This Nurse Doesn’t Chase the Money - Ep. 49
Many nurses are looking to pivot into their own business.] Catie Harris joining us to discuss entrepreneurship. Catie Harris, PhD, MBA, and Registered Nurse is the NursePreneur Mentor who has empowered thousands of nurses to monetize their knowledge and skills in business while inspiring them to change the way healthcare is perceived and delivered. She strives to undo the perception that nursing care is limited to the hospital setting. Through her intensive mentorship program, Catie shows nurses how their nursing knowledge can transcend the hospital system into a profitable business
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TRANSCRIPT:
Naseema McElroy (00:01): All right. Nurses on fire. I am super honored to have Catie Harris of Nursepreneurs join us today. Hey Catie, how are you?
Catie Harris (00:08): Good. Thank you so much for having me.
Naseema McElroy (00:11): Oh, of course. And I really wanted to have you on because you really help nurses discover an expertise that they can turn into a business so that they can step away from the bedside if they want to, but really know that nursing is not just about working in hospitals. So can we start by talking about your nursing origin story?
Catie Harris (00:33): Yeah, absolutely. So I, Oh my gosh. I started nursing, I'm going to say 20 plus years ago. It feels like forever ago. But so I started out as a neuro nurse and the two things that I said I would absolutely never do is work neuro and work nights. So my first job was a neuro job, on night shift. So I was the last time I ever challenged the universe and it just kind of go with it. And it really did kind of build my philosophy of nursing that I was like, all right, well I'll just see where things go for me. And that was kind of my nursing career trajectory. Let's see what happens type of thing. And what ended up happening was I ended up working neuro for many, many years. And when I came back to Philadelphia I just kept getting neuro jobs because most nurses don't like neuro at all.
Catie Harris (01:21): So the agency I was working for always had neuro positions and then they want to be in the neuro pool or neuro neuro. But then I went and got my nurse practitioner degree and of course the neurosurgeons want to work with me cause I knew neuro. So I stayed in in neuro and then I did my PhD and since the only thing I knew was neuro, I did my PhD on neuro. So that's where it kind of led me. But it also led me to a point where here I was with uh, 20 years of experience in neuro. I have a PhD and MBA, multiple master's degrees. And, you know, I found myself still reporting to an intern and it was just like everything that I had done, um, up until that point, just, it was almost like it was for nothing. It was, you know, it was just really frustrating to talk to the intern, tell him what I did that day and he'd say something stupid like, well that's not what we do around here. You gotta be kidding me. Like that. What do you mean that's not what we do. How about if I call your attending who I knew as a med student at tell them what we do around here. So I just felt myself getting really, really frustrated with the whole hospital system and that my knowledge wasn't really being used for what I thought it should be used for.
Naseema McElroy (02:30): Yeah, that's super frustrating. Especially cause you know, interns know nothing
Catie Harris (02:38): so true.
Naseema McElroy (02:40): So what led you to, I'm assuming first become a Nursepreneur yourself and then create the brand Nursepreneurs
Catie Harris (02:47): yeah, so I had created several side businesses and was always doing something because I always need to grow and learn something new. It's just one of those nuances about me that if I get stagnant, bored, then I become sloppy and useless. But so I'm always trying to look for what's the next thing that I can do. I started out freelancing just my skillset as a neuro nurse practitioner to the surgeons at various hospitals. So I was working as a first assist in the OR with them and just as a contract NP and I thought about, you know, I should really turn this into a first assist for neurosurgeons, you know, to put that skill set together. And then the next thing you know was a transitional care business that I had to help stroke patients after they left the hospital. So it was all of these kind of like side gigs that I had, but none of them were, you know, something that I could just leave the hospital for.
Catie Harris (03:40): And so it was just like another job that I kept adding jobs to my plate and you know, never kind of like releasing anything just add more work for myself. It just got to the point where I was super frustrated in the hospital and I would walk in and just be, I found myself just angry in general and uh, you know, people would say, Hey Catie, how are you? And I'm like, what do you want it just be like really angry all the time. And it was just not a good place for me to be. So I took a job with the college of nursing at that point cause I just needed a break and I had just had my son, so he was a newborn and I just needed a different quality of life. And while I was there, I actually got recruited by Walmart.
Catie Harris (04:18): So I ended up working for Walmart in their corporate management to help them with their clinics that they had down South. And one of the things that they had tasked me with was finding nurse practitioners to be in the clinic. So, you know, recruiting nurse practitioners to work those. And I thought, well, we should start a blog or something. So I went into that rabbit hole of well, how do I start a blog and how do I make money from a blog and blah, blah, blah, blah blah. So that started my trajectory and I saw all these opportunities kind of open up different businesses that I could start. So I did start putting some stuff together. I put together a concierge nurse business and that was my first real business. And I did a new grad nurse practitioner orientation, how to transition to practice and other various types of smaller businesses like that.
Catie Harris (05:07): But at the same time I had other nurse friends who were starting like NCLEX businesses. Another friend of mine was starting IB hydration and all these various different business types. And they would come to me cause I have my MBA and I had this business experience and I'd started putting my own businesses together. So we were working, I was working with them. And then I thought, well I mean this is something that I could, I definitely do. I, you know, I love ideas. I'm an ideas person. So if you come to me and say, I don't know what I could do, I could, you know, in 30 minutes tell you what you could do with a whole bunch of different things. And I thought, well that's, that's actually a business right there. And that's when I started with my own mentor and came up with the term Nursepreneurs and she's like, I love that. I do too. I love that term. So that's where we really started to run with that. Nice. Nice. And I love the way that everything that you
Naseema McElroy (05:57): did like in neuro, in just working on creating your blog, all those things were like little niches you could have just ran with. Why did you choose to focus on nurse preneur and helping other nurses find their niche and their expertise?
Catie Harris (06:16): Oh that's not to say I didn't run with all those other names. That was part of the learning process as well. Because you know, every business seems like, you know, one that it's easier to do that business because so-and-so is making money in there and that business looks easy cause so-and-so is making money there. But when you try to do it yourself, you quickly become overwhelmed and you know, you get frustrated easily because the money doesn't just come pouring in the day you decided to open your business and you know, it really takes some concerted effort and a vision of what you're going to do for money to come to you. So I did try an awful lot of various different business models. Um, you know, that I just thought looked easier than what I was doing and it's never easier. It's just what are you passionate about? What problem do you have that you're solving and what is the solution? So really trying to stay focused and filled the marketing piece of it because once I had the business model, then it was just kind of like, alright, well how do I get this in front of people so that they know what I have and they believe that I can help them. And that just took me on this road to marketing that I'm still on and just learning and I spend all my time and money in marketing at this point.
Naseema McElroy (07:29): I love it. Well, if you don't have marketing, you don't have a business. So that's probably one thing you have to learn too. And I've definitely had to learn that too. So as far as, like right now in this current pandemic, we have a lot of nurses looking to shift their focus. If they're not at the bedside, they might've been impacted as far as getting hours cut, their demand going down, or just totally being furloughed or laid off. Or if they're at the bedside then they're in undesirable roles because they're actually putting their selves at risk every day. And so more than ever, I have seen, especially in my audience, people looking to make pivots. So for a nurse that they've been doing neuro for 20 years and that's all they know. How do you help guide them and becoming a Nursepreneur?
Catie Harris (08:25): Well, you know, it does really start with that conversation of like, what is it that you are actually really good at and what is it that you've helped people to do? And a lot of times it's the little things that people dismiss me like, Oh, that's nothing. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. That's a lot. Let's go back to that because, and I have students that are there, first of all, they're all over the map, but I have one student in particular who does grief recovery and you know, she was in the, she was a nurse in the Las Vegas shooting. She lost her husband, she lost her father, had all these losses and yet she was the person that everybody went to in order to, you know, when they had a loss of some sort. So she had this huge history of not only grieving herself but supporting other people.
Catie Harris (09:09): And I said, what, you know, you seem to be most passionate about that and you speak about it the most. And I said that could actually be a business. And that was the part that she didn't understand. And that's the part that most nurses don't understand that what you're best at and what you enjoy doing the most there. Uh, okay. Potentially a business model in that aspect. So for this student in particular, we're working on a support type programs that she can help such as like people that have COVID, that died and lost a spouse and now they can be in her support system and her support group. And she does this coaching and one on one support. And it's just something that is growing from that. So, and you can do that for an oncology. You can do it in a whole bunch of different ways.
Catie Harris (09:56): And uh, there's a whole productization that could go along with that, such as making a memory kits for oncology patients that are dying. Right. And you know, maybe they want to leave a legacy for their family. So, and the ideas just start coming. They just start pouring in as you talk to your audience. And I think that's kinda the biggest thing that I would say is to do an inventory of your skillset, what you're good at, what you like doing, and then find an audience and just listen to them. Just listen to what they have to say cause you'll find the problem and then you can learn to offer the solution from there.
Naseema McElroy (10:34): What would you say to nurses who feel like they can never replace their hospital income or their current income?
Catie Harris (10:41): I think it's a hard mental barrier to get over. But to me that's a kind of a personal issue that you may have that you think that you can't replace your income because if you have the right problem and you have a defined audience that's willing to pay you for that problem, I mean you can very easily replace your income. So for example, what I teach in my course is high ticket sales. So we do coaching programs for 2,500 plus, right? So I mean I only need four clients. I mean my program is much more, I need one client to, you know, a month there are two clients a month to replace, uh, you know, a six figure income. Whereas my students are doing like three or four clients a month and replacing their nursing income. And if you think about how many people there are in the world that have the issue or the problem that you're talking about, slicing off three or four people a month with the right system in place is not actually that hard.
Naseema McElroy (11:37): Right? What about the benefits, but the benefits of being, you know that you get with being a nurse are so good. You have good insurance, your 401k, all those things are so hard to give up.
Catie Harris (11:48): They are hard to give up and yeah, I would definitely not quit your job until you have all of that in. You're going to have to have enough money that you're going to hire a financial planner and a tax accountant and stuff and figure that stuff out before you make the leap. I would never give that stuff up until you have a plan and you have some money in the bank in case for whatever reason. Let's say the COBIT pandemic for whatever reason ruins your business and you're going to be out of income for like three months. You need to be able to cover your expenses or at least have business interruption insurance.
Naseema McElroy (12:19): Love that. I love that. That's really good advice. So you know, I'm going to run nurse, I'm ready to take that leap. How do I become a Nursepreneur
Catie Harris (12:29): well, the first thing I would do is have a conversation with you and list out your skillset. Like I said, just really find out what it is that you like to do. Because if you want to be a speaker but you don't like being on stage, it's a problem. Or you know, some of these business models, let's say Ivy hydration or concierge nursing for instance, I have a lot of nurses that want to start those types of businesses, but they don't know doctors. And you know, I have one student in particular who does pain management and she's like, Oh, I should incorporate IB hydration. And I said, that's great, but you need a medical director. And she's like, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, no. Like you have to go out and get a medical director before we even talk about this. I'm not wasting my time on this topic with you. Until that happens. And nurses that don't know doctors or they don't know how to find one or they don't have a relationship or they're not willing to like create one with them, they're not going to have that business model. So maybe that's not the best for you. Maybe you would be more interested in content writing where you don't have to interact with physicians or whoever it is that you know. So just understanding your personality and what you like to do I think is really vital before you pick your audience.
Naseema McElroy (13:33): Yeah, that's really, really good. But a lot of people don't understand the intricacies and I think that's the importance of working with a coach. And I know that you've mentioned that you had a mentor and you have coaching yourself. Can you just talk a little bit more about the benefits of working with a coach or a mentor to direct you in starting a business instead of just, you know, Googling, we can Google everything, right?
Catie Harris (14:03): Yeah. And you can also find a million reasons not to do something. And that was, to me, the biggest issues in business have all been personal issues that I've had. So a business mentor is good at calling you out on those kinds of things because the business itself is pretty straightforward to come up with a problem. You come up with a solution, you put it in front of people who need it and then ask them for money. But it's all the in between stuff. It's like, all right, well who am I to solve this problem? Or you know, I don't have the right credentials, are not smart enough. I'm not. Whatever it is that you're not enough of, that's a personal problem. That's not a business problem. I had another student who told me that, you know, she didn't want to charge her friends and family and I said, well, okay, fine.
Catie Harris (14:45): That's not a business problem. And that's a personal issue. Like go out and find new clients. Then you know, you don't treat your, your, your friends and family, but we all have these, these mental blocks and the mentor doesn't have the same block that you have. I mean, obviously they're gonna have their own blocks but they can quite easily see-through what you're saying and just say, you know, that's not a business problem. You know, maybe you need to work that out with a therapist or something. I don't know. And I've had my own therapy issues that I've had to deal with just to get the business moving. But I think it's important and it's been one of the biggest benefits of starting a business is for me has been personal development.
Naseema McElroy (15:21): And so this is a podcast for nurses who are aspiring to financial independence. How do you think entrepreneurship, our Nursepreneurship in this case can set you on a path to financial freedom?
Catie Harris (15:33): So yeah, and I definitely want to distinguish the entrepreneurship and wealth building cause I think there's big huge difference there. Cause I do have a lot of nurses come in and say, you know what, I make a lot of money really fast and not do anything for it. And it's just kind of like, okay well you know for entrepreneurship it's about investing in yourself as kind of the solution. Whereas to me, wealth building is investing in other people to provide the solution, right? Like I want to buy stock in Facebook or Microsoft and you know, Mark and go solve all the problems and I'll just benefit from it or that kind of thought process. But in entrepreneurship you're saying, all right, I'm going to be the one that goes out and solves this problem and I'm going to invest money in myself, my learning process and I have the self confidence to deliver the solution and you just, you have to be the type of person that it's willing to search for problems and provide solutions and also ask people for money, which is also another personal issue that a lot of us have, especially when you're starting out in entrepreneurial-ism. So
Naseema McElroy (16:36): I really love that distinction. And actually that's the first time that I've heard it articulated so well. But it's super true and it's super important to understand because I think the core difference in investing in believing in yourself as opposed to just relying on outside sources to build your income is, I mean mind blowing, like, like really like understanding that in order to be an entrepreneur, that's your goal, that's your focus, is making sure that you're investing in yourself and believing in yourself and the sky's the limit there. So that is so awesome. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that because I've never even thought about it like that, but it's a hundred percent true. Okay. So how can people reach out to you? How can they get in contact with you?
Catie Harris (17:27): Uh, well they can go to my website, which is CatieHarris.com and on there I have the nurse printer guide, which is actually a hundred plus nurse businesses that already exist. And they're there to inspire you. I've had their websites, their mission, kind of what they're doing. So go check them out and see what everybody's doing. And maybe something will resonate with you and you'll say, Oh my gosh, like I can do this, other people are doing it. I think that's having role models is the best part of all of this. And that was really the kind of the inspiration of nurse printers is to create a bunch of role models to inspire nurses to live their dream.
Naseema McElroy (18:01): And before we go, I like to ask like what money mistakes have you made that you've rolled into your courses or your trainings to ensure that we don't make those same mistakes because I think that's another value that you get from coaching is that you get to skip a lot of the barriers and the fall downs and all the breakdowns that we've experienced in business. So can you share some of those things that you've been able to overcome and teach your students to do better?
Catie Harris (18:32): Yeah, we're going to need a few hours cause that's the whole program is every mistake I've ever made just kind of round up for you. But yeah, I've literally spent over $200,000 making mistakes and just trying to figure things out because, and one of the biggest mistakes I was chasing after all of these shiny objects, like if I get this funnel, then I'll make a million dollars. If I buy this website, I'll make a million dollars. If I do this, I'll make it, you know? And it's just kind of like, alright, I'm over the million dollars thing. I just, I really just want to focus on what it is that I can offer and the solution coming in. And the one thing that has benefited me in my business more than anything that's cost me absolutely nothing is to have partnerships with other nurses. And it was, that's simple. So click funnels can take their funnels and shove it because, you know, I didn't need that funnel. I needed nurses to help me. So
Naseema McElroy (19:26): yes, yes, great lessons, great lessons. But I think, again, highlighting the importance of working with a coach, highlighting the importance of working with some body in your field that can mentor you because there's a whole bunch of business coaches out here, but there's very few people that understand the business of nursing. And so I love what you offer. Thank you for creating nurse manure and make sure you guys all check out CatieHarris.com to learn more. All right. Thank you, Catie.
Catie Harris (20:01): Thank you.
Hey there I’m Naseema
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