08/27/2026
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." -Dolly Parton
Like so many, the NNBA team was saddened to hear about the passing of the Queen of rhinestones and Tennessee Icon, Dolly Parton.
Dolly leaves behind an incredible legacy, not only through her music, but through her generosity, her business ventures, and the way she seemed to live her life completely and unapologetically as herself!
And while she gave us plenty of words to live by over the years, there's one piece of advice that feels especially fitting for nurse entrepreneurs.
Find out who you are and do it on purpose.
As nurses, we were called to care for people. To advocate. To problem solve. To notice what isn't working and do something about it. But for those of us in the NNBA, that calling didn't stop at the bedside.
We also felt called to disturb the normal.
To ask, Why does it have to be done this way?
To take the knowledge, experience, and skills we gained through nursing and build something new with them. Whether that's a consulting business, a product or service, a practice, an education company, or a completely different career we may not have even known existed when we first became nurses.
THAT'S what nurse entrepreneurship is. You don't have to stop being a nurse to become an entrepreneur. In many ways, entrepreneurship is simply another way of using what nursing taught you.
So if you've been questioning your next step, comparing your business to someone else's, or wondering whether you're really qualified to do the thing you feel called to do, maybe Dolly's words are the reminder you need today.
Find out who you are. Then do it on purpose.
