By Ann Marie Luft, BSN, RN

This blog came out of my experience last week at the NNBA 2024 Nurse Entrepreneurship conference. My goal was to meet, connect, and exchange information with as many nurses as I could.

When Three Dog Night sang, “One is the Loneliest Number,” I’m sure they did not know how that song was going to resonate with so many people on so many levels. Being a solopreneur can take one down the rabbit-hole of loneliness. Nurses who break away from the bedside have many well-wishers and medical friends when starting a business. This does not necessarily translate into endorsing your new venture like you thought it would.

The good news is that you see a need, you have the drive and you want to help others all while making all the decisions for yourself. You will no longer be subjected to shifts that last longer than 12 hours, on-call calls in the middle of the night and the 0400 call that someone called out and can you come in because they are short-staffed. Your venture is yours – you call the shots.

Here’s the rub….you need to put in many hours to gain traction and to get things moving. That can be tiring, frustrating and lonely. While solopreneurship can provide freedom, it can be isolating. You go from a unit of nurses, certified medical assistants, physical therapists, et al, to sitting at your laptop alone in your residence, in an office or at the local coffee shop.

Before you start singing, “All By Myself,” eating cereal out of the box and watching Briget Jones’s Diary, get used to being outside your comfort zone. Remember those well-wishers at your last job? They do not know what you are going through. You may have thought that they would be liking and sharing your business on social media, it does not exactly happen that way. You may get a few likes and shares, but that can taper off. Do not get upset or depressed because of the waning interest. Anticipate it and do not let it affect your relationship. You have bigger fish to catch.

When I started my consulting business, I thought- naively- that it would be easy to find clients. I have been in the field for 10 years, surely all those contacts I have would refer to me. Alas, that did not happen. While I could stay salty and be upset, I had to let it go. This is where I start singing “Let It Go” because once I did, I started feeling better. At this past NNBA conference, it took Denetra Hampton, MHSA, BSN, RN to say, “it still seems to bother you” to get me to really let go of those negative thoughts. I realized I forge my own path and that means taking control, pivoting and finding the right tools to market my business.

When we moved to a different state, I told my kids on the first day of school to “find your people.” Find those who share the same interests as you. This applies in solopreneurship- find those who understand what you are going through. Many are in the same boat, others were in that boat, dove off the bow and flourished. These are your people. They can be a sounding board to vent or a resource for advice.

Nurse-owned businesses are open to sharing their experiences with new solopreneurs because they were there at some point. They had the same feelings as you do now. I have to learn patience. It’s not my forte, but I know I have to work at it. Solopreneurship takes hard work and learning new skills. Remember learning how to read strips? I was TERRIBLE at it. I had to really work to gain that skill (please do not ask me to read a strip now). The same goes for building a business. It’s not just the logo, website, product that needs to be worked on, it’s the mindset that needs to be worked on as well. No longer are you in a “nurses eat their young” world. The nurses who own businesses have left that mentality and they are open to lifting up the new generation of nurses. No need to reinvent the wheel, you have nurse mentors out there. Reach out to them.

The path you have chosen to be a solopreneur is not easy, but it is rewarding. Just know that you have cheerleaders on your side and we all want you to succeed. Everyone needs a guide- whether you have been in business for years or starting out with an idea. You just need to take the reins and be brave. We got you.

Author’s Bio

Ann Marie Luft, BSN, RN, has been a fertility nurse for 10 years and owns Fertility Paths, LLC. She is still an infant solopreneur and learning something new everyday. Networking has been her new found glory. You can find her in her office, at the local coffee shop and at: https://fertilitypaths.com/