Greetings my nurse practitioner sisters and brothers,
This is the second installment of our “Interviews with Elite NPs” series where I will interview various nurse practitioners who have utilized Elite Nurse Practitioner content to help build a life where they live on THEIR terms. The goal of the articles in this series is to enlighten many of you that might be on the fence about diving into nurse practitioner entrepreneurship on how possible it really is.
Here is the first interview if you have not read it.
The nurse practitioners interviewed in this series are REAL and have started their practice in just the last 1-2 years. It has been my honor to have assisted these fine nurse practitioners who took the appropriate steps to start their own business and most importantly, had the courage to take ACTION instead of suffering from analysis paralysis.
The second nurse practitioner in the series is Patrick Stracuzzi out of New York. He started a medical cannabis clinic first and then used the money to open a men’s health practice (did exactly what I did!) but has since included multiple additional service lines including weight loss and IV infusion services.
He started approximately 7-8 months ago and is now generating nearly $10,000 a month in revenue! His goal is to expand the practice to multiple states by delivering care via telemedicine and to really grow the local IV infusion component of his business. He is aggressively using the profits to pay off his debt and is on track to totally pay off his student loans this year! His website address is www.improveyoutoday.com, but it is currently be “tinkered.”
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself: How long have you been an NP? I have been a family nurse practitioner since 2016.
What has been your background as an NP? I have worked as a hospitalist mostly on night shifts. I also worked in primary care part time during the day for about 16 hours a week before opening my practice. I left that dump after making my own money though!
Where do you practice? I have a wellness center in Kingston, New York. I do men’s health, weight loss for men and women, IV infusions, and medical cannabis certifications.
Where are you at in life in terms of your age, financial goals, or anything else you would like to share with The Elite NP readership to help them understand more about yourself? My plan is to use my cash-based business to get me financially independent within 5 years. I am still working overnights full time while working part time for my practice with very little overhead. I am following The Elite Nurse Practitioner Model and so far, it has worked out!
2. What made you shift your mindset from “employee” to “entrepreneur”? Basically, why did you want to start your own practice?
I was sick of the assembly line of modern healthcare and medicine. I love helping people but my work situation was not helping myself! Working for someone else is taxing on a person’s quality of life. The big business of medicine was ruining my life and relationships. I became burnt out VERY fast.
3. What type of practice did you start and why did you pick the niche service line you chose?
Men’s health, weight loss, medical marijuana, and IV infusions. I chose these because my goal is to improve my patient’s quality of life. These are simple and effective niche side practices that have a high revenue potential and there was very little competition in my area. I saw the need and decided to fill it.
4. How long have you been open? June 2020
5. How successful has your practice been so far? If you don’t mind, please share with us some average revenue and expense numbers.
I have been blessed to be profitable since day one. Average monthly profit has been around 10k the last few months on only 3-4 hours a week in the office! I spend another 3-4 hours seeing patients via telemedicine. I have very low overhead and keep my prices reasonable. I have no staff and just answer the calls and run my part-time practice myself. My wife has helped some, especially with marketing. It has been easier than I thought it was going to be!
6. What speedbumps did you come across as you started your practice?
I live in NY, so I can’t negotiate with labs or imaging centers (dumb laws) and my area is very poor. However, there is still a market I have discovered. Also, three weeks after signing the lease I had to move my office! It was only down the hall but it changed the address which was a nightmare! I also have been trying to change the name of my practice, which has been a headache because the NY State Office of Professions has been very slow with processing the paperwork. It has just been a lot of little speed bumps!
7. What was the biggest personal fear you had to overcome to get started?
Fear of getting in trouble and failure. This led to analysis paralysis multiple times! Whenever my brain begins to overthink, I just stop myself and get to work instead of worrying.,
8. Tell us what surprised you the most about diving into the world of nurse practitioner entrepreneurism?
The joy! The income and the ability to work when I want and how I want. It has improved every facet of my life.
9. Did you use any of The Elite Nurse Practitioner content or courses? If so, how did it benefit you?
Men’s health, weight loss, clinical peptide course, women’s health, IV infusion and the financial independence courses. The courses are amazing… I cannot stress that enough. They explained everything in simplistic terms and made the process very simple. Justin also has been very helpful in responding to emails with questions I have had.
10. What are your future plans for your practice?
Future plans- get multiple state licenses and take my men’s health/weight loss clinic nationwide. I will continue to do IV infusions locally as well. Goal- pay off student loans and my wife’s (will be able to do this by February-March thanks to my practice!!) My bigger financial goal is to pay off my house within 5 years.
Eventually I would love to be able to work only for myself. However, I would still work part time for the hospital to decrease financial risks and be “redundant” as Justin states.
11. What steps are you taking to accomplish those goals?
Continuing to market and add value to my current service line! I take pride in my work ethic and because of this I am always working! The whole goal is to be an awesome entrepreneur and become financially independent, all while having a better quality of life to be able to spend time with my family.
If you or someone you know has started their own business and would like to be a part of this series, please email me at theelitenp@elitenp.com! Thank you for reading! I hope this interview helped motivate some of you out there!
