From Caregiver to CEO: The Mindset Shift Nurses Don’t Talk About

In this episode of Empower Her Entrepreneur, host Janis Boudreau shares how footcare nurses can shift from overwhelmed caregivers to confident business leaders.

Learn how to reframe limiting beliefs, build systems that prevent burnout, and gain confidence in marketing and money management.

Perfect for nurses ready to grow their footcare business, lead with clarity and courage, and create a sustainable practice that supports you too.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:35

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Empower Her Entrepreneur Podcast. And I'm your host, Janice Bujo, and I'm so excited you're here with me today. So this show is all about empowering women in healthcare, especially my fellow footcare nurses, to stepping into entrepreneurship with confidence, clarity, and courage. I know many of you listening are already making such a difference in the lives of your clients, but I also know that running a business can sometimes feel overwhelming, very much draining, and even really lonely. So today we're going to talk about how you can step into the leadership and build a business that cares for you too, not just for your clients. Did you know that when I first started my journey from nurse to business owner, I'll be quite honest, I was terrified. I had no idea what I was doing, what was possible, what I had to do. I felt very lost. And as nurses, we're trying to put everyone else first. We're totally natural caregivers. But when you run a business, you also have to step up into a total leadership role. While I had spent 20, 20 years essentially being, I was a community, um, like community health care, home care. I was actually a manager of about um 40 health care practitioners. So I knew what it was like to be a um boss, if you will. But when it's your own company and you're stepping into that leadership role, it is just so completely different. So it doesn't mean you stop caring, it just means you start leading with vision. So it's just a totally different feeling. A lot of us may have been managers in hospitals, as I said, me community care. It's just a different way of approach. So leadership is not about control, it's about guiding your business with intention. So here's what I've learned: the biggest barrier to success isn't always money or time, it's completely your mindset. So many of you nurses tell me, I'm not a business person. Oh, I hate this. I'm just a nurse. But let me tell you this: you are so much more. You already have the skills, assessment, planning, intervention, and freaking evaluation. Those are the same tools you need in business. If you want, if you I want you to try something with me right now, grab a pen if you can, or just pause and think. If you're listening to this in your car, maybe pull over, write down one limiting belief you have about yourself as a foot care business owner. Maybe it's I'm not good with money. Maybe it's I'm not a leader. Now reframe it. Instead of I'm not good with money, right? I'm learning to manage my business finances with confidence. Instead of I'm not a leader, right? I lead with compassion and clarity. That's the mindset shift that's going to change everything. If you've got that mindset in place, you've got to say to yourself, but how am I going to get there? You're going to have to search out mentorship, resources, education, workshops, webinars. You're going to do everything you can. You're going to put all the stops, you're going to find all the information you need to be successful with your business finances. The answer isn't, I don't know. It's not, I've never covered that before. Learn it. Grab a YouTube video. My heavens. There's also a lot of resources out there. I'm just going to speak about finances, um, where you're learning to do QuickBooks right off the bat. Um, make friends with a fellow foot care nurse who is in a business maybe three, four steps ahead of you. So these are all things, once you get your mindset shift, now you're working about the productivity of it. Okay, building a business that cares for you too. What does this mean? Here's the truth: your business should not drain you, it should sustain you. I'm seeing too many nurse entrepreneurs end up exhausted doing everything themselves. And before long, they feel burned out, resentful, and even they're you guys start questioning why you even started. And I've totally been there. And I want to share this. The key is systems and boundaries. Think of your business like you would think of a client. Well, you wouldn't expect a client to heal overnight without a plan, right? I hope not. You'd assess, plan, intervene, evaluate, and you know what? Re-evaluate. Your business is the same. Assess what's working. Then get another column, what's not. And then what's the plan? What systems can you create to save time? You need to intervene, delegate, automate, set clear boundaries with clients, and evaluate. Check in regularly to see what needs adjusting. There are so many things in our business that are going well absolutely all the time. But let's take a look at the column of things that, you know, when you just like your throat feels like it's even closing up, you don't even want to deal with it, you procrastinate. It's often often the things we leave to last to the end of the day, or it just makes you cringe. Those are the things, okay. If you're not gonna learn something new, if it's absolutely not something that you can do, you're going to pass it off. This might be outsourcing, this might be someone else doing it, this might be hiring. So one of the hardest things for nurses is learning to say no. But boundaries are not about shutting people out, they're about protecting your energy so you can serve at your best. And here's the beautiful thing, ladies. When your business supports you, you're actually serving your clients better because you're not running unempty, you're leading from a full cup. In business, okay, another portion. Marketing and money confidence. Let's talk about the two things that often make nurses squirm: marketing and money. First, marketing. So many nurses tell me I don't know how to sell myself, but marketing is not about selling, it's about storytelling. You already do this every day when you explain care plans to patients. How many times are we constantly giving examples about maybe past people we took care of or people in our own lives to be able to educate them? So if you can explain how you heal feet, you can explain how your business like heals lives, share stories, share why you started, share the difference you've seen in your clients' lives. That's marketing, and it comes straight from the heart. You don't need to make it difficult. Now money. I know this one is tough. Uh so many of us nurses undercharge because they feel guilty about asking for what they're worth. But here's the truth: charging your worth is an act of service. When you're paid fairly, you can reinvest in your business, provide better care, and create sustainability. Make sure you are constantly um looking at that. What I do is we in my company, we put it on a yearly audit list and we look for five similar providers in whatever area we're looking to evaluate the prices. And we make sure, for us, we are all about affordability and inclusivity. So I'm not the highest and I'm not the lowest. Just like with everything we do, we're right in the middle. Um, we are definitely there for getting a little bit more quantity because we're we're in that middle rate. But if you're struggling, start small. Ask yourself, what would I charge if I fully believed in the value I bring? And then you know what? Take one step closer to that number. Remember, you're not just providing foot care, you're giving people their mobility, their independence, their dignity, and that is priceless. Okay, so let's recap a bit on today's quick episode. We talked about the mindset shift from nurses to entrepreneur, the importance of building a business that cares for you too, and finding confidence in marketing and money. My encouragement for you today, everyone, is this you're not just a nurse, you are a leader, a business owner, and a change maker. The world needs your skills, your compassion, and absolutely your courage. So if today's episode spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it with another nurse entrepreneur who needs encouragement. And if you're ready to dive deeper, definitely connect with me through our community and I can help to get you some courses, webinars that may help. We have a lot of downloaded um files that can help with your business, whether it be forms, whether there's even a really great one about how to price it your business. So, until next time, though, keep stepping forward with confidence. Enjoy your day, everyone.