Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Candice Robertson, Co-Owner of The NP Xperience, located in Old Bridge, NJ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

The NP Xperience is a nurse practitioner-operated primary care office in Old Bridge, NJ. We are seeing patients 12 and up via telehealth, and our doors will be opening soon! Our approach to primary care is prevention first. We definitely address the immediate problems our patients face coming in the door with conventional methods while focusing on the root cause of their problem through a functional medicine lens.

Once our doors open, we will offer an IV therapy component to our model as well, which will allow us to help our patients improve their health and feel better faster. We accept Aetna, United Healthcare, and Multiplan at this time, and we are in the process of getting credentialed for several other major health insurance plans. Some of our services are cash only, so definitely visit the website or give us a call.

Tell us about yourself

I come from a family of nurses and doctors, especially on my mother's side, but they incorporated herbs and holistic medicine quite often because that was readily available in the backyard or the land in Haiti. I saw my grandmother help others through herbal and natural remedies as well as my mother helping others as a geriatric wound care nurse.

Growing up, I was on board with some of the holistic stuff, but not all. My mother told me I was a product of juicing and eating clean. My mother and father tried for years to have a child and were unsuccessful until she started changing what they ate and going back to nature. I ended up following in my mother's footsteps by becoming a nurse, but I discovered more opportunities to help others in a nurse practitioner role.

I had encouraged natural remedies and methods within care plans for my patients earlier in my career, but even more so when I became aware of the functional health school of thought. These things are not taught in school, you have to seek this information out on your own. Now people are asking more questions and wanting more from their providers, and that's what The NP Xperience is designed to do… answer our patients' questions holistically.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I am one of the few nurse practitioner owned primary care offices in the state of New Jersey. I know there are a couple who have paved the way and that continue to work on legislation to help nurse practitioners practice under their full scope. I hope I can be one of those beacons as well. I am happy to be a part of making healthcare accessible and affordable to all, especially with the decline in primary care doctors. Nurse practitioners need to be there to bridge that gap in healthcare.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Wearing multiple hats. Every part of owning a business is challenging, but the transition from being someone's employee in an office or urgent care to entrepreneur/owner would have to be it. There are so many ideas that come to mind as an entrepreneur, but you have to hone in on what is important now for the stage the business is in at the time. There is so much I continue to learn in my new roles, which is exciting, challenging, and rewarding. I get to set the expectations for my employees and show my patients what primary care means to me at The NP Xperience.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do your research! Does your state need you to have a collaborative physician? If you are taking insurance, you may still need one to gain access to more insurance plans. Is it better to be cash-based? Only you can answer that for yourself.
  2. Surround yourself with folks who support your goal to be a business owner.
  3. Know what you know and acknowledge what you don't know. You'll be wearing many hats at first, but that's ok, and you may need to delegate some responsibilities to others, like bookkeeping, credentialing, etc., but always keep learning new information.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thenpxperience.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenpxperience/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenpxperience/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-robertson-836a3046/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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