In this week's episode, Cara is joined by Dr. Viola Pierce to discuss her inspiring entrepreneurial journey and the unique challenges and opportunities in building businesses for nurses. Viola opens up about how she found her true focus after several attempts, emphasizing the power of resilience and the importance of community support in overcoming skepticism. Cara shares her passion behind creating a specialized networking platform that connects nurses with meaningful resources and like-minded peers. Together, they explore the value of knowing your strengths and building a complementary team, as well as how coaching can dramatically accelerate business growth by guiding entrepreneurs toward smarter strategies. They also dive into the exciting role technology and AI play in streamlining operations and boosting engagement.
Dr. Viola Pierce is a Doctor of Nursing Practice, international speaker, and nurse business coach with over 30 years in healthcare and a Master’s in Executive Healthcare Leadership. She helps nurses leave burnout behind and step into the role of CEO, scaling coaching, consulting, and service-based businesses that create both income and impact. As the founder of VP Nursing and host of the Millionaire Nurse CEO podcast, she has guided hundreds of nurses to launch high ticket offers, secure consulting contracts, and build wealth without trading time for money, all while transforming healthcare from the outside in. Featured on major outlets such as Angela Yee, AP News, FOX, CBS, and Yahoo, Dr. V speaks worldwide on healthcare innovation, nurse entrepreneurship, and financial independence.
Key Takeaways
- 00:06:25 - Viola Pierce shares her entrepreneurial journey, highlighting how she transitioned from multiple business attempts to focusing on teaching nurses how to build successful businesses, emphasizing the importance of choosing one clear focus.
- 00:12:08 - The significance of resilience and community support is discussed, illustrating how sharing ideas openly—even when faced with skepticism—can lead to breakthroughs and success in business.
- 00:22:14 - Cara Lunsford describes the motivation behind creating a specialized networking platform for nurses, underscoring the importance of solving real problems from a place of passion and connecting with the right community.
- 00:31:04 - Viola Pierce explains the value of understanding personal strengths and weaknesses in business, advocating for hiring team members who complement your skills to build a balanced and effective company.
- 00:39:19 - The role of coaching in accelerating business growth is emphasized, with Viola noting how coaching shortens the path to success by helping entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes and focus on impactful strategies.
- 00:43:24 - The integration of technology and AI in business operations is highlighted as essential for efficiency and growth, with a focus on using systems and tools to improve marketing, sales, and customer engagement.
Episode Transcript
Cara Lunsford, RN (00:09.388)
Dr. Viola Pierce, how are you?
Dr. Viola Pierce (00:09.807)
Hey!
You're all kinds of trouble today.
Cara Lunsford, RN (00:17.644)
Well, I, you know, I'm all kinds of crunchy granola. So I say all the time, I'm like, is it Mercury in retrograde? Did no one tell me that like something's rotating the wrong way on its axis or around the, around the earth in some way? I don't know. But I know it's a full moon.
Dr. Viola Pierce (00:42.349)
Hmm. Yep. That can do a lot right there. At least in the ER it used to do a lot. I was dreadful trying to go into the emergency department at that time. was like, I'm good.
Cara Lunsford, RN (00:52.654)
Yeah, you know, you know, when it's a full moon, people always say, nurses are superstitious. I'm like, no, it brings out some people.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:05.743)
Right. Some people who are crazy. But anyway, it is.
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:11.906)
Some people who are, yeah, a little, little off, a little off. So apparently my computer falls into that category. but I, Dr. Viola Pierce, I am so happy to have you on this podcast.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:28.271)
I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy to be here.
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:32.843)
it's you know, we connected at the NurseBoss Summit. You are a kick ass woman.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:37.433)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:42.831)
Well, you are too.
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:45.068)
Well, thank you. Thanks. Well, two two kick ass women here together on a podcast.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:53.529)
Ha!
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:55.522)
We're doing the snaps for those of you who can't see us. We're doing the snaps. All about it. All about it. So V, let's introduce you to this incredible audience. For people who don't have the pleasure of knowing you.
Dr. Viola Pierce (01:57.123)
That's right.
For sure.
Dr. Viola Pierce (02:12.109)
Okay?
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:17.421)
Tell them a little bit about yourself, how you got started in the industry, and then we will move into how you have helped nurses make six, seven figure businesses. I mean, that is huge. So if you're all just tuning in.
Dr. Viola Pierce (02:32.468)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:38.485)
Stay tuned, because she's got all the gems, all the gems, and you're going to want to know her. All right? OK. So V, let's jump in. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Dr. Viola Pierce (02:48.568)
All right, let's jump in. So I'll jump in. Do you want to jump in right here where we're at? Like, or do you want me to give you the whole backstory? I mean, you know, you tell me which one you want.
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:59.157)
I want you to tell me about you. How did you get to be the amazing woman that you are today? A little bit of your history in the healthcare industry. And kind of like what got you to move into the area that you're in today, which is really business.
Dr. Viola Pierce (03:22.03)
Gotcha, gotcha, that's a great question. So what started out as I wanted to go to school to be an engineer, my mother was like, we don't have enough money because we live in the state of North Carolina. So she didn't want me to go to school to be an engineer. She was like, she didn't really care. What she wanted me to do was she wanted me to not go to a school that was gonna cost us a lot of money for her to have to pay. And so she was like, we don't have really that type of money.
to be taking you to go into NCC. And I said, well, okay. I said, so I'll do the community college for two years and then I'll go there in two years. She said, no. She said, we're not gonna have enough money in two years. You need to pick something at the community college. Well, at the time she was a nursing assistant. And so she said, I said, well, okay. I said, I'll become a nurse. Like I knew nothing.
Like I didn't know you took Tylenol. My mother was a breastfeeding mama. Like I didn't even know you took Tylenol for a temperature. Like I was super healthy. And then I was essentially an only child because they were stair steps. My siblings are stair steps. There's six of them. And then 17 years later, she had five miscarriages. She had one stillborn and then I was born. And so because of that, I was essentially an only child. So I never, I never saw people sick. Like I was like, this is foreign to me. And so anyway, I went to school. I struggled.
through the entire process, okay? And then after I struggled through that process, then I became an LPN and I was an LPN for about 10 years just because of the, they fire hose you with all that knowledge that you get, right? And so for those 10 years I was an LPN and then I went back to school to get my RN degree. And then about 14 years later came back and got my BSN, my master's and now my DNP.
Cara Lunsford, RN (04:42.071)
Whoa.
Dr. Viola Pierce (05:10.496)
And so that was it. And truly it was, you know, the trans...
Cara Lunsford, RN (05:16.823)
So you were really just sitting around doing nothing for the, know, mean, gosh.
Dr. Viola Pierce (05:25.646)
Well, you know, just trying to get myself out there just a little bit. You know, it's kind of funny the transitions. Like I went back to school to get my BSN because they said that nurses wouldn't need their BSNs over time, right? I went to school to get my MSN because I saw this lady that was an MSN and I was like, oh, she can do it. I know good and all going well, I can do it. And then the doctorate degree was really because I wanted to go into business, but then I didn't understand how to...
Like I didn't, I wanted to get my MBA and this one nurse who was a nurse leader, she said, there's no reason for you. If you're to be on stages, you need to have your doctoral degree so that they can call you doctor. And I said, well, okay, well fine. So I went back to school and got my DMP. And so that's kind of how it rolled. And so, and then I started, you know, the transition into helping nurses was simply because I was a single mama doing a short period of that time.
And you know, nurses work from seven to seven, right? And the daycares are open from eight until five. And I really want to help nurses have an alternative method of taking care of themselves. And that has always been my goal. And it's the thing that has kept me strong these years, because you know, as you know, in business, you always have those economic upturns and downturns. And that is one of the things that
I can't stop because nurses need me. so, you know, and so I just, it's never been a question of whether I would stop or not. And I think that's the thing that some people that go into business and they don't have the heart for the business or the heart for the community that they're serving. And so they want to just make money. And once you make the money, the money is not going to carry you far. Like it's not going to be the thing. So.
Because of that, I just, I kept going.
Cara Lunsford, RN (07:26.414)
So what was the business that you, so was the first business you started the business of helping other nurses start businesses? what is your first business? Tell me about your business.
Dr. Viola Pierce (07:37.622)
Now.
So the first business, ironically, not ironically, it was all kinds of things, because I just didn't know what to do, right? So I went from bankruptcy to a credit score of over 800. So I was like, well, I can teach them finance, right? And so then I was, you I had a husband, okay? And now I have an amazing husband, okay? And so I was relationship coaching.
And then I was life coaching. I was all kinds of things. And what I didn't realize is that you have to pick one thing. And then, you know, and it was. Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (08:13.262)
There's a great book, by the way, called The One Thing, which I read when it, yes. The One Thing. Okay, so gem number one, The One Thing.
Dr. Viola Pierce (08:25.161)
Right there. Right. Because people start these $10,000 businesses, right? And they have, you know, five of them. And then they don't know why they're not working. That's because you're diversified. Your attention is diversified. So anyway, so I wanted to do the one thing. And I knew that I was very intrigued by business. And I knew that I could teach other nurses business.
And truly, this was it too, was that I saw people out here that were making millions of dollars and they did not have a college degree. And you know, as a nursing, like they teach you to go back to school to get all these degrees. Right. And I was like, well, if they if they can do it, by all means, I can do it. Right. And so I started learning, delving into business. And that is what turned it around. And I said, well, this is the one thing that I'm going to do. And the.
Cara Lunsford, RN (09:08.579)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (09:20.833)
I think that the thing that really turned it around for me was when one of my clients, very shortly after I started, she closed the six figure contract. I said, say less. I said, this is gonna be it. This is gonna be it right here.
Cara Lunsford, RN (09:34.392)
Say less.
Cara Lunsford, RN (09:39.468)
That's incredible. What type of business was it? Was it like, what was she doing? What kind of, what kind
Dr. Viola Pierce (09:46.056)
So she was doing compliance. So she was actually a nephrology nurse, right? And she had been in D.O.N. and so I came and we gave her some strategies in order to get her stuff out, the marketing and all of that. And she did it. And within six weeks, it was interesting, but what's interesting about her was that about five weeks in, there was this lady that she told about her dream, right? And she wanted to help other nephrology clinics, dialysis clinics.
with their compliance. Well, some people don't realize that there's independent dialysis units around the place, right? So there's not just for Senias and the Vita and all those, right? And so the lady that she told this to, and this is the value of community, right? So the lady that she told this to, she said, they're not gonna want that. Like she shot it down immediately. And so she came to the call and she was in.
Incredibly tearful right? This is a valuable community having a coach So she came to that she was incredibly cheerful and I said you're right on the cusp of your breakthrough, right? Because when that you know and I said, know just before we got on here, right? I was like, so, you know your computer started messing up, right? I was like, it's gonna be a fire. It's gonna be an amazing an amazing interview
Cara Lunsford, RN (10:52.962)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (11:06.912)
It needed a reboot just so it could handle what was about to happen on this interview. It was like, wait, wait, hold on. I need to reboot the entire thing just so I can handle the energy that's about to come through.
Dr. Viola Pierce (11:09.997)
You
Dr. Viola Pierce (11:18.765)
You are so funny. I love you. I love you. I love you and so So anyway, so she I said you're right on the cusp of your breakthrough and Between that time and the next time that she was on the call. She had closed the six-figure contract
Cara Lunsford, RN (11:34.507)
Yes, she did. Okay, I'm gonna, for those of you who don't, know, the listeners know me, but I'm gonna like.
just jump in really quick and go. Gem number two, okay? Gem number two is don't gatekeep your ideas, okay? Because when you talk about them to what Dr. just said is that when you talk about your ideas, maybe you get shot down, okay? I got shot down a lot. I cannot tell you how many times. So many times, you'll like, that is not an idea. Nobody's gonna do it. Like the whole thing.
Dr. Viola Pierce (12:07.827)
Wow.
Cara Lunsford, RN (12:13.836)
That's gonna be too much money. yes. The amount of money you would need to build that the whole thing. Okay. And seriously, when you talk about your ideas, whether it's someone shooting you down or making a connection for you.
Dr. Viola Pierce (12:14.172)
Did you?
Cara Lunsford, RN (12:37.494)
You have that opportunity and that's what you were just talking about. Like that was an opportunity for you to show up for her as your as her coach. Because she was able to come to the call and say, you know, what is that? What is happening? What is going on? my gosh, I'm so upset. I'm so upset about this, but you showed up. You totally showed up as her coach. Yes. no. no. Is all the magic.
Dr. Viola Pierce (13:00.183)
Tara?
Hello.
Cara Lunsford, RN (13:07.116)
What happened? Hold on.
Cara Lunsford, RN (14:50.913)
It's okay. This is called the magic of editing.
Dr. Viola Pierce (14:55.596)
Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (14:57.209)
This is why we have an editor. So that she can go, well, let's see where she left off.
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:10.465)
Okay, what I did realize is that I was connected to my house wifi and not to the studio wifi, which is why it all of a sudden decided that it was not going to work anymore. But whatever, we'll get back to it. Okay, so what was the last thing you heard me say?
Dr. Viola Pierce (15:17.484)
Mm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (15:29.43)
So we were talking about my client who had the six figure contract and you were talking about the fact that you can tell people because you got shot down, but it's fine. Okay.
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:40.185)
Yes. All right, I'm going to start. I'm going to start from there. OK, so gem number two is don't gatekeep your ideas. Make sure you share them with people, because a lot of times I hear people all the time say, well, I don't want to tell anybody about what I'm doing because they're going to steal my idea and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the thing is, is that that is not true.
Okay, no one can steal your idea because your idea is your idea. You are you the person you have the network that you have. No one has your brain. No one can steal that from you. And so you, you literally were able to show up for her and be her coach because she was sharing what she was doing. She got shot down. She got some negative Nellie.
Dr. Viola Pierce (16:11.989)
It's your idea.
Cara Lunsford, RN (16:37.561)
telling her that what she was doing wasn't gonna work. And at the end of the day, it just was opportunity. It's just opportunity to like light a fire. I always say like, tell me no more, tell me no again.
Dr. Viola Pierce (16:47.168)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (16:53.1)
Because some people I think that what happens is they are they are shot down and then they don't feel like they can get back up but the reality is that you have to have some and I I tell people all the time I'm not ever going to shy away from the fact that you know of all the accomplishments or all the things and the reason why is because
when you do that, then the people who are looking up to you, they can't look up to you because they don't even know you exist and they don't even know that your product exists and they don't even know your struggles and they don't even know the things that you went through, right? And so those are some of the things that I just look at. And so like you said, let them shoot you down. Let them think that it's not going to work because Kara, mean, as, listen.
it's obviously worked for you, right? And so the reality is that you can't let people be that piece in your life. And I do wanna say too, I wanna go back to part of the reason why I left nursing at the bedside, okay? So I was a nurse for many, many years in the emergency department. I went to...
Cara Lunsford, RN (17:43.865)
It has.
Dr. Viola Pierce (18:06.989)
deceased, well, I went to readmissions. So I was on the front end of the hospital, was emergency department, then went to readmissions. And I remember standing in readmissions and we had this corporate officer, right? Operations officer. And one of the things that I talked to him about, I said, you know, I took their readmission rate from 12 % down to 9 % because I was always good with numbers, right? And always good with making the numbers work, right? And making sure that the patients were taken care of. But I said, we can't keep
because healthcare is not really healthcare, it's sick care. We're really working on the back end to try to solve a problem that should have been solved from the beginning, right? And so what I said was, we have to be very proactive in trying to keep the patients out of the hospital. And what he said was, and what I knew this, but my head, like you gotta say it to me, that he didn't wanna keep patients out of the hospital. But then what are you saying? Are you saying that you want them to be sick? Because if they're not at the hospital then they are sick.
And so then I knew at that moment that I needed to roll out. And then I was hired again with another nurse. Okay. And I knew that they wanted this nurse into the director position. All right. And so we had a director over us at the time, but I had a DNP. This young lady, she had a master's. Okay. And I had been at the hospital longer. She hadn't been at the hospital as long.
And then my director at the time would meet with her every day, but then she wouldn't meet with me every day. And I was like, and I, not every day, but every week. And I was like, well, what's going on here? Right? And so I knew that it was time for me to go. And so I wrote my resignation letter about for about three months later. And as soon as I wrote it, I went to work and I did it because I said this another, I said this at this conference, I was on a panel at Speak Your Way to Cash. And one of the things that I said in the conference is I said,
Generational poverty is the price that you pay for lack of execution. And so if you don't execute, you can't expect your family to be fed. If you solve problems, your family can be fed forever. So.
Cara Lunsford, RN (20:23.107)
Yes.
And you know, this goes back to what you said at the very, very beginning of this podcast was that you were talking about how you can't go into something you can't just want to solve a problem because you want to make money. You have to solve a problem because it's coming from your heart, from your soul. This is yes. And then when someone shoots you down, let me tell
Dr. Viola Pierce (20:46.837)
Thanks.
Cara Lunsford, RN (20:54.067)
you it is a whole lot easier to get up when you believe in what you're doing. Right? It's so much but if you're just trying to make a buck someone if someone shoots you down you're like move on move on go to the next thing right
Dr. Viola Pierce (20:59.083)
Come on, come through, Nicky. You better come through, right?
Dr. Viola Pierce (21:12.362)
Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (21:16.299)
And so, yeah, this, mean, this just like, it's full circle. You gotta believe what you are doing. Believe in what you are solving, the problem you are solving. When I had originally built Holly Blue, truth, okay, was that I had first...
Dr. Viola Pierce (21:21.461)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (21:28.235)
Mm-hmm.
Facts,
Cara Lunsford, RN (21:42.209)
was a director of nursing. had about 100 nurses that were reporting to me for this home health. And I was typing into Facebook on my own personal Facebook. I was saying, does anyone know any Korean speaking nurses who have oncology as their specialty, who live near City of Hope?
That was my personal post to my Facebook page and crickets, there was nobody. And I went into Facebook groups and things like that. And I literally said to myself, where's the watering hole for nurses? Where are all of them?
Dr. Viola Pierce (22:26.644)
Mmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (22:28.41)
And why can't I find a nurse based off of their specialty and their location? And why can't I do that? And the languages that they speak, how come I can't do that somewhere? Guess what? I had to make it. I had to build it myself. I built the watering hole. Okay. And
Dr. Viola Pierce (22:37.332)
and their language.
Dr. Viola Pierce (22:46.495)
You gotta make it. You gotta create it.
Cara Lunsford, RN (22:54.937)
But I was passionate about it. I truly believed like if I have this problem, other people have this problem, and you know, I'm going to solve this. So you are 100 % correct that people have to like identify, they have to get in touch with it, it has to come from the heart. It's got to be like one thing. What is your one thing? And then who do you have in your corner?
Dr. Viola Pierce (23:19.285)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (23:23.117)
Like who's in your corner? Because there's a great story about the, it's like a YouTube story. I was at a conference. It was like this story about.
Dr. Viola Pierce (23:23.233)
huh.
Dr. Viola Pierce (23:34.763)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (23:36.077)
this person who had gone out and started dancing by themselves at a big concert. It was a big outdoor concert. And this one person went out and they were like in a field and they were just dancing and they were dancing by themselves. They danced by themselves for a long time until a second person got in their corner. And the minute that second person went out there and said, I'm going to dance with you.
All of a sudden, everybody, all these people went out and they got on board and they started, it was a big old dance party. So sometimes it's, you could be the one person, but you have to invite, you have to have someone in your corner, which is what I feel like you are for people is you're their person, their second person.
Dr. Viola Pierce (24:13.522)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (24:31.945)
Yeah, definitely my goal is to, and it's always been that, right? To always lend that support, always have it so that we are. And I think that to your point that the money is not the primary thing. I do wanna say this though. When you are building a company, you gotta have capital. It just does not work without that. You know what I'm saying?
Cara Lunsford, RN (24:54.541)
Yes.
Yes.
Dr. Viola Pierce (24:58.067)
And so I think that a lot of times the thought process is, well, I'm gonna build this company and I'm gonna care about everybody and it's gonna be amazing. People don't care until you, know, they don't live off of fumes, they live off of paychecks, right? So, you know, we have to be very intentional about hiring staff because as the CEO of the company, right? You, in order for you to be elevated, in order for you to be, you know, where you are, you need to be very intentional about paying people.
You know, we've got a problem of, and I won't say there's a problem, but it's you know, it's what it is, right? Of paying people, right? And we have to be very intentional about that, right? And that's not a problem. It's like, it's a double-edged sword. It's a problem, but then it's, you know, because I could have nobody to pay, right? And it could be just me, right? But in order for us to elevate the voices of people who are out here to help people,
in these arenas, like in the nursing arena, in order to build these businesses, we've got to have a team in order to be able to do that, right? And I think that that's one of the things that we have to be very intentional about is discussing not just the business side, you know, the business side and the passion behind it, but also the money that it takes in order to, you know, because a lot of times, you know, I pay for coaches, right? I pay for...
Cara Lunsford, RN (26:04.663)
Yes.
Dr. Viola Pierce (26:24.65)
advertising. I pay for, you know, all the things, right? And so ensuring that you are able to do those things. So I think that that needs to, you know, that needs to echo as well. Like I'm not here just for the money. Like I'm good. I promise you. Like I am the type of girl that I like these people are like in the Four Seasons, like give me a Marriott like I'm or, you know, I shouldn't say, you know, a brand. However, I don't really care. Like it's not
He's got a clean bed, I think he's clean, you know.
Like I'm good. Like I don't need like all the amenities. Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (27:00.077)
You're not taking like a black light. You're not taking like a black light to it and going, you're like, it looks clean enough.
Dr. Viola Pierce (27:09.354)
Like I'm good. Like I don't have to have all those amenities. People are like, well, I want to buy a new truck. I'm like, listen, if it's a tax write off, I buy the truck. Okay. If it ain't a tax write off, I'm not buying the truck. I just like, doesn't matter. Those things don't matter to me. I mean, we're in good positioning enough now that we probably won't have to work for the rest of our lives. However, my mission gets me out of bed every single solitary morning.
without a shadow of a doubt, because I love what I do and I love helping other nurses. And you know, we've helped nurses, you know, get to seven figures, right? And I love doing that and giving them the freedom to be able to be there for their families, to be able to do it on their own terms, because sometimes whenever you work in a space that limits your talent, it's rough.
But when you're the CEO of your company, your talent is out there and you can do whatever, whenever, and however you want. So.
Cara Lunsford, RN (28:15.491)
Say less.
That, I mean, that's such like a mic drop moment, you know, not that we're dropping the mic, we're not done. We are not finished having this conversation. But you're you're 100 % correct. It's it's I think a lot of times I've had people say to me, hey, can I pick your brain for a minute? OK, people people always want to pick your brain. OK, my
I can't have my brain picked through. It's going to look like Swiss cheese at some point, you know? And so I have to value myself enough to say, I will spend an hour with you. And the hour that I spend with you is going to be, I'm going to bring my whole self.
Dr. Viola Pierce (28:50.356)
Right.
So I have to value.
Dr. Viola Pierce (29:05.642)
and the hours that I've spent with you, my voice is weak. I'm trying to bring...
Cara Lunsford, RN (29:11.769)
110 % of me I am going to bring to the table. I am going to help you get from point A to point B. I'm going to help you think about those things that are keeping you up at night. And you want me to bring my best self.
Dr. Viola Pierce (29:15.05)
and what you're trying to disable. And what you're talking to, in case, I'm going to help you think about those things that are keeping you up at night.
Dr. Viola Pierce (29:27.05)
you want me to bring my best friend.
Cara Lunsford, RN (29:30.713)
You don't want me to just be like, Oh God, you know, I got a pencil this in and someone wants to talk to me and, know, I don't know, maybe 15, 20 minutes, but you're going to get like maybe 50%, maybe. Okay. And that's not a good use of my time. It's not a good use of your time. And you're not investing in yourself. Like you have to invest in yourself.
Dr. Viola Pierce (29:33.246)
like, I want make this happen. Someone wants to talk to me.
Dr. Viola Pierce (29:56.692)
You better say it again. For the people in the back, you better say it again.
Cara Lunsford, RN (30:00.195)
for the people in the back, invest in yourself, invest. Okay, if you buy a gym membership, right, that's an investment in yourself. Okay, you go and you get your nails done. And you get your hair done. And that's an investment in yourself. That's so that self love. Okay, you have if you really want something and you want it bad enough.
Dr. Viola Pierce (30:20.51)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (30:30.947)
then you go ahead and you invest in that. And there are so many people out there, not just myself, not just Dr. V, but there are so many people out there that have done great things, amazing, amazing things. Sometimes you don't have any money. That's fine. I've been there. I've been down to nothing in the bank account. But then what can you offer this person?
Dr. Viola Pierce (30:55.892)
I
Cara Lunsford, RN (30:58.68)
Can you offer them a small amount of equity? Is there a little bit of, like, what can you do to say, value you, and I value your time, and I value your expertise, and I want you to have a seat at my table? I want to be someone that I can, you or someone I want to work alongside. You know, maybe you can offer a little bit of equity. I've done that. What do you think about that? What's, what are your thoughts on that?
Dr. Viola Pierce (31:25.546)
I think that it is probably one of the most valid things that you can ever say because one of the things, like I'm gonna bet on myself every single solitary time and I'm going to invest in myself every single solitary time. It amazes me how people will go to school. Okay, and I'm not against school, okay, but I went for a lot of years, but, and that's because I didn't notice, okay? So I'm gonna give you the clip-nose version so you ain't gotta go to school for 20 years.
Literally, people will go to school, get a degree that they're teaching. It used to bore me out of my mind because it used to teach me. For my dissertation, we had to do an entire chapter. So for those of you out there who's not went and got your dissertation yet, let me tell you something. It's a five chapter book that you gotta write, okay? And that second chapter, okay, I think it's the second or maybe the third chapter is on theory, okay? Or the first one. I don't really remember.
but it's on theory. I was like, why are we spending so much time on theory? Why isn't that we're spending more time on execution? So anyway, I ended up going back and getting the degree, but the reality is that there's things that are taught that you just don't need to know. Like I'm not, I don't need to know all those things. Now it, it helped me. I can say that going back to school to get my DNP did one thing for me if it didn't do anything else.
It made me very disciplined. And so I don't, I don't have, I, you know, I'm very, very disciplined. I had a son at the time. He's still living. He's still, you know, every now and then tearing my nerves up. But at the time, you know, whenever your, your paper was due on Wednesday night at 1159, like he would come in there at seven o'clock, right? Every Wednesday night, he'd be like, wanting to talk to mama. Hey mama, you ain't even want to talk to me this whole week. And now you want to come and talk to me, but okay.
Cara Lunsford, RN (33:22.872)
You
Dr. Viola Pierce (33:23.933)
So I loved him, right? So I wanted to talk to him and I wanted to give him my time. So I had to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning because I needed to, first of all, I'm fresher in the morning. I had to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning in order to do it and I still have that practice today, right? And so it became a very disciplined thing. But the reality is that if you don't invest in yourself, you go back to school, you spend thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to invest in a school.
that gives you a degree that you maybe or maybe cannot use when you can just invest in coaching for a degree, not for a degree, but for a coaching service that you can use over and over over over again. Like when we teach you how to build your systems, like you solve the problem, they pay you. Like we teach you to build your system so that that's a seamless process. You know I'm saying? And so like I have a client that she went like,
She went to a conference over the weekend. She made $13,000 at this conference. Like she, and it was because of the fact that we set her systems up so that she was able people like people were coming to her, right? Because of the way that we set the systems up. So it's important. And what I realized is that you have to have systems, you have to have operations and you have to have management. I mean, marketing, right? Well, the systems is the operations, but the sales and the marketing and the operations.
And when you have those three things together, then you can set up your company so that it can win, right? And so it's it's vitally important. And you can take it off your taxes. Listen.
Cara Lunsford, RN (34:56.844)
Yes, yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (35:01.58)
Systems are the foundation. Systems are the foundation of your house, okay? You don't have a good foundation. Guess what? Your house gonna fall down. It's gonna fall down. Yeah, and that's the thing is that you have to, you have to know what you're not good at, okay? You do, okay? Honestly,
Dr. Viola Pierce (35:06.738)
Mmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (35:12.423)
It's gonna fall. Right. Right.
Dr. Viola Pierce (35:24.519)
Mmm. I love it.
Cara Lunsford, RN (35:31.224)
You have to know, like for me, I am a visionary. I am a futurist. I love to think big and I love to think from like 50,000 feet. Okay?
but I can see the future. Okay? And that's my strong suit. Okay? I am a networker. I can talk to anybody, anybody about anything. That's why this podcast is so great for me. My friend asked me, he's like, how do you, do you like the podcast? I said, I have a platform to talk to people. Are you kidding me? I was like, that's...
Dr. Viola Pierce (35:58.749)
You sure can.
Cara Lunsford, RN (36:12.1)
That's my jam. That's someone's paying me to talk to people. Okay, so that's you have to know like where your strong suits are. Okay. Now, organizing and doing like the financials for the business and having to know.
No. And you know what, Pam, my accountant, she will tell you all day long that I have no business inside with the numbers. And I am very mathematical. I am good. I can like calculate a lot of things. I know I am terrible when it comes to like to all of the projections. And I've gotten a lot better because I've had to do it for my job. But it is not what I love to do.
Dr. Viola Pierce (37:05.777)
I think that's a very valid point. And one of the things as visionaries, I think the disc scale. So what I've had to learn is that I've got to hire somebody, I have to hire to my weakness. And so I'm a high D, high I, right? so, know, this is, know, the disc people don't come after me, okay? But this is what I think disc is, okay? I think that the high Ds, they're the ones who,
Cara Lunsford, RN (37:05.901)
Right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (37:21.09)
Hmm?
Dr. Viola Pierce (37:33.245)
are gonna get it done, but they think that their way is always the right way. The high Is is the ones that are gonna get it. They're the life of the party, but they can't organize anything. The high Ss are the ones who they care about everybody else, but they care about them to the fault of themselves. And then the high Cs are the ones who want everything to be perfect, but they won't launch because everything needs to be perfect. So, you know, that's how I describe it. So don't come after me if that ain't right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (37:59.234)
Yep. Yep. They get analysis paralysis. The last category gets analysis paralysis. It's like everything. They can't they can never failure to launch like they're never going to just get to the next thing. There's yes. Yes.
Dr. Viola Pierce (38:02.697)
However, S is... Right, exactly, exactly.
Dr. Viola Pierce (38:17.509)
level and What I know is that as a high D high I I have to hire S's and C's because that's my weakness and So C's especially especially so if you you're hiring somebody in operations that needs to be a C Right because that person needs to be the person that's gonna get everything right They're gonna make sure that your operations are good Especially with the visionary because the visionary will come in and mess everything all up, right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (38:28.375)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (38:35.852)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (38:45.671)
And then they got to be able to make sure that it stays clean and intact. And so that's what I have learned throughout the process of making sure that, you know, I hire people to my weakness, but also, you know, the systems is what really changed my life. Like within a year of me exiting corporate, I doubled my salary. And then, and I was able to help other nurses, you know, bring in six and seven figures a year. So it's been amazing. It's been an amazing journey.
Cara Lunsford, RN (38:49.719)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (39:15.449)
Because you're starting with your own humility in a way, right? Sometimes people have a really hard time getting in touch with what they're not good at, OK? It takes an element of vulnerability, humility to say, you know what? I don't do that well.
Dr. Viola Pierce (39:29.617)
Noooo
Cara Lunsford, RN (39:38.379)
I need to ask somebody for help. need to hire, like you said, to my weakness. And that's what a coach is so good at is that they can sit there and help you to identify who are those right partners. I will tell you that when I first started out my company, I was like, I want my friend to be my business partner because I like her and she's fun and she had... No.
Dr. Viola Pierce (39:38.439)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (40:09.109)
No, no, and I love her. Like she's amazing. But the thing is, is that like, I was like, this is gonna be so fun. We're gonna do this business together. And it's gonna be great. And I did not know enough about my I didn't have enough self awareness to know what I was gonna need. Right. And
Dr. Viola Pierce (40:27.528)
Yes, that's good.
Cara Lunsford, RN (40:32.504)
You know, in hindsight, now I tell people, so it's a great opportunity because when I'm coaching, I tell people, hey, look, you got to like identify because who's going to be if you're doing a tech company, do you code? Do you know how to code? Are you going to be able to go to these networking events and understand what they're talking about? If you can't, then you should have a CTO.
Dr. Viola Pierce (41:01.384)
Mm-hmm. love it. I love it. That's right. That's right. That's right And I love how you talked about the partnership because people have to be very very careful about partnership like there has to be definitely has to be an agreement in place operate an agreement and it has to be contracts in place and and that can help ease a little bit of the burden why I had a partnership when I first started and for the events and I'm after
Cara Lunsford, RN (41:03.79)
Right?
Dr. Viola Pierce (41:29.722)
like the first event, I knew that I wasn't going to continue with the partnership, but that's just because one of the persons, like she was very, like she wanted to do things, but then I'm a do things in order type of girl. Okay. Like I don't want you, like we are not going to be out here willy nilly and then just, you know, doing stuff, right? Like we're gonna, it's gonna be very much like you, when you come to my events, my events are very much, we start on time, we end on time.
Cara Lunsford, RN (41:42.797)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (41:58.803)
There's no, like, there's no, like, we're very intentional about how we, because I'm very intentional about the people, right? I'm taking your time, or you're giving me your time, and so I need to be respectful of everything. And so, like, if you come to, even like speakers, whenever they come, if they go over their time, they will never be invited back. Like, because then you're impinging on other speakers who have just as, you know,
Cara Lunsford, RN (41:58.861)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:03.394)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:15.641)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (42:27.588)
a great message as you do and they can't get their stuff out because you're going over your time. You know, those types of things. I'm very intentional about that. And so because of the fact that she was, you know, we just we just did not get along on some instances. We decided that we were part. But because we had to operate an agreement in place, because we had a contract in place, it was like it was just split the money and we go out separate ways and we dissolve the business and everything was all good.
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:35.0)
Yep.
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:54.189)
Yep, strong fences make for happy neighbors.
Dr. Viola Pierce (42:57.544)
Ooh, Chad, you better go.
Cara Lunsford, RN (43:02.637)
didn't make it up. I heard it somewhere. but it's true. mean, like, if you, if you want to have a partnership and look, I, I'm a big proponent of saying, Hey, look, you can have all of some all of nothing, or some of something. And in certain situations,
Dr. Viola Pierce (43:23.752)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (43:28.319)
you probably need a strong team, okay? And that means that you're gonna have to probably share some equity. You're gonna have to find the right people to fill the right gaps for you so that you can be, if you're looking for investment, if someone's gonna invest in you, they're looking at your team. Who do you have set up for success? Because they're putting money into your company, right? So,
Dr. Viola Pierce (43:32.294)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (43:57.701)
you have to put those things in place, those strong boundaries and those strong contracts in place so that if it doesn't work out, it doesn't devastate your business. Because you don't want it to devastate your business. Because sometimes, yeah, things don't work out. When I had to go back to my partners,
Dr. Viola Pierce (44:06.725)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (44:22.749)
I had the hardest time figuring out what was I going to say to them? What was I going to say? How was I going to position this? And I finally got down to one sentence. And I said, my work and my risk is not reflected in my shares.
Dr. Viola Pierce (44:28.456)
and that and I finally got.
Cara Lunsford, RN (44:44.034)
And that's it. And that is all I said. because because what so they can come back and say, well, what do you mean? Or I think it is or, you know, but really they're like, well, what do you think? What do you think would be reflective of your work and your risk?
Dr. Viola Pierce (45:03.314)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:06.169)
Because I had taken out a second on my house for like $100,000. I was pouring myself into the business. I was taking all kinds of risk and work. And so eventually we renegotiated and they transferred shares to me because I had to see my own value and I had to say, look, if I stepped away from this, it would devastate the company. The company would dissolve.
Dr. Viola Pierce (45:33.581)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:35.233)
if I step away from this. And they knew that, you know, but you don't really want to have to end up in that situation in the first place. It's a hard place. Like if you can learn from me, learn from me. Don't end up there. But that's where strong leadership and coaching comes in is because there's a lot of things like a lot of mistakes you're going to make. You're going to make a lot of mistakes.
Dr. Viola Pierce (45:43.922)
Facts. Facts. Facts.
Dr. Viola Pierce (45:50.088)
Yeah.
Dr. Viola Pierce (46:04.968)
Thanks.
Cara Lunsford, RN (46:05.689)
Okay? But there are mistakes you don't have to make. That's where coaching comes in.
Dr. Viola Pierce (46:08.996)
Exactly. Exactly. That get facts. mean, like you shorten the time from zero to 10, right? Or zero to a hundred. You shorten that time and you want to make sure that you're doing that and understanding how your coach can, you know, move the needle. I mean, honestly, I just look at my coach and just see, you know, how she's moving. And I'm just like, yeah, I moving fast enough.
Cara Lunsford, RN (46:18.817)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (46:35.897)
Like literally today I was like, I'm not even moving fast enough. And I mean, we're decent. We're doing very decent, right? But at end of the day, we want to ensure that we are touching as many nurses lives as we can. And in order for us to be able to do that, we have to be very intentional about, you know, all the things marketing operations. You know, I just told my team this morning that I'm not going to be the one that's going to be following up with you. see, it's going to be following up with you.
Cara Lunsford, RN (46:50.349)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (47:05.669)
I'm no longer going to be the one because I have to be at the work on the business as opposed to in the business. And when you get to that point, it literally changes how you view it and then you can run, you know, with the lions, right? But it's, it's, it's really, really important that you have those, all those things in place so that you can affect more lives. Like we have affected so many lives and I'm, I'm super excited about the fact that we have, right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (47:10.795)
Yes.
Dr. Viola Pierce (47:34.631)
because money is a tool, but it's a tool that you need in order to be able to affect other people, right? Like I can't run Facebook ads on sniffs, right? Like it just doesn't work on ashes. Like I've got to give them some money. Like they're to be like, you say what now? You want to give me some coin? No, that's not what, like what are we doing over here, right? So you have to give them some money in order to be able to run the ads. The ads get you like, you know, you out there.
Cara Lunsford, RN (47:52.427)
Ha!
Dr. Viola Pierce (48:01.739)
or spend money on a videographer in order to do the things that you need to do, whatever it is, in order for you to be elevated so that you are top of mind, so that whenever they think about going into nursing business, then that's who they think about, right? So you have to be very intentional about that. So, you know, I could talk on that all day long, so.
Cara Lunsford, RN (48:19.757)
Yes.
absolutely. And you know, it's just, it's so important for people to realize that we're in an age right now. Like even when I started my business, it wasn't during a time of AI, okay? When things are moving now so fast.
Dr. Viola Pierce (48:41.221)
Mmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (48:47.3)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (48:47.403)
Okay, so anything you can do to get a leg up, anything that you can do that is going to help you avoid getting slowed down in some capacity or making a mistake that's going to slow you down because nowadays
with AI and how fast businesses are popping up and how fast like it's exciting and it's kind of incredible, but at the same time, you have to know how to utilize all of those pieces of technology and all of those new softwares that are out there that can help you work smarter, not harder. Yeah. And if you don't have
Dr. Viola Pierce (49:27.781)
Now, harder.
Cara Lunsford, RN (49:32.733)
access to that and if you don't have someone that's like helping you navigate that and staying ahead and because that goes down that goes back to like that foundational like your systems right
Dr. Viola Pierce (49:47.141)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (49:47.851)
and how much technology do you have incorporated into your systems so that you are like able to literally turn, you know, turn your business around fast. Okay. Or pivot. If you need to pivot, you got to be able to pivot fast.
Dr. Viola Pierce (50:02.853)
Right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (50:08.249)
And so all of that is so important. I know we're almost approaching time, but I do want to ask you, what are your thoughts a little bit around technology and how do you incorporate that into your coaching business as AI has stormed into the scene?
Dr. Viola Pierce (50:31.832)
out.
So I think my love from technology came simply from the fact that I hate to write. Okay. So because I hate to write, like when they brought that computer system, cause I've been in the nurse for a long time. So I used to write out all those assessments, right? And so when they brought that computer in and all I had to do was type, I was like, say less, say less. So I was like, let's, let's get with this. And so my love of technology has been, it's been a long time.
over but when it comes to AI and all of that I embrace it because I know that if you don't embrace it it's I mean it's like the internet right it's coming it's here you can either embrace it or not right so you know that old adage of working a good government job until you're old. The problem is that many many people they listen to their who their and not that you don't listen to listen to your mom and dad okay don't don't think that right but
when it comes to making money, right? Or comes to how your career goes. When you listen to someone, number one, may not have, they don't have the wealth that you are going to acquire, okay? Then they can't teach you that. So that's the reason why you have coaches, okay? Number two is that when they have not built a business, then you can't listen to that, right? So you have to be very intentional about that.
The biggest thing I think, not that I think I know, is that you have to be very intentional about incorporating systems because everybody has a system. And once you incorporate the systems then you're not frustrated by all the one-on-ones in the back and the forth. And so, of course we have a CRM, customer relations management system. In addition, we have all these AI tools that help us. Like if I want to put up a real quick...
Dr. Viola Pierce (52:28.837)
presentation, you know, I'll go to Gamma and you know, and do it, right? Or, you know, chat GPT, apparently the two, the one that's $200. I don't know whether I'm interested in that one or not, but I, anyway, so, you know, but all the things, right, that you incorporate in order to help you, number one, with your messaging, with how you put it out there to the public.
Cara Lunsford, RN (52:38.68)
He.
Dr. Viola Pierce (52:53.944)
so that you can attract the ideal client. Like we've had it help us tremendously. And with each time what we do is we take what worked previously. We take that particular thing and then we slide that to the left and we say, okay, is this gonna work now? And then we keep reworking it, keep reworking it until we nail down.
the actual verbiage that will help people convert because it's all about conversions. Because sales, think that one of the things that people don't understand is that sales is service, right? And that the more that you sell to the person, you are serving them, number one. Number two is that if they don't get it from you, they're gonna get it from someone else. And that person may not have the integrity that you do. And so you really wanna be intentional about helping the people with the real sales, the systems that you need. And so,
Cara Lunsford, RN (53:24.641)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Viola Pierce (53:49.22)
That's where you have to come in and think you don't want them to go to someone else because you are serving them in a way. And so I, you know, I'm very passionate about that for sure.
Cara Lunsford, RN (54:02.904)
Absolutely. Absolutely. It's so true. there's just so much. There's so much you can get from having a good mentor and a good coach. I had amazing mentors and coaches. And I am deeply, deeply grateful.
Dr. Viola Pierce (54:18.31)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (54:29.369)
to them because I mean I think that why I was able to build a business and sell a business get acquired is because I stacked the deck in my favor Yeah, you got a you got a stack the deck in your favor
Dr. Viola Pierce (54:44.9)
I love it. I love it.
And I love the fact that you were able to sell the company. That's beast mode, that's boss mode right there. You know what I'm saying? That's what that is. And it helps you to be able to do those things. So it's really, really good. I'm super excited about that.
Cara Lunsford, RN (55:06.84)
I'm so happy that I know you. feel so, I'm so grateful, grateful to have someone like you in my life, in my network, and that I was able to have you on this podcast and that all the listeners can.
Dr. Viola Pierce (55:12.228)
So happy that I know you too.
Cara Lunsford, RN (55:26.646)
be able to get all of these like words of wisdom from you. Okay, so where is so if nurses want are like, hey, this is for me, I, I am I want to explore I have an idea. I have a concept or I've already started a business. Okay, like just because you've already started doesn't mean that you can't get help. It's even more so probably a good idea. But
Dr. Viola Pierce (55:46.36)
Anyway, just before he started.
Cara Lunsford, RN (55:55.96)
How do people find you?
Dr. Viola Pierce (55:59.175)
So that's a great question. So we have a website is viasandvictor.psmpaulnursing.com. You can go to our masterclass link and you can sign up for our next masterclass. But we also have a conference coming up. It's February 20th through the 21st, 2026. And it's called the Millionaire Nurse CEO Conference. And so we will be serving people at that conference too. So there's a conference link up there as well.
And of course I have a book that's called The Audacity to Execute. And that is, you can find it on YouTube or you can go to the website and get it as well. either way, so.
Cara Lunsford, RN (56:41.544)
Awesome. Okay. And if you're driving, walking your dogs, don't have a pen near you, don't want to have to go back and listen to it, don't worry, it's fine. You can go to nurse.com forward slash podcast and go to this episode. We always make sure that we have links to our guests and websites and everything that you could possibly need in order to be able to get in touch with Dr. Viola Pierce.
I love that your name just immediately becomes VP in, I mean, that's awesome. That's awesome.
Dr. Viola Pierce (57:17.894)
Right. Right. Right. Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (57:23.33)
Yeah, that's amazing. Well, I'm so grateful that you spent this hour with me and I look forward to the next time I get to see you.
Dr. Viola Pierce (57:36.698)
Well, Kara, I just want to say thank you too. Just thank you for inviting me. Thank you for just being so diligent. Thank you for being so who you are. you doing the short time I've known you, you not changed. And so you've just been amazing. So just thank you. Thank you.
Cara Lunsford, RN (57:55.414)
Yeah, absolutely. All right. You have an amazing week and I can't wait to get this episode out. All kinds of snaps for us.
Dr. Viola Pierce (58:05.382)
That's right, that's right, that's right. I love it.
Cara Lunsford, RN (58:08.567)
All right, till next time, my friend. Bye bye. Okay, I'm going to stop the recording.
Dr. Viola Pierce (58:11.28)
All right, talk to you later. Bye bye.
