Once you have identified your overall vision, it's time to dive deeper by answering the following questions. This will require you to assess who you want to serve and what services are currently available to them.

1. How much money do you estimate it will take to actualize your vision? Break this into monthly and yearly figures.
   
2. What skills do you have that a number of people urgently want and will pay for?
   
3. Who is that group of people? What specific results are they looking for?
   
4. Now brainstorm all the ways you can think of to help that group of people get the specific results they want.
   
5. Go back through those potential ways of helping others and remove any that will not give you the income you need to actualize your vision. Record the remaining ways and post them in a place where you can easily refer to them often.
   
6. Check your state board of nursing regulations and the Holistic Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice to make sure your business ideas are allowed. Tip: Much of holistic nursing practice fits into the area of educating clients in self-care, health maintenance and disease prevention behaviors.
   
7. Choose the idea that you are most excited about and create a business plan for it. Include your income and expense projections for one, two and three years. Ask for help to do this step, if necessary. Click here to see the Business Resources section of this website, plus check for business planning help in your local area.

There are obvious changes to operating an independent practice amidst a global healthcare emergency. Adjusting clinical practice among waves of unpredictability can be challenging. Integrative Practitioner developed guidance for healthcare business owners embracing and evolving the challenges, including:

• Detailed practice management considerations to ensure financial security

• Developing policies and procedures amidst a pandemic

• Adapting to a digital healthcare landscape & a sample Telehealth contract

• Maintaining practitioner health and wellbeing

Do you need to let the idea of starting a private practice germinate? Or are you ready to move forward? Either way, we encourage you to set specific measurable set weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals.

Click here to download a one-page exercise to help you plan your goals each week. The best plans are accomplished one step at a time. To get started, think about one goal that you could easily reach… one that is even fun. Then partner with a colleague, a friend or a coach and use accountability to help you stay on track.