Greetings my nurse practitioner sisters and brothers,

This is the third 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 are interviews #1 and #2 if you have not read them yet.

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 third nurse practitioner in the series is Katelyn Claudomir out of Connecticut. She started a medical cannabis clinic just 5-6 months ago and is already generating multiple thousands of dollars a month in side income while keeping her expenses to a MINIMUM! She currently works in an emergency department and has found that this niche side practice is giving her the ability to finally break free and earn what she is worth! Financial independence is her goal and she is putting the work in to get there! You can check out her medical cannabis clinics website at https://thegreenleafct.com/.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself: How long have you been an NP? What has been your background as an NP? Where do you practice? 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 name is Kate and I have been an NP for five years. I worked as an RN in a pediatric emergency department and transitioned in my role as an NP within the same department. I have been practicing there for the last five years as an NP. I also work part time in medical aesthetics at a physician-owned MedSpa. I am 35 years old, married with three kids ages 6, 4 and 2. I have a passion for wellness and have always found it rather ironic that I work in the field of illness, rather than pursuing my passions. When I stumbled upon The Elite NP, I felt such a sense of motivation to “do better” for myself and my family. I was tired of working 40+ hours a week, making just enough to pay the bills. Add onto that, my extreme mental exhaustion for working in a pediatric ED. My ultimate goal is financial freedom, developing as much possible time with my kids and family as possible, and to work for MYSELF, not a large corporation. 

2. What made you shift your mindset from “employee” to “entrepreneur”? Basically, why did you want to start your own practice?

I wanted to start my own practice because nothing in life matters more than my family and I was finding that my life was revolving around work. This was unfair to myself and my family. It was time for a change. 

3. What type of practice did you start and why did you pick the niche service line you chose?

I started a medical cannabis clinic. No brick and mortar (due to COVID) but all telehealth evaluations within my state. I chose this niche because I believe in homeopathic medicine and its ability to heal. I have always been a firm cannabis supporter and have seen firsthand the struggles that people must go through to obtain their medical cannabis card. I wanted to bring some light and good energy into this field. 

4. How long have you been open?

Since October 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.

Each month I have been “seeing” more patients than the last. By mid-February, I’ve had 25 patients so far. It might not sound like a lot, but the growth of my entire business has been by word of mouth and social media posts (all while working at the hospital and MedSpa as well). This has brought in an extra 3-4K/month and continues to grow. My average expenses are minimal. I chose to pay for an EMR (just to help keep myself organized and to streamline the online bookings) and I pay $99/mo for this. That is my only monthly expense! 

6. What speedbumps did you come across as you started your practice?

No real speed bumps, just learning the state legislature surrounding medical cannabis. I am my hardest critic, and I would say my largest speed bump is myself. I spin this and see it as a positive though; I motivate myself to do better. 

7. What was the biggest personal fear you had to overcome to get started?

The fear of “can I do this?”

8. Tell us what surprised you the most about diving into the world of nurse practitioner entrepreneurism?

It is amazing the amount of money that is out there just asking to be made!!!

9. Did you use any of The Elite Nurse Practitioner content or courses? If so, how did it benefit you?

Yes! I used the Elite NP Medical Cannabis course and I plan on signing up for the course about achieving financial freedom. 

10. What are your future plans for your practice? What steps are you taking to accomplish those goals?

This question tends to make me a bit nervous just because of the likely legality of medical cannabis in my state very soon. In speaking with Justin, and several others in the field, I am optimistic that the legality of cannabis will not affect my business largely. I plan to reach out to other medical cannabis providers in states where cannabis is legal to see their experiences. Ultimately, I have to figure out a way to stay ahead of the curve and be ready for when cannabis becomes legal with a booming business that has loyal and happy patients. 

Super awesome interview and very motivational! Kate has kept her expenses to an absolute MINIMUM while making a few thousand in extra income a month! Just in 4 months! Keep kicking ass Kate!

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 article helped spark the fire of motivation in some of you to get started 🙂