Be your own boss: get paid for what you do best.

Quit complaining and start making solutions. Nurses historically spend too much time battling corporate executives for more money, better benefits and improved work conditions. Change the scenario by learning how to become your own boss by owning a business. Nurses in Nevada have direct access to experts to teach them how to own a successful nursing business. The State of Nevada has the best laws in the country that support business owners. Famous companies such as Amazon and Microsoft have increased their wealth simply by taking advantage of Nevada's corporate laws. Every Nurse has the opportunity to increase their own wealth by doing the same. This article also addresses a new conceptual framework for nursing practice called Expert RN. The Expert RN philosophy encourages nurses to bring their practice to the level of a expert. When nurses reach this level, they need to make money from their hard work by directly charging for what they do through their own business. The time has passed for nurses to make corporate executives rich through their work. Nurses need to learn about business, have their own business, and finally get paid for what they do.

Quit complaining. Nurses do too much of it. Nurses have faced too many challenges historically by playing the wrong game and complaining about it. The majority of nurses are employees. Nurses spend a great deal of energy battling the employee-employer relationship rather than learning alternative methods for getting what they really want. Simply stated, if this sounds like you, you are in a cycle that is going no where. If you really want to see a change in your own career you need to learn how to win the game. You need to do something different.

Nursing has progressed tremendously over the years. We now have documentation of our practice through care plans. We have well educated nurses in advanced roles. We have research to show that nurses improve patient outcomes. The questions that remain are, with all the work that has been done in nursing, why are there still so many unhappy nurses? Why is there a critical nursing shortage?

About seven years ago I was standing in front of the Bellagio admiring and observing the entire Las Vegas Strip. I was amazed that the concept of Vegas; the fact that such a fantastic city was placed in the middle of a desert. The Las Vegas Strip is a success. The people visiting the strip are happy and there is a endless supply of things to do. It is very obvious that the casinos are making a lot of money from all of their efforts and hard work. I asked myself, what exactly are these casinos and their owners doing that nurses are not doing.

Quite simply, the casinos have an established business that allows them to do and have everything they want, and most nurses do not. A casino owner controls what he/she does everyday; nurses allow themselves to be controlled by everyone else. The key here is to own and control your daily activities so that you can have the same benefits from all your hard work. You need to establish your own business.

If a nurse could have a minute fraction of the resources these casinos have, they would be financially secure. If a nurse could use the same strong business skills used by casinos that bring people to them from all over the world, they too could have a business that would not fail. If more nurses were in business for themselves, they could raise the nursing standard. Most important, the healthcare industry would quit walking all over them, and corporate executives would no longer become rich by the work of a nurse.

The State of Nevada has superior laws that favor a business owner to establish their company in Nevada. Top companies such as Amazon, Intuit, Microsoft, and Porsche have established their company in whole or in part, in the state of Nevada. Nevada provides significant tax savings and legal protection to businesses. If you live in Nevada, the opportunity for you to establish your own successful business is right outside your front door. Throughout the state there are experts who assist companies, big and small to be successful in business. The best part about Nevada business laws is that they are for everyone! You don't have to be a big like Amazon; your business can be just you. You can also have a business in Nevada, and not live in Nevada, so your business can be portable. (Garrett Sutton, Esq., 2001), (Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc., 2004)

Nurses generally turn the corner when they hear the word, "business." Nurses associate business people with uncaring attitudes and money hungry personas. On more then one occasion, I have heard nurses express their burnout frustrations with uncaring attitudes. Just about every nurse I have met wants, feels deserving of, and fights their employers for more money. Common threads between business people and nurses are very similar. The difference is business people are in business and reaping the rewards. You are not. Here is a great example of why you should begin to learn about business.

Previously, I had a position with a company called KCI, the company that produces the WoundVAC. The company's headquarters is located in San Antonio Texas. I represented the company in a field position based in Las Vegas.

If turning back time was a possibility, I believe the concept behind the Wound VAC was probably first thought of by a nurse. Historically, nurses have been the primary clinicians involved in wound care. The majority of the time, wound assessment and dressing changes are done by nurses. It would make logical sense for a nurse to create a top wound care product, such as the Wound VAC, based on extensive experience. However, a nurse did NOT create the Wound VAC. It was founded by physicians. That nurse, simply missed the boat.

Countless times, I have heard nurses express brand new fantastic ideas on nursing services and products. These ideas, if they materialized, would improve clinical outcomes, improve the healthcare process, and even improve their colleagues. What I see happen is that a nurse will come up with a fantastic idea, but the idea stops there. This happens because nurses generally don't know how to take their idea to the next level. Most nurses do not even know where to begin.

In order for nurses to see their idea materialize, they would have to learn the fundamentals of business. Yes, that word again, business, the word nurses hate. However, having your own business is the key to you developing, selling, and making a living off of your great idea. KCI, Baxter, Gentiva, The Studer Group (Nursing Bundles), and even Joint Commission, (JCAHO), are all successful healthcare businesses The only difference between you and them, is that you stop your great idea from going forward, by not knowing how to pursue it. These other companies find solutions to make a great idea work in the real world. Do not let your good ideas go to someone else.

For this very reason, I felt it was mandatory for nurses to begin incorporating the fundamentals of business into their career. If every nurse could have at the minimum, a starting point, these great ideas would not be thrown by the wayside. Therefore, I created a concept called Expert RN, and its subsequent business curriculum.

The Expert RN conceptual framework involves focusing your career goals and activities in a manner that brings you to the level of an expert in your field. When that is established, you make your expertise into a workable business. A true Expert RN has her/his own business based on what they are really good at doing. A true Expert RN is not under the control of another company. Essentially, by becoming an Expert RN, you also become the boss. When you're the boss, you are free to do really, whatever you want. Go ahead, give yourself a title, CEO, President, Executive, "big wig," CEO has a much nicer ring to it than "staff nurse," agreed?

In order for nurses to begin to carry out this process, I created a business curriculum that is nurse focused. This continuing education, (CEU), course addresses fundamental business concepts that are workable in the real world. It also addresses the endless excuses that prevent nurses from starting a business. Business types include a home health care agency, a nurse in private or independent practice, and an urgent care center, to name a few. The possibilities are endless.

Also, there is no restriction by any Board of Nursing, including Nevada, which prohibits a nurse from starting their own business. Essentially, you could be the owner of an urgent care center and be the boss of a physician you employ. By law, you only have to follow the orders of a physician when you are working in clinical practice. If you are the owner of an urgent care, you might not be in clinical practice at the same time you are an owner, (you do not have to be). All of the sudden, you have control over the physician by being a business owner of the urgent care. What gave you this power is your ability to turn the tables and change the scenario. Very smart indeed! (S.C. Knisely, GP, 2007)

Healthcare is a business. You are a nurse working in healthcare. For that very reason alone, you need to become more educated about the type of environment you're working in. Repeat the following to yourself three times true:

Do not get any smarter, more educated, become "certified," or be a better nurse until you know and understand concepts behind business.

As a nurse in Nevada, you have direct access to the top people in the country that can help you start your own business. Don't miss your window of opportunity when the resources are at your front door. Remember, a nurse will make excuses; an Expert RN makes solutions to a problem, and lands at the top.

Susan Knisely, R.N., is a graduate student obtaining her Masters in Business Administration, (M.B.A.) degree. She carries an extensive background in critical care, emergency room nursing, management and consulting. Susan is the founder of Critical Nursing Science, LLC, a company dedicated to the professional growth of all nurses through the world of business. She can be contacted through her website, www.expertRN.net

Works Cited

Garrett Sutton, Esq. (2001). Own Your Own Corporation. Warner Books.

Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc. (2004). The Nevada Edge. Las Vegas: NCI.

S.C. Knisely, G.P. (2007). Expert RN Core Business Curriculum. Critical Nursing Science, LLC.

Susan Knisely, R.N.

Critical Nursing Science, LLC

7231 S. Eastern Ave. Ste B-126

Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

www.expertTN.ney