Coaching and consulting businesses make for a great part to full time business for the individual who believes that they are an expert in a particular specialty, and for the nurse practitioner or the registered nurse, your expertise lies within the invaluable knowledge and skills you have developed throughout your education and career. Outside of nursing, there is a reason why many well-seasoned professionals go into consulting and coaching during their career: it makes for a great income stream and allows the professional to help other individuals needing specialized one on one support. In my opinion, now is the time for the nursing profession to begin to venture out and share to the world our expertise through online coaching and consulting. Far too many unlicensed individuals are providing health coaching and do not have the credentials to back it up…. but we do!
Coaching and consulting are different types of services, but the principles and value delivery are the same: helping an organization or an individual with a particular problem. Consulting is focused more on providing instructions whereas coaching focuses more on providing guidance. But the end goal of solving a clients problem is all the same.
With this in mind, a consultant will typically assist in providing technical and professional advice to clients based on their understanding of a particular subject matter (medical billing, nursing management, hospital workflow, wellness practice pricing, business creation, EMR integration, etc.). Essentially, they are an expert at something that is “technical” in nature.
The coach on the other hand helps clients achieve certain goals, grow personally, and reach conclusions through asking the appropriate questions and providing clients guidance based off their own personal experience (social needs, health needs, relationships, family matters, career issues, spiritual concerns, etc.). A coach is usually an expert in matters that affect the mind, body, relationships, careers, and so forth.
The great news for those of us within the nursing profession is that we can do both consulting AND coaching! We understand the technical aspects of healthcare while we also understand the holistic needs of individuals. Because of this, the nurse practitioner has a powerful assortment of skills and knowledge to make an impactful difference in their clients lives. There are countless organizations and individuals that are in need of specialized skills that we all possess! So, we should be there to meet the demand.
Every registered nurse and nurse practitioner are an expert at something. I guarantee that. All you need to do is look back at your career and ask yourself “Where was it that I shined?” Every single one of us were/are the best at something in particular:
Were you great in school?
Were you great at delegating tasks to others in the hospital?
Do you happen to have a knack with helping diabetics reach their A1C goals?
Can you help motivate people to lose weight?
Do you understand how nutrition can help someone suffering from chronic fatigue?
Can you help people stay organized?
Do you provide relationship advice to friends having marital problems?
Have you helped family members cope through a loved one battling cancer?
The list is endless…
I know that each one of you are an expert at something! Sometimes it just takes a little introspection and self-reflection to find out what that is. Once you do though, you have found your coaching and consulting niche!
Personally, I have a knack with helping nurse practitioners start businesses (consulting) but I am also good at helping my men’s health patients on diet, relationships, fashion, and to just be a high functioning well rounded man (coaching).
Outside of this, the demand for coaching and consulting continue to grow! Consulting and coaching are multi-BILLION-dollar industries and are expected to grow exponentially over the next 5-10 years. Organizations, businesses, and professionals are constantly in need of professional consulting to help solve their problems. In terms of coaching, more and more individuals are looking to coaches for one-on-one support for a multitude of needs in their life, which can be anything from their general health needs to relationship problems… and what better credentials can you have than being a nurse practitioner!
For the astute nurse practitioner entrepreneur, it makes for a great income stream to add to an established business or start as a stand-alone business as well. It can easily result in multiple thousands of dollars a month in extra income on a very part-time basis. If you put the necessary work into it and build a large audience, it could turn into a healthy six-figure income that can still be done on a part-time basis.
Besides the income potential, I believe one of the most attractive aspects of starting a coaching and consulting business is that it can be done in ANY state. You do not need a license to provide health coaching, life coaching, relationship coaching, or healthcare consulting. You can do this from the comfort of your own home and see clients across the country. It really is one of the most freeing professional activities you can do. I absolutely LOVE consulting with nurse practitioners and coaching my Elite NP Inner Circle members with their financial and business needs. It actually gives me energy vs. stealing it like when I work a busy urgent care shift. I think for many of you, it would actually give you energy as well because you are doing something you are very passionate about vs. seeing a high volume of patients within the conveyor belt of modern healthcare…
Another great aspect of a coaching and consulting business is that the startup costs are very low. This is probably one of the cheapest businesses a nurse practitioner can start. You are simply selling your knowledge and time; therefore you need little in terms of supplies. The biggest initial startup expense will be getting a quality website built and the biggest operating expense will be marketing. Marketing is the number one function of a coaching and consulting business, just as with any business… You can get a coaching and consulting business setup for $2000-$5000 depending on the website creation process and how much you want to advertise… It is a relatively cheap business to start!
In terms of liability and regulatory burden, there is very little with a coaching and consulting business. The biggest liability comes with health coaching and as long as you are not utilizing your license in a state you are not licensed in, there is little to worry about. As a licensed professional, you must walk a fine line when providing health coaching as you do not want to accidentally utilize your license, but as long as you take the appropriate precautions, there is little to worry about. Outside of health coaching, you don’t even have to worry about it! It is very refreshing to generate income outside of healthcare and it also builds your financial redundancy!
Overall, providing coaching and consulting as a nurse practitioner is a very solid investment of your time and makes for a GREAT side business that is location independent. You can do this from anywhere in the world and see clients anywhere you would like! I actually had a men’s health clinic in England reach out to me for a consultation because they wanted to see how we did it “over the pond.” It blew my mind I was helping someone from a different country while not having to worry about licensure or regulation. It truly was eye opening and any one of you could build an online coaching and consulting business as well! All it takes is getting started and making yourself available to help people from all around the country.
Reminder, The Online Coaching and Consulting Business Course is still on sale! So, if you are looking to build an in-demand online business that is free from regulatory burden, then seriously consider becoming a coach or consultant. You will not regret it!
