The nurse entrepreneur: empowerment needs, challenges, and self-care practices

Figures & data

Table 1 Participant demographics (N=44)

Characteristic	n	%
Gender
Female	41	93.2
Male	3	6.8
Race/ethnicity
Asian or Asian-American, including Chinese, Japanese, and others	2	4.5
Black or African-American	6	13.6
Hispanic or Latino, including Mexican, American, Central	1	2.3
American, and others
White, Caucasian, Anglo, European American; not Hispanic	35	79.5
Board certified
Yes	28	63.6
No	16	36.4
Employment
Work only in business	25	56.8
Part-time job plus business	12	27.3
Full-time job plus business	6	13.6
More than one job plus business	1	2.3

Table 2 Mindful Self-care Scale – Short: domain-averaged scores

Domain	Mean	SD	Min.	Max.
Supportive Relationships	4.34	0.75	1.80	5.00
Mindful Awareness	4.26	0.77	2.25	5.00
Self-compassion/Purpose	4.19	0.67	2.50	5.00
Mindful Relaxation	3.89	0.71	2.00	5.00
Supportive Structure	3.83	0.91	1.00	5.00
Physical Care	3.40	0.74	1.75	4.75

Note: Higher score indicates greater level of self-care practice.

Abbreviations: Min, minumum; Max, maximum.

Table 3 Critical motivators to pursue entrepreneurship and factors critical to business success

Factor	Frequency, %
Motivators
Personal meaning/fulfillment	90.9
Ability to make own decisions	77.3
Need for growth	77.3
Having an impact	75.0
Great idea for a product or service	61.4
Flexibility	54.5
Control over time	50.0
Better work/life balance	47.7
Lack of advancement	31.8
Being the boss	29.5
Can choose coworkers	20.5
Financial gain	18.2
Business success factors
Marketing strategy	61.4
Network development	47.7
Mentorship	47.7
Finance and business skills	43.2
Sales	43.2
Clinical or specialty knowledge	40.9
Product or service development	40.9
Identification of a market niche	34.1
Social media strategy	31.8
Design or creative skills	31.8
Legal knowledge	27.3
Data management	25.0
Funding	22.7

Note: Frequencies indicate percentage of respondents listing factors as critical to their motivation or contributing to their business success.

Table 4 Primary challenges to work/life balance for nurse entrepreneurs

Factor	Always challenging, %
Juggling multiple business roles	47.7
Time management/scheduling	38.6
Balancing family vs business needs	34.1
Helping others vs helping myself	34.1
Maintaining physical well-being	31.8
Working in a job plus the business	22.7
Isolation	22.7
Financial burden	20.5
Having to make all decisions	18.2
Confidence in business abilities	13.6

Table 5 Open-ended responses related to structural and psychological empowerment

Theme	Example responses
Structural empowerment (resources, advancement, information, power)	“I got tired of waiting for someone to give me a job to practice… the way I knew it needed to be done” “started blogging … to cope with the bullying I received on the floor” “[my] firm lacked depth to create recommendations … believed I could create a company that could” “they changed operating model and reduced salary” “was told even with profit sharing I had maxed up on my income” “my employer made five times what I made” “not willing to pay me what I felt I was worth” “was told I made enough money for a ‘nurse’” “left clinical care … and pursued further education” “frustrations about the dysfunction and limits of our healthcare system” “got laid off 3 times in 5 years” “was told … that I had too much experience for a … position”
Psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, impact)	“my values were not in alignment with the organization I was working in” “when I was not able to take a vacation when I wanted to, that was a pivotal point in my nursing career” “working within the confines of the hospital was a challenge … being an entrepreneur allows me to expand into areas that interest me” “the ability to follow my personal inspiration” “the number of people my work has touched” “felt called to do something that was better” “I am in charge of my future” “providing opportunities to others” “[success is] … being viewed as an expert” “feeding my nursing soul” “personal satisfaction” “recognition as an authority” “make a difference within the healthcare industry” “I am able to set my own schedule, complete work as I see fit, and take time off when I need to”

Table 6 Correlations: mindful self-care practices and work/life balance challenges

Work/life balance challenge	MSCS total	Physical Care	Social Support	Mindful Awareness	Structure	Relaxation	Self-compassion
Others vs myself	−0.219	−0.202	−0.243	−0.180	−0.448**	−0.188	−0.199
Family vs business	−0.102	−0.086	0.032	−0.208	−0.466**	−0.119	−0.147
Isolation	−0.138	0.224	−0.486**	−0.105	−0.092	−0.251	−0.150
Working plus business	−0.022	0.201	−0.107	−0.070	−0.269	−0.077	−0.131
Physical well-being	−0.156	−0.039	0.181	−0.054	−0.345*	−0.215	−0.196
Time management	−0.109	−0.068	−0.110	0.085	−0.498**	0.017	−0.188
Juggling multiple roles	−0.168	0.076	−0.145	−0.095	−0.340*	−0.348*	−0.260
Decision making	−0.074	0.186	−0.390*	−0.186	−0.121	−0.011	−0.155
Confidence	0.124	0.175	−0.332*	0.050	−0.141	0.127	0.028
Financial burden	−0.170	0.051	−0.369*	−0.170	−0.310*	−0.186	−0.251

Note:

* p<0.05,

** p<0.01.

Abbreviation: MSCS, Mindful Self-Care Scale.