Sixteen years ago, registered nurse Vicki Colburn began to worry about her future. I have a talent for boiling down and explaining complicated material so anyone can understand it. Almost immediately she had more work than she could handle, so she farmed out assignments to other nurses and launched RN Experts, a Miami-based consulting group of healthcare professionals. But for many nurses, it's difficult to get away from the bedside and think out of the box when it comes to making money.
Consultants can make a lot of it.
But you must understand that you may no longer earn a salary. A lot of people don't appreciate how difficult it is to put yourself out there, present yourself to clients and get them to sign a contract. You may excel in your area of expertise but not be able to sell a consulting project. Consulting is very much a sales job. As a consultant, you may help hospitals tackle risk-management problems, solve tough organizational issues or offer advice on healthcare costs.