12 Strategies for Treating Your Legal Nurse Consulting Business Like a Business, Not a Hobby – PLUS 4 Mistakes to Avoid

Owning a legal nurse consulting business affords you total freedom and flexibility in your life. But the freedom of owning your own business doesn’t mean a life without purpose, intention and structure. We asked 4 CLNC® Pros to address the importance of treating your CLNC business (even part time) like a business, not a hobby.

12 Strategies for Treating Your CLNC Business Like a Business, Not a Hobby

1. Define what success looks like to you as a CLNC consultant. Success can come in many forms such as self-fulfillment, financial prosperity, personal growth and much more. Once you establish what success looks like, you will want to develop a plan to lead to your success.
2. Establish a vision, mission and core values for your CLNC business. Your mission, vision, and core values should align with how you envision and achieve success. Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Shequita Moore, RN, MSN, LNFA, CLNC describes, “My vision is to be the premier industry leader, dedicated to those we serve through quality service, excellence, dedication and unmatched personal commitment. My mission is to improve healthcare outcomes and to provide premier services, while exceeding expectations. My core values include integrity, teamwork, quality, and commitment. I utilize my vision, mission and core values as a foundation for my CLNC business and all aspects of my daily work.”
3. Prepare a business plan, with emphasis on marketing. Prioritize the plan and act on it daily. Never turn down a case even if your plan is to work part time. You can always subcontract the case to a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, but once you tell the attorney you cannot accommodate a case, it is unlikely that attorney will call you back with another case. Set achievable short-term and long term goals and reward yourself when you meet the goals. This helps to create a sense of power in your CLNC business. Take daily steps toward completing your short-term goals. As you complete them, the long term goals will become closer to achievement.
4. Maintain a regular schedule. Whether your CLNC business is part time or full time, it’s important for attorney-clients to know they can depend upon a timely response to requests. Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Dorene Goldstein, RNC, BSN, CLNC advises, “Create a calendar at home and pencil in the time you will spend on your CLNC business. This way everyone knows this is your time.”
5. Be professional and passionate. Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Suzanne Arragg, RN, BSN, CDONA/LTC, CLNC advises, “Being professional and passionate applies to both your demeanor and work product.” Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, PHN, CLNC suggests, “Create yourself as a partner of the litigation team and you will be seen as value added to both the team and the cases being litigated. The result will be future business and referrals to new attorneys.”
6. Give your best at all times. Shequita Moore states, “I focus on giving my best from start to finish. This includes medical record review, case screening, report writing, attorney interaction and customer service. Before submitting a work product, I proofread it carefully to ensure it is organized in the best format. I also ensure that all avenues have been addressed and no stone is left unturned. I ensure that all information is factual and the attorney understands the good and the bad of the case.” It’s important to always stay objective. Remain up to date on medical and nursing standards. Your opinion is stronger when it’s based on the profession’s standards, not just your experience.
7. Dedicate the time required. Some cases require extensive analysis, research, and tedious tasks. A dedicated CLNC consultant will put in the required time to produce a quality work product. Be efficient, but place quality at the forefront. To produce a quality work product, a CLNC consultant must take time when reviewing medical records, performing case analysis, and completing additional tasks.
8. Stay in communication with the attorney throughout the case. It’s a mistake to communicate with only the paralegal or assistant and not directly with the attorney. This is a relationship business and you want to continue to grow the professional relationship with the attorney.
9. Acknowledge challenges and develop a plan to overcome them. There will be challenges as in any other business, but it’s important to acknowledge the challenges and overcome them. Utilize challenges as learning opportunities for improvement.
10. Track your billable time. It’s easy to forget to account for 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. Time equals money. Track your time diligently.
11. Seek advice from people who are successful. The CLNC mentors have been there and done it – that’s why they can guide you on your incredible journey – if you let them.
12. Always say “Thank you.” Maintaining a spirit of grace and gratitude propels your business forward. Never take advantage of, nor assume, your attorney-clients will remain loyal to you.

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Self-deprecating thoughts. Suzanne Arragg shares, “All too often, I listen to CLNC consultants belittle themselves by saying ‘I’m new,’ or ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ Well, you do. Remind yourself that your nursing education and experience has prepared you for communicating with the world.”
2. The “I don’t have time” attitude. You invested in your CLNC certification. You took the time to complete the course and study for the exam, now you must schedule the time to take one action step a day.
3. Not marketing consistently and not following through. It’s important to get exposure for your CLNC business and for attorneys to know who you are and what your business stands for. If you obtain the name of an attorney-prospect, it’s important to follow up and make a best first impression. Dale Barnes shares, “When I hear a new Certified Legal Nurse Consultant express frustration that cases are not coming in, I advise that patience is essential and attorney-client connections only come from persistence. Follow up, don’t drop the ball and don’t lose motivation if an attorney is not interested. This is a numbers game. If you give up, it’s easy to think you can’t be successful. You have to be relentless in your pursuit of attorney-clients.”
4. Not tapping into the CLNC mentors. Suzanne Arragg affirms, “We are here to chat about business ideas, thoughts and concerns, to discuss case challenges, possible resources, marketing hurdles and to review sample work products and marketing packages. The CLNC mentors have a variety of experiences to help build your CLNC business success.”

Special thanks to Suzanne Arragg, Dale Barnes, Dorene Goldstein and Shequita Moore for sharing strategies for treating your legal nurse consulting business like a business, not a hobby.

P.S. Comment and share your strategies for treating your CLNC business like a business, not a hobby.