own practice. Side hustles can quickly require more of your time and pose significant limitations to your revenue potential.
So, let’s look under the hood of side hustles so that you can better decide if side hustles are for you, or if devoting your time and energy to one thing is a better fit.
Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows
Few people know the capabilities (and limitations) of human beings more than nurses. We’ve seen it all. And it’s been proven time and time again that people cannot multitask. Our brains aren’t designed for split attention. Anytime you get distracted from a task, it takes up to 20 minutes to get back into your workflow (speed) and effectiveness prior to the distraction. Now, multiply that “buffer” time by each time you have to switch between all the necessary tasks that come with multiple side hustles. That’s a lot of time lost!
What would happen if, instead, you focus your energy on one venture, not multiple? Think about the speed and momentum you would gain!
Casting a wide net with multiple side hustles will stretch you thin and stagnate ALL of your hustles.
Inspired by the book, The One Thing by Gary Keller, here is a picture that really drives home this point:
(Can’t view the graphic? Click here)
When you’re pulled in many directions, you ultimately stay in the same place. But when you point your focus in a singular direction, you make bigger strides – faster.
Very few people (especially nurses) have the bandwidth to build and run ONE successful business. Think about the bandwidth needed to build and run MULTIPLE! … Oh, yeah, not to mention raising your kids, spending time with your spouse, and having a balanced personal life!
Choosing Your Main Hustle
The motivation for most side-hustlers is: money. But your primary motivation for any business – side hustle or career – needs to be about something more, something bigger than money. Money is one-dimensional and you live a multi-dimensional life.
To avoid burnout and a plateaued business, build a business model that matches your life. Don’t match your life to your business model.
Like most NPs, you probably don’t know the MANY options you could have within your Nurse Owned Practice. If you’re at the early stages of your entrepreneurial career, then you should seriously consider our Launch Your APN Practice Course. In addition to our extensive breakdown of business model options, you’ll also get checklists, templates, and timelines for taking your practice from idea to reality. And if you already have your own nurse-owned practice (or are within 6 months of launching one), our elite educational group and community in the Nurse Owner Mastermind can help you further tailor your practice to your needs, goals, and lifestyle.
Whether you are building your main hustle or choosing a side hustle, ask yourself:
- What do I want my LIFE to look like? (Family, travel, personal time, health & fitness, etc)
- What fuels me?
- How can my business support my desired lifestyle?
- What aspects of my (potential) practice excite me?
The answers to these questions will help you mold a Main Hustle that excites you and attracts your full attention.
To be clear, I’m not against having a main source of steady income while you build a side hustle into a main hustle. But what I see, more often than not, are nurses with too many side hustles – all of which are distracting from one another.
The key is to build one business until it is sustainably running smoothly. Then, when that business can run more on autopilot, that’s the time to start your next hustle.
If you’d like to learn the inside scoop and talk about what it REALLY takes to start and (more importantly) grow successful practices, then please join us on June 3rd for our FREE masterclass: Overcoming Common Obstacles in Nurse Entrepreneurship.
During the live call, we will cover:
- Common obstacles you should be prepared for in Nurse Ownership
- Innovative ways to look at your Nurse Owned practice
- What it means to be both a Nurse AND an Entrepreneur (what nobody talked about)
- Case Studies on how fellow Nurses have taken their practices to the next level
- Plus, plenty of Q&A!
This is real talk about real business. We’re not here for theory; we’re here for achievement.
I look forward to seeing you and answering your questions about growing (or even starting) your Nurse Owned practice.
Register now. I look forward to seeing you there!
You got this!
Veronica Max, APRN, FNP-C
President, American Academy of Nurse Entrepreneurs
CEO/Founder, UltraPersonal Healthcare
By the way…
No matter what stage you are at in your entrepreneurial journey, the American Academy of Nurse Entrepreneurs and myself would love to help you start (and grow!) your practice. Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways we can help:
- We offer an annual Nurse Owner Mastermind for both experienced and up-and-coming nurse entrepreneurs. To learn more about this year’s upcoming cohort and to be the first to know when we start accepting applications, click here to join the Nurse Owner Mastermind waitlist. Spots do fill up quickly and nurses on the waitlist get first dibs!
- We also offer a FREE Facebook Group …and it’s an active one, too! Join your fellow nurses, ask questions, and get the most helpful and up-to-date information about owning your own practice – along with access to plenty of helpful resources! Just click here to join the group for free!
Have you considered becoming an AANE member yet?! Members of the American Academy of Nurse Entrepreneurs not only join a fantastic community of like-minded nurses, they also get access to monthly educational materials, guest speakers, and coaching! Learn more about AANE membership here.