2023 a Year of Doula Business
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Welcome to doula Tips and Tips. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaylee Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born, 12, nearly 13 years ago.
I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, La Leche League leader and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business. It is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Welcome to doula Tips and Tips. We are on our second to last episode for the year of 2023. And so this episode is really a wrap up episode, an episode that's about what has the year been, right?
And I want to highlight some stuff in my own business that I'm super proud of, because I think that making good choices in your business and making really intentional moves forward is part of what is at the core of everything I do in my doula coaching, right?
So I want to share with you some of my wins for 2023 and then really encourage you to look back over the year for yourself and have kind of a calculation of wins of your own. Now, my wins are not all financial, not all customer numbers, right?
It's not necessarily that alone. I also want to encourage you and for myself to really celebrate things that are also character building and things that are hard that we did and kept going through, right?
So I want to just start sharing a few of mine. So I have a couple of different categories. One is wins around doula coaching. So the idea of doula coaching really started in the summertime of 2022. And honestly, way before that, a doula friend was like, why don't you coach Why don't you mentor doulas?" And I was like, I am not experienced enough, right?
And it was probably three, four years ago. And then I'm like, maybe I am experienced enough. I'm not sure what would make me experienced enough. And so that was an idea that really took root late last summer in 2022.
And then the fall of 2023 was all about gathering data, like talking to doulas, finding out if you want to do a coach, what would you want that to look like? And how would you want it to be? And how much do you think it should cost and things like that?
And then also looking at how could I logistically kind of build out a program that was for doula coaching. So fast forward to January of 2023. I had my very first cohort started in early January. And that was three doulas, Nikia, Allison and Dominique.
There was another duo that was in it briefly but then gifted her spot away, which was awesome of her. And you have heard all three of them on the podcast. They've all been interviewed on the podcast and continue to be some of the highest listen -to episodes.
And I'm actually going to re -release those in early January so that you can listen to them again because I want you to have a sense of their stories and kind of how they journeyed through this. And so so that first cohort consisted of six one -hour -long coaching sessions.
And we had a theme every single week. We talked through the material that they were supposed to go through in the educational component of the class. And it was good. It was amazing. It was wonderful.
And also there were some things about it that I didn't love. And so I was like, you know, what I'm finding is people are coming with all sorts of questions and issues and not necessarily wanting to discuss the topic at hand, right?
And the educational material you own forever. And so if you're not really ready for that week of educational material, you're not really going through it. And so then when we're discussing it, you feel like you're not able to bring up a question that you have, right?
So from that first cohort to the second cohort, which was a little later in the springtime, I shifted it where it was not topical. So we had still the six sessions. They were still one hour long, but we had the educational materials and I didn't tie those to our coaching sessions.
So that was one major shift that happened between those two cohorts. The next cohort, the third cohort for the year happened in the fall. And that cohort, I made the sessions an hour and a half long.
And I made eight of them. Because what I found was that six was not enough and an hour and a half was not enough to... time. And the first two cohorts, I just had three participants. And then in the fourth cohort, I had four participants, two of whom had re -enrolled from the previous cohort.
So that was huge, because they were my first two, like, repeat coaching people, you know, which as doulas, we kind of make a big deal about because we're like, oh, a repeat client. But that was really awesome that they were like, we loved it, and we want some more time with you.
And so we want to do it again. And so that felt really awesome, like, a vote of confidence from them. And so that last cohort, again, I learned some things. I have a cohort starting at the end of January.
And that one has some things that are shifting still. So we're going to have slightly different formatting, we're going to have a slightly different timeframe, we're going to have a slightly different, like, expectation for the meetings and in between time between the meetings.
And so, you know, it's something that I'm learning and growing into because the new part of my business. So that's one huge thing that I'm proud of from 2023 is that I have a coaching business that I did not previously have.
The next category of things I'm really proud of for 2024 is hiring people. Now I had hired people just in the sense of having backup doulas previously to this so I've never had like actual contractors that worked with me.
I didn't have a virtual assistant. I didn't have any of those kind of admin sort of folks in my business. And in 2023 I did that for the first time. And honestly it is a game changer. Like I cannot tell you how awesome it is to outsource some things.
And I fully appreciate that it's not affordable for everybody. However, if you had said to me, Kaylee, it's only going to cost you $100 a month to get started, I would have done it way sooner. So the first person that I hired was my awesome assistant named Hunter.
She is truly a game changer for this business and the person who allows these podcasts to even be listened to. So when I first started my podcast, it was almost two full years ago now. And I did everything on my own.
So I like recorded the podcast and then I edited it if needed. I added the intro and the outro. I wrote the show notes. I found the keywords. I wrote the title. I found I made the artwork. I made the promotional things about it.
I did every piece of it. And I really did not like doing it. And so I put it off forever like so many Tuesday nights and Thursday nights. I spent staying up super late watching a movie and doing the podcast stuff.
When I hired Hunter, I had said to her, you know, okay, I think I want to have a zoom call and like walk you through everything that I do, I have a whole document for you so you know like you know what do I do, when do I do it, and how do I, in what order blah blah blah, you can also like make this your own you know.
And I kid you not like when I was doing it, it probably took two to three to four hours of my week to get them out. Now granted I do two episodes a week so part of that's my own fault right, but two to three hours a week.
Hunter gets them out in less than five hours a month for eight episodes at a minimum. So when I tell you that she is better, more efficient, more consistent, and just all around amazing at it, I'm not kidding.
And so investing in having her as a like additional piece of my business, a support piece of my business has been the most amazing. part of this 2023 in terms of hiring support folks, okay? Then I hired another doula.
Many of you have already heard this because you know Kirsten's been around on the team for a little bit. In the summertime right around July 4th, I hired Kirsten as a doula in my business and the main idea behind that was for my business to serve as like a jumping board for her business and also to be able to offer things like overnight doula support that I can't offer to my clients right now.
And so adding her to the business was honestly terrifying for me because I just had never had another doula work with me, but it has been magical, like truly game -changing to the point that I added two more doulas recently that I will be announcing to you in January.
I'm so excited about it, and I'm hoping to bring on a fourth. When we talk about sustainability in the business and kind of looking down the road, having a team of doulas is a big piece of that for me because I have to be able to outsource some of the work that I do because I have way more client inquiries than I can take on myself and the number of clients I already have is more than I can really sustain having for many years.
So I want my client load to go down and I want to be able to outsource some of those folks to other doulas that I love and trust and that I'm like training and coaching and supporting right because I think that's a part of the profession really getting kind of moved forward as well.
The last piece that I will add in terms of hiring folks is having a copywriter. Now I will say one thing that I have found for myself in business is that things that I need to do but that I hate doing I put them off like crazy and that means they either take forever to get done like my podcast stuff or I just literally don't do them because I just put them off to the point that they never happen.
And so I can sometimes do that with social media, and sometimes do that with emailing. And so having a copywriter on the team has been tremendous in terms of me basically like idea vomiting on her and then her being like, let me make that into something that makes sense.
And me being like, yes, that is amazing. Thank you so much for writing that like that. And so that has been a pivotal thing in my business for this fall. The last thing that I really wanna highlight in terms of my things that I'm really proud of for 2023 is taking the leap to have business coaching.
Now, I am not someone who started out my business with capital. I didn't start with startup money. I didn't start with coaching. I didn't start with guidance of any kind truly. Like I had guidance from friends, from other doulas, from like, you know, like along the way, I informally had guidance, but I did not start with...
a lot of people on my team helping me figure out how to do this well. And so at this point in my business, I was sort of at this place of like, I need a coach who knows what they're doing to help me know how to move forward.
And so I had made the decision early in 2023 to hire Leanne Kim, who is my business coach. And then in the that was the first program I was in with her was three months. It was really awesome. And I was sort of like, this is amazing.
And also I need more like I can't I can't just walk into the rest of the year without a little bit more sustainable coaching. Right. And so then in the summertime, I decided to join her year long program that is called Mama Mentors, where I'm also mentoring other mama preneurs or mom entrepreneurs, not doulas, but like people who are doing other kinds of mom business work and things like that.
And I get her coaching, which is tremendous. And I'm in a coaching group with business owners who are also mothers who are all at or beyond $100 ,000 in revenue. The thing that's pivotal about that for me is that one of my things in 2023 was breaching that six figure mark in revenue.
And that was surprising. And also I was sort of like, oh, I thought $100 ,000 was a whole lot of money. And it's actually not that much money here in DC, right? Like it is actually not a ton of money to run a business with.
And so I needed a community of people that are beyond that point who can kind of show me something more and bigger. And also people who can say like, yeah, it's super freaking hard sometimes to have kids and have a business or to, you know, Okay, and try to have a healthy relationship with your partner and have a business, you know.
And so that group, we have the most most of 2024 to be in that group as well, because it's a group that started just this fall. But I am super excited about it because I know that the way that that is going to shape my business, having that support this year is going to be game changing forever.
So those are some of the things that I am most proud of in 2023. And there are so many other wins, like truly, I mean, I did this exercise recently where I just sat down and wrote out every win I could possibly think of, and it was pages of things.
And I think the thing that is so life -giving about that is that you really get a chance to celebrate yourself. And you get a chance to celebrate yourself as a person, celebrate yourself as a mom, celebrate yourself as a for me as a mom, but as a partner, as a doula, as a as all these different facets of who you are.
And I think that can be so lovely when we have these big goals in mind that we haven't gotten to and it's really easy to be like, yeah, but that thing that we're not at yet, why can't we do that? Right?
And instead to look back and be like, yeah, but look at the things I do, like look at this thing. I am doing that thing and I did choose myself in and that is something to be proud of. So that is the 2023 recap.
We do have one more episode for this beautiful year of 2023. And then we will branch into 2024. And I cannot wait to walk that year out with you all. I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the doula Tips and Tips podcast.
If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share that on Instagram and tag us at heradoula. So we can celebrate alongside you. If you found this podcast helpful, we would so appreciate you taking a second to leave a rating and a review on your favorite podcast app.
That helps other doulas find us as we do this work together. This podcast is intended as educational and entertainment. It is not medical advice or business advice. Please consult your own medical or legal team for your own needs around your health and your business.
We'll see you again soon.
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2023 recap is here! This episode we are diving into my four goals I completed in 2023 and the steps I took to get there. We have talked a lot about goal setting for 2024, so maybe my goals will help you create some of your own.
Quote from the show:
“Now, I am not someone who started out my business with capital. I didn't start with startup money. I didn't start with coaching. I didn't start with guidance of any kind truly. Like I had guidance from friends, from other doulas, from like, you know, like along the way, I informally had guidance, but I did not start with... a lot of people on my team helping me figure out how to do this well. And so at this point in my business, I was sort of at this place of like, I need a coach who knows what they're doing to help me know how to move forward. And so I had made the decision early in 2023 to hire Leanne Kim, who is my business coach. And then in the that was the first program I was in with her was three months. It was really awesome. And I was sort of like, this is amazing. ”
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
