Considering LNC career

Sep 17, 2008 05:04 PM

by carolina1969

I have been a RN for 15 years. I have had home health and PCU experience. The past 10 years I have worked as a nurse case manager and got my CCM 3 yrs ago. I am seriously considering a career in LNC but I have a few reservations and questions.
1) How do I know there is a demand of LNC in my area? I live in SC
2) Can you really make as much money working as a LNC as working full time somewhere else? I was told the cases only take a very short time, so even if "technically" you get between $100 and $150 per hr, you still don't make that much b/c it doesn't take very long per case.
3)How do I know it's for me? What kind of personality does it require?
4)Is the Vickie Milazzo program really worth all the money???

I have worked from home for the past 5 yrs, so I can work (and prefer to work) without someone hovering over me, making sure I am doing my job. I am very detail-oriented and self-motivated. I do not want to have to work all the time, in other words, I don't want to be married to my job or have it interfere with my family. I am willing to put in a good 40 hr week but not a 60-80 hr week!

Any suggestions/thoughts/comments would be most appreciated!

RN1989 · Sep 17, 2008, 11:09 PM

Re: Considering LNC career

1) How do I know there is a demand of LNC in my area? I live in SC

There really is not a "demand" for this job - not like you are thinking of.

There are more attorneys that are hiring nurses to work in their lawfirms inhouse than there used to be. Inhouse jobs are not that easy to find, not like a clinical job, and they pay about as much as a hospital nurse, sometimes less/more.

Most LNCs are independent. For that, there really is no demand. You are responsible for creating the demand by marketing your services to attorneys. Your ability to have a job depends on your ability to provide a quality work product as well as sell your services. Attorneys don't know they need nurses or they don't think they need nurses. It is the LNCs job to educate the attorneys and convince them that they NEED to hire you.

2) Can you really make as much money working as a LNC as working full time somewhere else? I was told the cases only take a very short time, so even if "technically" you get between $100 and $150 per hr, you still don't make that much b/c it doesn't take very long per case.

If you get your client base going and continue to market, you can make full time living wages. It does not happen overnight. It often takes years to get to this level. There are various services that an LNC can provide - there is no guarantee of how long it will/will not take for each service provided to clients.

This is a business. To command top dollar you have to provide quality work that the attorney cannot get elsewhere. If you do not have business skills, you will likely make considerably less than those with a knack for running a business/negotiating/marketing, etc.

Most people who take LNC courses never do anything with it.

It costs much more today to start a business due to the advancements in technology. Clients expect much more from LNCs today than they did in the past and you must be able to meet and exceed the competition to stay in business. Most nurses do not understand basic business principles and have a very difficult time opening, much less running a business. The work is much harder. You will not be able to keep banker's hours when you are the boss. Marketing is extremely difficult for most nurses. Attorneys do not drag you into their office and ask when you can start like a hospital nurse recruiter will do.

3)How do I know it's for me? What kind of personality does it require?

Do you enjoy learning new things? Working at a desk all day with little to no outside contact some days? Do you enjoy being detail oriented and nitpicking things while still seeing the big picture and not getting sidetracked by inconsequential things? Do you enjoy being your own boss and working with business plans, marketing strategies, and selling your services?

This is not a job for someone just desperate to leave another job. And to be independent - you must at least be able to tolerate the business aspects and all the responsibility that goes with running a business.

4)Is the Vickie Milazzo program really worth all the money???

I believe Vickie's course is fantastic. I have had many LNCs contact me with questions that they did not get answered by taking other courses. Vickie teaches you step-by-step how to be an LNC, how to market and obtain clients, how to keep clients, and how to go about finding the resources to set up a business. Many of the other courses leave out much of what she provides. I have acquired course materials from other sources - they do not compare to what Vickie offers.

I have worked from home for the past 5 yrs, so I can work (and prefer to work) without someone hovering over me, making sure I am doing my job. I am very detail-oriented and self-motivated. I do not want to have to work all the time, in other words, I don't want to be married to my job or have it interfere with my family. I am willing to put in a good 40 hr week but not a 60-80 hr week!

When you are the boss, you will spend more time at work than if you were an employee. You will be responsible for doing the work as well as keeping the business running. You will have to market continuously to ensure that you get repeat and new business. You will have to put your clients first to keep that business. There is no guarantee that you will be able to say "40 hours and no more" - particularly while you are still building your business. The work may come in spurts - like working for an agency. If you don't agree to take the cases - your clients will go to someone who will.

You can try to find an inhouse job that will let you have your banker's hours. But running your own successful business to make enough money to live on - that will require much more of your time than being someone's employee that happens to work from home.

I recommend that nurses first go to the Small Business Association website and review their tests that help you decide if being in business for yourself is for you. They also have online/in person seminars to help you learn the ins and outs of being in business. If you think you can hack the business end, then decide if you want to be an LNC.

**sirI** · Sep 18, 2008, 06:21 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

Originally Posted by carolina1969

I have been a RN for 15 years. I have had home health and PCU experience. The past 10 years I have worked as a nurse case manager and got my CCM 3 yrs ago. I am seriously considering a career in LNC but I have a few reservations and questions.
1) How do I know there is a demand of LNC in my area? I live in SC
2) Can you really make as much money working as a LNC as working full time somewhere else? I was told the cases only take a very short time, so even if "technically" you get between $100 and $150 per hr, you still don't make that much b/c it doesn't take very long per case.
3)How do I know it's for me? What kind of personality does it require?
4)Is the Vickie Milazzo program really worth all the money???

I have worked from home for the past 5 yrs, so I can work (and prefer to work) without someone hovering over me, making sure I am doing my job. I am very detail-oriented and self-motivated. I do not want to have to work all the time, in other words, I don't want to be married to my job or have it interfere with my family. I am willing to put in a good 40 hr week but not a 60-80 hr week!

Any suggestions/thoughts/comments would be most appreciated!

Hello and

to allnurses.com and the Legal Nursing forum!!

Good to have you with us. And, good to read of your interest in the LNC career.

RN1989 has given you great advice (as usual - thanks, RN1989).

Looks as if you have excellent RN experience that will serve you well in this career.

Since you are researching LNC education, check out the AALNC online course: LNC Education - AALNC Legal Nurse Consulting Online Course

There are other entities out there, too.

If you have other questions/concerns, please post here. Good luck with your decisions.

And, we hope you enjoy allnurses.com!!

KLKRN · Sep 18, 2008, 07:53 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

I don't know that I can add much to what RN1989 and SirI have said, but do consider that as RN1989 said, this is not just something you dabble in to make money. You have to put yourself into it 100% if you want to be successful. Starting any business is going to take a lot more effort than working for someone else.

Good luck in your decisions.

lecavalier4 · Sep 18, 2008, 11:22 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

RN1989, sirI, and KLKRN has pretty much said it all, but I would like to add that I just received my CLNC certificate last month - I went through Vickie Milazzo - it is tough. I didn't know anything about running a business (slowly learning). I have marketed to only 5 attorneys so far and have not received any cases.

But I do know, from listening (well, reading) advice from these wonderful and very informative LNC's on this forum (you know who you are!!!!

) that I will not give up

. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately depending on the job) I am looking for a job to save more money right now. It is very costly to start your own business and the marketing is costly. But, as Vickie Milazzo says, "do not give up!!!" I will be doing my CLNC work part-time for awhile.

The Vickie Milazzo course is very informative. It is well worth the money you have to pay for it. She also gives a second marketing conference after the initial conference for those who pass the test. That is well worth it because most of this career is marketing. Once you have a client, you still have to market to them to keep them.

I wish you good luck and I highly recommend the Vickie Milazzo Institute (she does offer a loan to pay for it if you don't have the money to - that's what I did). Remember, if you do go this path, don't give up!!!!

KLKRN · Sep 18, 2008, 11:09 PM

Re: Considering LNC career

I think it is important to understand that you should have an alternate source of income to stay afloat while you are gearing up your business. You don't walk out of the hospital one day as a nurse with a job and walk into your home office the next and start making money.

I have done little marketing so far because I want to have a good product to market. I want to feel at least 95% confident when I walk into an attorney's office, that I have something genuine to offer him or her.

lecavalier4 · Sep 19, 2008, 09:03 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

Originally Posted by KLKRN

I have done little marketing so far because I want to have a good product to market. I want to feel at least 95% confident when I walk into an attorney's office, that I have something genuine to offer him or her.

Me too KLKRN!! That's why I'm getting a 'job' to support my 'career'

!!!! I need excellent marketing packets, but they are very costly

! And I figure if I work evening shift, I can still market to attorneys in the 'day' shift - ha ha!

RN1989 · Sep 19, 2008, 10:36 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

Amen to all that! This is not a get rich quick scheme. It gets disheartening some days to see yourself putting out money and not getting it back in.

KLKRN · Sep 19, 2008, 11:14 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

But it is something we can succeed in if we put in the effort. We do have good evidence of that!

RN1989 · Sep 19, 2008, 11:27 AM

Re: Considering LNC career

Effort is definitely the key!
I think nurses get complacent because we are usually in demand and have people practically throwing jobs at us. Getting into this specialty means we actually have to do more than fill out an application or turn in a resume.

It helps to have a good support system with another LNC, or 2,3..... to help keep you on track on the days you are frustrated with the process of starting and maintaining an LNC business.

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Considering LNC career

Considering LNC career

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