Vickie Shares Her Entrepreneurial Success Secrets with
BizRadio Network Audience
On August 16, 2005, Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD was the featured guest on The Art of Doing Business program on BizRadio Network. Vickie shared the secrets that made her the pioneer of legal nurse consulting and that continue to help thousands of women rediscover their passion for their lives and careers as Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantsCM.
The Art of Doing Business is hosted by Dayna Steele, nominated as Radio Personality of the Year by Billboard magazine and named one of Talkers Magazine's 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts. Dayna called Vickie "an amazing woman...who makes me want to go train with her and start a whole new job."
When Dayna asked Vickie how she created her successful consulting and training business, making good money with a flexible schedule, Vickie responded, "I managed it with great discipline and by staying focused on the big things." She went on to reveal the 5 Promises she has made daily for more than two decades:
Promise 1 I will live a passionate life.
Promise 2 I will go for it or reject it outright.
Promise 3 I will take one action step a day toward my passionate vision.
Promise 4 I commit to being a success student for life.
Promise 5 I believe I really can do anything.
Vickie told her radio audience Promise 1, I will live a passionate life, is "about waking up every day to not just a life that we love but a career that we love. So often people are focused on TGIF – 'Thank God It's Friday.' Whether I'm at work or whether I'm out playing, I say, 'Thank God It's Today.' "
Vickie's second promise, I will go for it or reject it outright, is about not waiting for all conditions in your life to be perfect before you embark on a new career or a life change. She commented, "It's perfectly okay to say, 'This is not right for me,' and reject it outright. The key is to not hold back when we know something is right for us. We have to go for it."
The third promise, I will take one action step a day toward my passionate vision, is about taking real action to back up your passion and vision for your goals. "Success is in the motion...that's where it happens," said Vickie.
When Dayna asked about the fourth promise, I commit to being a success student for life, Vickie explained, "Entrepreneurship requires enormous agility and enterprising skills. The only way you can continue to be agile and enterprising is to learn and grow. There are so many wonderful mentors out there to learn from...writers, speakers, other entrepreneurs. We should be learning from as many people as we can."
Vickie cited the fifth promise as her favorite. I believe I really can do anything is "all about believing that you can do what you see. Each one of us has a success that we can look to. For me, it was working with patients in the hospital and making split-second decisions that saved lives. When I saw that I could do that, I knew I could do anything and that has definitely helped me. We all have to work on that promise every day."
In closing, Dayna asked, "When you've spent years and years doing one kind of job, what's the first step you should take to accomplish your goal of becoming an entrepreneur?" Vickie offered this advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: "The very first step is to sit back and listen to whether there's a passion that can go with the expertise you've learned.... Then you have to envision that passion into an entrepreneurial job and do the necessary research and study to turn it into a reality. Don't let fear get in the way of something big."
See Vickie's 5 Promises from her forthcoming book, Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now. (Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., March 2006.)
Vickie Milazzo Institute invites you to join us in supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Breast cancer has touched my family and my staff's families. I know it has touched many of you, too. To support the work of the foundation, the Institute serves as a Gold Sponsor of the 15th annual Houston 2005 Race for the Cure®. Our staff, friends and families will help raise money by participating in the walk on Saturday, October 1, 2005.
If you would like to participate in the walk, you can sign up at www.Komen-Houston.org. Be sure to visit our display in the sponsor exhibit area.
Help us in our mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease and the leading cause of death among women between the ages of 40 and 59. If you wish to make a contribution, the Institute will match every dollar you donate. Make your check payable to Komen Houston Race for the Cure® and mail it to us at Vickie Milazzo Institute, 5615 Kirby Drive, Suite 425, Houston, Texas 77005-2448. We'll add our matching contribution to yours and forward the total to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
CLNC®s Supporting the Cure,
Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
In honor of CLNC®s, Vickie Milazzo Institute serves as a 2005 Gold Sponsor of the Komen Houston Race for the Cure®.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Institute supports the cure for breast cancer all year long. Visit the NACLNC® Community's extensive list of recommended authoritative nursing and medical textbooks. All commissions from the sale of books in that section are donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The DO's and DON'Ts of Sensational Subcontracting by Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
Many CLNC®s try to do everything themselves because they feel no one can provide their services the way they do. That's what I thought when I first started my consulting practice and it's true. However, I quickly learned that if I hire the right subcontractor, that person might do some things better. I wouldn't be where I am today without the many CLNC®s who bring their unique expertise to my business.
Stick to the tips below and you'll build a network of CLNC® subcontractors who will help you offer a wider range of expertise to your clients. This is the smart way to increase your client list, your caseload and your annual revenue.
"On average, a nurse working at a hospital makes $40,000 annually, according to the American Nursing Association, while legal nurse consultants can make $200,000 a year or more if they consult full time....$400,000 a year for an established legal nurse consulting firm is not unheard of."
– L.A. Daily Journal
There is only one way a CLNC® can possibly earn $400,000 a year: by leveraging time through other CLNC®s.
Be a DOer and DO Make Your CLNC® Practice Prosper
DO hire only CLNC® subcontractors. This will save you time and heartache in the long run. Through the NACLNC® Community, you'll find plenty of qualified CLNC®s who can help you manage your cases. Working only with other CLNC®s is the key to sensational subcontracting and the strongest method for building your CLNC® practice.
DO hire CLNC® subcontractors who live outside your geographical area. This will help to avoid any competitive attitude between you and your subcontractors.
DO look for CLNC® subcontractors who have three to five years of experience in their nursing specialty. This assures you're subcontracting with a true expert on the issues.
DO require all subcontractors to produce some sample work product before you hire them. Assess the samples to be sure all work product is consistent and represents the same level of quality you provide to your attorney-clients.
DO sign a formal contract with each subcontractor, and do include a fair non-competition clause. Use the recommended CLNC® subcontractor contract from Vickie Milazzo Institute.
DO have each CLNC® subcontractor fill out a W-9 form at the time they sign their contract. Don't pay their invoice until you receive a completed form. You can download a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification form and instructions from www.IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.
DO communicate your expectations and budget for the assignment clearly. Every attorney-client is different and there's more than one right way to design the report. Clear communication helps to ensure that each attorney-client receives a personalized work product that meets her needs.
DO put each new subcontractor to the test. Start with small tasks and advance to more complex projects.
DO be sure to review the work prepared for your clients by your subcontractors (especially beginners) before submitting it. Always allow time to carefully check and edit your subcontractors' work. Share your changes so the subcontractor can learn to model your best practices.
DO pay your CLNC® subcontractors 50% of your billing rate. The attorney will be invoiced at your hourly rate. It is not necessary to indicate to the attorney the number of hours you worked vs. the hours your subcontractor worked.
DO treat each CLNC® subcontractor as an individual. Focus on and use their strengths to supplement your own strengths. One CLNC® may write great personal injury chronologies, but is weak at analyzing medical malpractice cases. Likewise, the CLNC® subcontractor who is masterful at analyzing malpractice cases may be easily bored by personal injury summaries.
DON'T Court Disaster with These Dubious Strategies
DON'T hire subcontractors who are not Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantsCM. CLNC®s tell me when they make this mistake they spend a lot of their valuable billable hours training someone who is not qualified to do the job.
DON'T become dependent on just one or two subcontractors. Continue to expand your CLNC® subcontractor network. This frees you to meet tight deadlines or to let go of someone who is not the right match for you.
DON'T forget liability. Require all your subcontractors to carry their own liability insurance.
DON'T cut your deadlines too close. Get your work from the CLNC® subcontractor as far in advance of the due date as possible.
DON'T procrastinate in paying your CLNC® subcontractors. Pay them within 30 days of their invoice date to encourage loyalty and enthusiasm for future projects.
DON'T expect to create more than a $150,000.00 annual income without subcontractors. Time and brain power are your two major assets. You can't control time and can only work so many hours a day no matter how energetic you are. You have to leverage time with CLNC® subcontractors.
Follow these DO's, avoid the DON'Ts and you will master the art of sensational subcontracting. Put your career dreams into ACTION with the support of CLNC® subcontractors and you'll see sensational results.
Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is the founder and president of Vickie Milazzo Institute. She is credited by The New York Times with creating the legal nurse consulting profession in 1982. Inc. named her to the 2004 Top Ten Entrepreneur list. She is the recipient of the Nursing Excellence Award for Advancing the Profession and the Stevie Award (business's Oscar®) as Mentor of the Year. Vickie has revolutionized the careers of thousands of RNs. She is the author ofInside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now.(Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., March 2006.)
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