Do you want to earn extra income as a self employed nurse? If YES, here are 50 best small business ideas & opportunities for nurses to start at home. With a sound background as a practicing and professional nurse, you can become an entrepreneur in your field.
The most important benefits of having a business as a nurse include being your own boss, choosing your patients and coworkers, and determining your work goals, such as fulfilling certain needs with your nursing expertise or making money the way you decide.
You can perform the work you love on your own flexible schedule. You develop the policies and procedures and how to do your work best, and you get to operate your business from the comfort of your own home or from any chosen location.
Nurse Entrepreneurs use their nursing education and business background to start ventures within the healthcare industry establishing, promoting and running their own companies. Some develop medical devices, computerized systems, or home health products.
If you intend to diversify and become a nurse entrepreneur, consider any of the 50 business ideas below. They are indeed worth starting.
Home Nursing Business ideas
Many elderly people need assistance with a wide variety of simple household tasks such as cleaning, laundry, and so forth. Many adult children of elderly people are quite willing to hire someone to help out their parents.
There’s something rewarding about taking care of someone else, especially in the later years of their life. With 77 million baby boomers entering into their senior years, the senior business sector is a growing industry. In many cases, as they are getting older, seniors are looking for a way to stay social and get out and about.
If you have a passion for helping the elderly, a home companion business may be the perfect idea for you. You can also create a business in this sector by becoming a senior care consultant or an elder caregiver.
You care for children during the day, while their parents are at work or otherwise occupied. You can start a day care center right in your own home. You will need to purchase small chairs, a table, toys, games, outdoor play items. Maybe you already have a lot of this stuff because you have small children of your own.
There are about 75,000 day care centers in the united states that are licensed. The price charged for each child ranges from $45 to $200 a week. You’ll only need half dozen kids to make this a high-profit venture.
Most states require a license to run a daycare center. There are several steps involved in getting a license. Call your local State Department of Health and Human Resources to determine the correct office that regulates child care in your state.
Call that office and ask for a copy of regulations governing child care centers. Arrange a meeting with a licensing specialist to review the procedures to obtain your license.
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BIRTH DOULA
Ideally you need to be a calm and patient person to be a birth doula or a postpartum doula (assisting new moms). You can start by working with an experienced doula to gain confidence and experience and determine if this is suitable for you (and get a good reference as well).
A birth doula provides emotional and physical support for couples during labor and delivery. A postpartum doula provides help for new moms while recovering from childbirth such as support on breastfeeding, bathing or handling siblings.
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NURSE EDUCATOR
Outside of the hospital setting many opportunities exist for nurse educators. Common settings for nurse educators include; medical device companies, community/government, pharmaceutical companies, research, medical clinics, education companies, and colleges.
The opportunities are rapidly expanding due to the growth of online jobs, and the possibilities for self-employment. As a nurse, you can make more money by teaching student nurses at any nursing school or certification program around you.
Start by searching the web for training programs for nurses and apply for the position of a tutor. While this business option won’t make you rich, it will fetch you enough cash to pay some bills.
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CONCIERGE NURSE
If you are business minded, a nurse that makes house calls may be the business opportunity for you. In fact, this is historically how most nurses practiced until the 1940s.
It is an area with huge growth potential. When you start any nurse business, be sure and consult your state board of nursing, obtain the proper business and nurse liability insurance, and consult the required experts such as attorneys and tax/accounting professionals.
Build a network for up-to-the-minute patient care. With concierge medicine, medical personnel affiliate themselves with a service that charges a group of patients an annual membership for house calls and easily scheduled often same-day appointments.
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NURSE NAVIGATOR
Owning your own business as a nurse navigator would be ideal for nurses who understand insurance policies and who can help patients obtain the care they need. This opportunity is ideal for nurses who enjoy paperwork and research in addition to helping their patients.
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NURSE HEALTH COACH
At this time, any Registered Nurse may call themselves a “nurse coach” while staying within their scope of practice when coaching patients without additional certification. This enables nurses to legally start their own business and coach others in their area of expertise.
Also, many insurance companies hire nurses as health coaches in an effort to keep their customers as healthy as possible in an effort to reduce their spending.
You can establish your private nursing facility, where you take care of patients that are undergoing treatment for diseases and injuries. Rather than visit the hospital too often, patients would prefer paying you to study their recovery, dress their wounds, and so on.
One mistake you must avoid in this business is assuming the responsibilities of a doctor, especially when you are a nurse or you lack experience on the case at hand. You will maintain your integrity by referring patients to qualified physicians whenever the need arises.
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IN-HOUSE NURSING CARE
You can establish your private nursing facility, where you take care of patients that are undergoing treatment for diseases and injuries. Rather than visit the hospital too often, patients would prefer paying you to study their recovery, dress their wounds, and so on.
One mistake you must avoid in this business is assuming the responsibilities of a doctor, especially when you are a nurse or you lack experience on the case at hand. You will maintain your integrity by referring patients to qualified physicians whenever the need arises.
10. DIETITIAN
Are you a certified nurse? That’s the first qualification for starting this business. Options for operating this sort of health business or health consulting service are almost unlimited.
As a certified dietitian, you could simply subcontract your services out to numerous businesses such as hospitals, nursing homes, weight loss clinics and fitness centers. The innovative entrepreneur could start up an online dietitian service.
Profit potential for diet consulting services is outstanding, and achieving an annual income of $50,000 or more is certainly not out of line. To increase business revenue, aim to develop your own exclusive diet programs, books, videos and software, as all of these products can be sold through the company website, as well as to national retailers on a wholesale basis.
11. RETAIL PHARMACY BUSINESS
Retail pharmacy business is one of the thriving and profitable businesses in the healthcare industry. Any entrepreneur (investor) who has plan of starting his or her own retail pharmacy business must comply with the Regulations of Retail Pharmacy Businesses that was passed into law in 2008.
Anyone who wants to establish a retail pharmacy business must follow the regulations that guide the sourcing, storage, sale, supply and keeping of records, in respect of medicinal products.
Other requirements that they are expected to comply with are requirements that relates to staff, premises, equipment and procedures are also stipulated.
12. RUN A NATURAL CHILDBIRTH CLASS
Natural childbirth is and will always be a hot topic. This business has limitless possibilities and avenues including natural childbirth classes, seminars, products and services. This business opportunity will have to be of particular interest to you and will require training and a great amount of research.
However, professionals who specialize in the field are generally well paid and always in demand. This business may be of particular interest to nurses, childcare givers and early childhood education teachers. Be sure to do your homework so that your new business will comply with all the rules and regulations of your particular community.
13. OPEN A MATERNITY CLINIC
In rural community most especially, there are loads of pregnant women who cannot afford standard hospital for the delivery of their children- which is why they opt for maternity centers or enroll under a midwife / Douala.
So, if you are midwife and you are interested in starting a business in the healthcare industry, then one of your options is to open a maternity center; a rural area might be the most thriving location for this type of business.
It is important that you would need a license from the required medical regulatory authority before you can legally operate a private maternity center in the United States and in most countries of the world.
14. HEALTH BLOGGING
It is interesting to note that there are loads of people out there who are making millions annually through blogging. If you have a medical professional or someone who has sound knowledge in the healthcare sector, one of the businesses that you can consider starting is to start blogging on healthcare related subjects.
The truth is that if your blog has useful and helpful contents, you will attract loads of traffic and if you have loads of traffic on your blog, you can easily secure good advertising deals from stakeholders and other businesses in your blog. Just ensure that you update your blog regularly and you will continue to attract traffic.
15. HOME NURSING BUSINESS
Another thriving and profitable business venture that an entrepreneur who is interested in making money from the healthcare industry can engage in is a home healthcare business.
A home healthcare business is a business that provides skilled nursing services, home health aides, and other home care service such as medical social services, and therapies.
The fact that there are loads of elderly people and sick people who cannot move around but spend most of their time at home makes this type of business a profitable business to engage in.
It is important to state that this type of business is regulated in the United States of America and in most parts of the world so as to guide against quacks taking advantage of people.
16. CHILD BIRTH BUSINESS
If you have a background in nursing, childcare, or early child education and you are drawn to the birthing process, then there are several avenues you can take.
You could offer natural childbirth classes, seminars, products and/or services. You could also become a certified midwife or labor coach. Just make sure to do your homework so that your new business will comply with all the rules and regulations of your particular region.
17. WRITE ABOUT YOUR WORK
You can use your nursing know-how and experience to make money simply by writing about it. Blogging is one popular route to take. Post how-to guides, advice and general musings to start.
Once you’ve gained a following, you can pepper your prose with affiliate sales links and banner ads. Alternatively, you can publish e-books and sell them for a moderate price. Online writing for healthcare marketers and healthcare websites.
You can venture into website copy for the healthcare industry or a nursing business, EBooks on your nursing specialty or expertise, also paperbacks/novels or textbooks, nursing journals/Nursing websites like nursetogether.com, Ghostwriter for medical profession or other nurses. You can be a freelance writer, writing for any publication out there that is looking for healthcare writers.
Hospitals and private medical practices all around the country are constantly looking for the best nurses possible. As any traveling nurse knows, those organizations are more than willing to pay a premium to attract the right healthcare professionals.
Starting a business that specializes in introducing qualified candidates with attractive positions can be quite profitable if you’re willing to do a little bit of legwork.
Yet another way to capitalize on your nursing acumen and expertise is by becoming a consultant. A consulting business in the nursing field can take variety of forms, which is why it’s such an attractive and rewarding side business opportunity.
One potential option is advising small and medium-sized medical practices on the best way to employ their nursing firepower. You could also give advice to nurses on beneficial career paths and moves.
Using your in-depth knowledge of medical hardware to make extra money is a savvy move. Signing on with companies like Johnson & Johnson or Medtronic as a sales rep can be a stress-free way to pad your income. If you feel comfortable talking to strangers and have a flair for sales, selling medical products to hospitals and practices around the country is a natural move.
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PUBLIC SPEAKING
If you love sharing health knowledge and teaching people about diseases or healthy living, teaching/public speaking may be a great side hustle for you. You can offer your services to community health organizations, hospitals or colleges/university continuing education programs.
Pick your topic and contact the education department to see how to get started. Those are just two of the many side businesses that nurses can start to boost their earning potential.
Your side business doesn’t have to be related to your career as a nurse. If you enjoy making jewelry, you could sell your creations. If you enjoy cooking, you could offer personal chef services on your off days. The possibilities are truly endless.
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REHABILITATION COUNSELOR
Rehabilitation counselors work with people who have physical and emotional disabilities that do not allow them to live independently. They provide therapy for the patients so they can begin to handle tasks on their own. Many of these men and women will start off as nurses who want to do more to help their patients.
They will transition from hospitals and clinics to work in rehabilitation agencies, schools, prisons, and also go into private practice.
Home health aides help patients who cannot leave their home due to illness, injury, or mental disabilities. These workers help patients keep clean, take medication, fix food, and do other tasks they may not be able to do on their own. Most home health aides travel from one patient to the next, offering different services to different patients throughout the day.
24. LIFE CARE PLANNER
As a business opportunity, a nurse can become a Life Care Planner helping terminally ill or long-term medically needy patients with their plan of care. In order to become certified, previous experience is required.
25. ACADEMIC NURSE WRITER
If you have a graduate degree in nursing and excel in writing, you can author textbooks chapters in your specialty and/or obtain a publisher to write your own book. This is closely aligned with nurse education.
26. FORENSIC NURSE CONSULTANT
There are opportunities to work as a Forensic Nurse Consultant for law enforcement agencies and criminal attorneys in this role, especially if you can leverage your previous hospital experience. There are certifications that nurses will be expected to obtain in order to provide this service.
27. NURSING RECRUITMENT AGENCY
You can start a nursing recruitment agency and earn a living. There are many countries in the world with a huge gap to fill in terms of nurses, you can capitalize on this void and cash in on the gap. With the connection and experience with immigration and visas, you can become a recruitment agent and earn a good living.
28. TELEHEALTH NURSING AGENCY
Telehealth nursing refers to the use of telecommunications and information technology in the provision of nursing services whenever a large physical distance exists between patient and nurse, or between any numbers of nurses. This is another business opportunity for you as a nurse to start the business which can even be started from the comfort of your home.
29. MEDICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Patient care isn’t the only way registered nurses can put their people skills to good use! Medical sales reps have the opportunity to build relationships with other healthcare professionals while selling medical equipment to be used in hospitals or other healthcare settings.
A job in sales comes with its perks: a more flexible schedule and higher earning potential than many traditional nursing jobs.
30. HEALTH MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION (HMO)
Health management organization (HMO) is yet another thriving and profitable business that an investor who is interested in investing in the healthcare sector should consider starting. Health management organization (HMO) as the name applies serves as intermediary between individuals / organizations and hospitals.
They market health plans to people who are interested in paying upfront for medical treatments for themselves and their family members. So, if you are looking towards starting a business in the healthcare industry, then one of your options is to start a health management organization (HMO).
31. MEDICAL CODER AND BILLER
Another interesting, thriving and profitable business that an entrepreneur who is interested in starting a business in the healthcare industry can successfully start is a medical coding business. If you are good with computers and programming, you can successfully start a medical coding business for hospitals, medical labs, diagnostic centers and medical centers et al.
Your basic task is simply to work with Doctors and medical directors to encode documents for the purpose of proper insurance filing. You may consider getting some training in the computer field. This is so that you can be vast in the trade that you want to delve into.
32. MEDICAL CLEANING BUSINESS
Another simple business to start in the healthcare industry is to start a medical cleaning business. Of course there are cleaning companies that handle the cleaning of health facilities; they are trained to do so simply because of the hazard associated with cleaning health facilities.
So if you are interested in starting a business in the healthcare industry, then one of your options is to start a medical cleaning business.
33. MEDICAL WASTE DISPOSAL BUSINESS
With your experience in the health sector as a nurse, you can venture into medical waste disposal business. This is another thriving and profitable business in the healthcare sector that a nurse entrepreneur who is interested in starting a business can consider. Medical waste disposal business is niche in the cleaning industry and it requires some level of professionalism.
So if you have any level of experience in the cleaning industry and you want to expand your business offering, then one of your options is to start a medical waste disposal business.
One good thing about this type of business is that you can handle numerous hospitals at the same time. All you need to do is to arrange an effective pick up time.
34. MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION AGENCY
Having knowledge of medical terminology, medical tests, procedures and the language that the medical profession speaks, this is a great job for nurses. You can work for hospitals, clinics, physicians, legal profession (those that deal with malpractice, etc.) and insurance companies.
This is not a job that is going away; according to the Department of Labor, this is a job that is trending upwards and will continue as we prepare for EHR. And this is not a job that gets outsourced overseas on a regular basis due to security and privacy issues. This is where you can come in by starting an agency that caters for this main purpose.
35. START HEALTH RELATED PROGRAM ON TELEVISION
If you are a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist, a wellness coach or a professional in the medical field, who is looking to start a simple business in the healthcare industry, one of your options is to start a health related program on television.
No doubt there are loads of people out there who would always tune in the watch health related programs on TV. The truth is that if the program is well packaged, you wouldn’t find it difficult to secure lucrative sponsorship deals from corporate organizations and stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
36. LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANTS
Doing this kind of consulting for a law firm or insurance company, you may have to work in house for a while before being allowed to work from home. I have a friend that has been with the same law firm for 5 years now and does most of her work from home.
This is a subject to discuss when applying for the job, because you just never know. You can venture into this business when you’ve acquired the experience.
37. SALES/MARKETING
How about working for a pharmaceutical or a Durable Medical Supply Company helping to sell the goods, moving them from the producer to the buyer? Your work would be done from home, with you having a territory (just like in home care) where you would meet with clients in person or on the phone, selling or marketing a product or service.
You could represent a software company that is offering products related to EHR, Data management, etc. You may even get a company car or an allowance and travel is probably involved, but I hear it has great benefits, so if you like selling this may be for you.
38. COACH (EXECUTIVE, LIFE OR PERSONAL)
A Health Coach is a wellness authority and supportive mentor who motivates individuals to cultivate positive health choices. Health Coaches educate and support clients to achieve their health goals through lifestyle and behavior adjustments.
39. ESTHETICIAN
An esthetician is someone who specializes in the skin care of others, mainly focusing on the face. The main objective is to improve the appearance of the client’s face through non-surgical means. A private consultation and evaluation helps the esthetician understand the client’s needs and gain their trust.
Estheticians may work independently from home with established clientele; however, most estheticians start their career working in a salon or a health spa. Once the esthetician has the experience and their clientele base has grown, they may start their own business.
Starting a business requires the esthetician to be an independent person willing to manage their time and inventory properly. Marketing their services effectively, keeping regular clients and having the ability to attract new clients at the same time will help an esthetician’s business grow and remain successful.
40. WELLNESS NURSE COACH
A health and wellness nurse coach may focus on one or two approaches especially if you’re dealing with weight issues or a certain chronic disease or illness but a holistic nurse coach will use many different approaches and techniques that draw awareness from body, mind and spirit.
With the use of your whole self, bringing new perspective from different parts of you, creating new ways to view a problem. If as a nurse you are skilled in this art, then consider venturing into the business.
41. HEALTH FAIR ORGANIZER
As more devices, medical technology and even health apps come to fore; vendors and innovators will want to get face time with doctors, medical personnel and administrators. If you have a penchant for planning and people skills, your business could set up fairs, in partnership with universities or other like-minded organizations, all over the country.
There are loads of players in the healthcare value chain who are looking for platforms to showcase and market their services to their target market. One of such platforms is the health and medical fairs; a place where entrepreneurs and organizations in the healthcare industry can attend to promote and market their goods and services.
So, if you are good at organizing events and you are interested in starting a business in the healthcare industry, then one of your options is to start organizing health and medical fairs. You can organize this event at a city level, state level, national level and international level.
The truth is that, if the medical fair is well organized, you will sure attract not just startups in the healthcare industry, but also major players in the healthcare industry.
42. MOBILE MEDICAL SCREENING.
If logistics are your thing and you have a mind for efficiency, consider starting a business that provides mobile medical testing that lets patients easily get a flu shot, an eyesight or hearing test, a blood sugar or cholesterol reading and other preventative tests, in their neighborhood or at their offices.
43. LACTATION CONSULTANT
These are professional breastfeeding specialists trained to teach mothers how to feed their baby. They help women experiencing breastfeeding problems, such as latching difficulties, painful nursing, and low milk production. A lactation consultant also helps babies who aren’t gaining enough weight.
As a trained nurse with experience in this field, you can become a lactation specialist. So if you can offer specialist assistance and work with women with both common and the more unusual breastfeeding concerns, you should venture into the business.
44. LIFE CARE PLANNER
Life care planners work for law firms, insurance companies, HMOs, governmental agencies and as entrepreneurs in independent practice.
They work for people who have catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, burns, and amputations. Life care planners may also work with people with chronic health conditions such as chronic pain and immune disorders.
To be a successful life care planner it is very helpful to be a healthcare professional such as a nurse, physical therapist, or occupational therapist.
It is also helpful to have a background in an area that relates to life care planning such as spinal cord injury or brain injury rehabilitation, pediatrics or home healthcare.
Start-up costs are low, healthcare professional can start a life care planning business for a couple of thousand dollars in addition to the cost of training. Life care planners in independent practice usually charge by the hour. Hourly rates range from about $80 – $400 per hour.
45. HERBAL MEDICINE RETAILING
Another easy to establish business to start in the healthcare industry is to start retailing herbal medicines. It is a thriving and profitable business to start and you may need a license to successfully retail herbal medicines.
As a result, if you are looking for a simple business to start in the healthcare sector, then one of the options available to you is to go into the retailing of herbal drugs. As a matter of fact in some quarters, people feel that herbal medicines are safer because they believe it is organic and it does not have any side effect.
46. FERTILITY BUSINESS
In recent times, it is common to find couples struggling to conceive due to one reason or the other. Fertility clinics are places where people who have challenges conceiving enroll for treatment. No doubt fertility clinics can be expensive, but people who truly want children usually would go all the way to foot the medical bills.
So, if you are looking for a business to start in the healthcare industry, a business that is thriving and profitable, then one of your options is to open a fertility clinic. The truth is that if on the average patients who pay for your services get what they are looking for; it will make it easier for you to attract more clients.
47. START HEALTH TALK SHOW ON RADIO
Another business in the healthcare sector that is similar to starting a health related program on television is to start a health related talk show on radio. It is a fact that radio enjoys more patronages than television and also it is cheaper to air a program on radio versus television.
So, if you are considering starting a simple business in the healthcare industry, then one of your options is to start a health talk show on radio. The truth is that if the program is well packaged, you wouldn’t find it difficult to secure lucrative sponsorship deals from corporate organizations and stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
48. RETAILING FIRST AID BOX
In some countries, it is mandatory for public buildings and offices to have first aid box stationed within the facility. First aid box is an essential item that must not only be in our offices, but also our homes simply because of its importance.
As a matter of fact, a first aid box has the potential to save lives during medical emergencies or accidents. Hence, if you are looking for a cool way to make bucks from the healthcare industry, one of your options is to go into the retailing of first aid boxes. This type of business is simple to start and it is profitable and thriving but you must go all out there to market it.
49. RUN A BLOOD BANK
Another thriving and profitable business that a nurse entrepreneur who is interested in starting a business in the healthcare sector should consider starting is to open a blood bank.
This is a place where bloods are retailed. It is important to state that this line of business is highly regulated and as a matter of fact in some country blood banks are only operated by government agencies; private establishment are not allowed to go into this type of business for obvious reasons.
So, if you are considering starting a blood bank, ensure that you make enquiry from the appropriate authority in your country to be sure that the business is open to private investors.
For you to start this business, it would be in your own best interest to do an exhaustive and thorough research. This is so that you can be well armed with all the necessary information that is needed.
50. CAREER ADVISOR
Another good business idea as a nurse is to give career advice to nurses and other healthcare providers who are just starting their careers.
Share with them what you have learned over the years. Teach them what you wished you knew when you first started out. They would be glad to pay you for these vital pieces of information.
In summary, to set out on your own as a Nurse Entrepreneur, some key skills to have include: creativity, business savvy, ability to find funding and identify a niche market, as well as a consistent customer base.
Your business could provide patient care, nursing education, home health or consulting, seek out business opportunities and funding, and use your experience in healthcare and business skills to build a relevant business.