This article is part of The State of Nurse Entrepreneurship 2026, a Nurse.org series based on our survey of 808 nurses, nursing students, and CNAs. Read the full report, and find the rest of the series at the end of this article. Editor’s note: This survey was conducted in partnership with GuardianMD, a physician-led company providing healthcare organizations with physician oversight and compliance infrastructure. Nurse.org retained full editorial control of the survey questions, analysis, and findings.
Nurses have the ideas, the clinical judgment, and, by their own account, the intent: of surveyed nurses asked about the next 12 months (everyone except those who had already said they had no interest in ownership), 58% say they’re somewhat likely (34%) or very likely (24%) to launch or expand. The barrier they name most often is the money to start. Asked to name their biggest challenges, surveyed nurses put startup capital first by a wide margin, and asked what support would help most, funding topped that list too.
The survey shows exactly where the gap sits. One RN with more than 20 years of experience described being very interested in a business, with startup capital as “the hindering factor.”
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We asked nurses to name their top three challenges in starting or running a business. Money led, with business know-how and time behind it (top-three picks, so percentages total more than 100):
| Challenge (top three) | Share of surveyed nurses |
|---|---|
| Lack of startup capital or funding | 51% |
| Not knowing how to structure or run a business | 38% |
| Lack of time while working full-time | 31% |
| Liability or malpractice insurance concerns | 27% |
| Confusion about regulations or scope of practice | 26% |
| Fear of putting my nursing license at risk | 25% |
Source: Nurse.org, The State of Nurse Entrepreneurship 2026. n = 808. Respondents chose up to three challenges; the complete list appears in the full report.
An RN with 11-20 years of experience called losing money “a big factor especially if you don’t have enough funds.”
Startup capital is the #1 challenge within every license group, named by roughly half of each: 53% of LPNs/LVNs, 52% of RNs, 51% of students and CNAs, and 48% of APRNs.
The survey points to two groups feeling the barrier differently:
- Nurses with no outside income feel it most (59%), compared with 45% of nurses already earning on the side (counting any current independent income).
- 42% of current business owners still name capital a top challenge. The barrier shrinks after launch, but it doesn’t disappear.
Asked which two types of support would most increase their likelihood of starting or growing a business, surveyed nurses put money first, then guidance (percentages total more than 100):
| Support wanted | Share of surveyed nurses |
|---|---|
| Access to startup funding or grants | 39% |
| Step-by-step compliance and regulatory guidance | 28% |
| Mentorship from other nurse entrepreneurs | 24% |
| Business education (marketing, finance, operations) | 22% |
| Legal structure and liability insurance guidance | 22% |
| Community or peer network of nurse business owners | 19% |
| A service that handles compliance and medical direction for me | 18% |
| Access to a medical director or physician collaborator | 13% |
| None: I prefer to figure it out on my own | 5% |
Source: Nurse.org, The State of Nurse Entrepreneurship 2026. n = 808. Respondents chose up to two.
“Sometimes we need all the help especially from mentors who are already killing it,” one RN with 2-5 years of experience wrote. Another RN with more than 20 years of experience called for “a strong nationwide organization for Nurse Entrepreneurs.”
The case for solving the funding gap is in the survey’s own data: the businesses nurses do manage to start tend to work. Among the 207 respondents who answered our business-owner questions:
- 39% of current nurse business owners say their business is consistently profitable
- 71% are profitable at least sometimes (39% consistently, 32% sometimes or seasonally)
- 51% have been operating for 3 or more years
“I love what I do, it has been the most difficult but enjoyable thing I’ve ever done,” an RN business owner with more than 20 years of experience wrote. “I wish there were more obtainable grants for us.”
There is no dedicated federal funding program for nurse-owned businesses, but several institutional routes exist, and most are free to explore:
- Small Business Administration (SBA) programs, including microloans of up to $50,000 for smaller startups and SBA-backed loans through participating lenders.
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), which offer free consulting, including help preparing funding applications; the SBA’s local assistance tool finds the nearest one by ZIP code.
- SCORE, the SBA’s volunteer mentor network, for free one-on-one guidance from experienced business owners.
- Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and credit unions, which often lend to first-time business owners banks turn away; the CDFI locator finds them by state.
- Grants through foundations and professional associations. Grant funding is competitive and specific, and eligibility varies, so verify requirements directly with the issuing organization.
Whatever the route, lenders and grant programs will typically ask for the same things: a business plan, projected costs, and a clear description of the service. That means the two biggest barriers in this survey, money (51%) and not knowing how to run a business (38%), share a first step: writing the plan that funders require. The free counseling above exists for exactly that.
More From The State of Nurse Entrepreneurship 2026
🤔 If a grant covered your startup costs tomorrow, what business would you launch? Share in the comments below.
About This Survey
Nurse.org surveyed its audience of nurses, nursing students, and certified nursing assistants between July 24 and August 31, 2026. We removed duplicate, automated, and otherwise invalid responses, along with respondents outside the United States. Findings are based on the 808 nurses, nursing students, and CNAs who completed the survey, out of 840 valid respondents. Respondents who provided a home zip code came from 49 states and Washington, DC. Respondents were self-selected from the Nurse.org audience, and findings describe surveyed nurses rather than all US nurses. Percentages are rounded. The survey was conducted in partnership with GuardianMD; Nurse.org retained full editorial control of the questions, analysis, and findings.
Nurse.org Original Research
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Published on
October 7, 2026
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