Can I Keep My Job as a Nurse while I Own a License?

This is one of the most common questions we hear from healthcare professionals considering Let Mommy Sleep ownership. And the answer is genuinely yes — many of our most successful licensees have maintained their nursing positions, at least in the early stages of building their territory. Some continue indefinitely.

Whether it works for you depends on your schedule, your support system, and how you structure the business. This post gives you the honest picture so you can make the right decision for your situation. And if you haven’t already done the broader self-assessment, start there first.

Can I Keep My Job as a Nurse while I Own a Franchise?

Why Nurse Owners Are an Asset to the Network

Before getting into the challenges, it’s worth being clear about something: Let Mommy Sleep loves having nurses, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals in ownership roles. This is not just a nice-to-have. An RN owner brings something to a Let Mommy Sleep territory that no amount of marketing can replicate: instant clinical credibility with the referral partners that matter most. When you walk into an OB/GYN office or introduce yourself to a hospital discharge team as a Registered Nurse who owns a professional newborn care agency, the conversation starts differently than it does for a business owner without that background.

Many nurse-owners also step into the field occasionally, providing in-home parent education, postpartum check-ups, or supporting complex cases. Families love it. It reinforces the clinical standard of the entire team and strengthens the trust that drives referrals. Meet some of the nurses and healthcare professionals who own Let Mommy Sleep locations

The Honest Challenges

Time is the real variable

Owning a licensed territory, especially in the building stage, is a demanding commitment. Most owners in the first year spend 30–40 hours per week across recruiting, client communication, community outreach, and operations. Adding a nursing position on top of that is doable — but it requires honest planning about where those hours come from.

The building stage is also when the time investment is highest. As your caregiver team grows and systems mature, the day-to-day workload decreases significantly. Many nurse-owners find that starting part-time on the business side is the right approach, with the understanding that part-time hours in the building stage may produce part-time results. See what the typical weekly workload looks like →

Small business ownership requires wearing many hats

Even with Let Mommy Sleep’s infrastructure behind you, you are still running a small business. Recruiting, bookkeeping, case management, community relationship-building, and being the accessible, trusted face of your location are all on your plate — especially in newborn care, where expecting and postpartum families need to know and trust you personally. Decisions sometimes need to be made quickly, and as the owner, you need to be reachable.

Solutions That Work

A fixed schedule

If your nursing position has a predictable schedule, three days a week, set shifts, or a part-time arrangement, the business can be structured around it. Bridgette, a Nurse Practitioner and owner of LMS Florida, works in the mother/baby unit at her hospital every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. During those days, her partner handles emails, calls, and case management. Recruiting and daily operations happen during the workweek. It works because the schedule is predictable and the coverage is planned.

A partner or operations manager

Having a trusted partner or administrative manager who can respond to inquiries and handle day-to-day coordination when you’re at the hospital is one of the most effective structures for nurse-owners. Several Let Mommy Sleep teams are 50/50 partnerships with an without Nurses. The Washington DC team has operated this way since the beginning, over a decade of successful partnership ownership with clearly divided roles. A partner does not have to be a nurse; they need to be organized, compassionate and responsive.

Technology does more than you might expect

Let Mommy Sleep’s automated intake and communication tools mean inquiries are captured and routed even when you’re not available. Google Voice, automatic texting, and call routing give you control over response flow without requiring you to be tethered to your phone. See the full technology infrastructure that comes with your license

Corporate support fills real gaps

Monthly licensee roundtables, one-on-one check-ins, shared systems and processes, and a network of fellow owners across 26 territories mean you are not figuring this out alone. The question “Am I doing this right?” has a support structure behind it. That matters more when you’re also managing a clinical schedule.

The Part-Time to Full-Time Path

Many nurse-owners start with their clinical position as the primary income and the Let Mommy Sleep territory as a growing secondary business. Over time, as the territory reaches consistent profitability, the decision about whether to reduce clinical hours becomes a choice rather than a necessity. That trajectory -build the business while keeping the safety net, then decide — is a legitimate and common path. It is not a compromise. It is smart sequencing.

The owners who succeed at this are the ones who treat the territory as a real business from day one, not a side project they’ll get to when they have more time. Part-time input in the building stage can work. Passive input does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I work in my healthcare job while running Let Mommy Sleep? Yes. If your schedule allows you to dedicate time to running your business, you can do both. In fact, we recommend doing this as long as you can if your job gives you health insurance and/or retirement benefits.

What if my hospital job goes full-time unexpectedly?

This is worth planning for before it happens. The two most common solutions are having a partner or manager who can absorb the operational load temporarily, and leaning on the corporate support infrastructure during the transition. Licensees who have built a strong caregiver team and established referral relationships are much more resilient to schedule changes than those still in the early building stage.

Do I have to disclose my Let Mommy Sleep ownership to my employer?

This depends on your employment contract. Some healthcare employers have conflict of interest or outside employment disclosure requirements. We recommend reviewing your employment agreement and consulting with an HR professional or employment attorney before signing a licensing agreement. Let Mommy Sleep is not a competing clinical employer, but your hospital or practice may have policies worth understanding.

Can my nursing partner co-own the license with me?

Yes. Several Let Mommy Sleep locations are co-owned by two nurses or a nurse and a business partner. Southern California works this way and co-ownership works best when roles are clearly divided from the start.

Is Let Mommy Sleep a good fit for travel nurses?

Travel nursing creates schedule unpredictability that can make the building stage harder. It is not impossible, but it requires a strong on-the-ground partner or manager who can maintain local presence and responsiveness when you are away. Owners who have tried this structure successfully have had a very reliable co-operator in place before taking their first travel assignment after opening.

Curious about the full picture? Our complete guide to the Let Mommy Sleep licensing opportunity covers everything you need to know. Contact us anytime to learn more.