Do Doulas Need Business Strategy?
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Kaely Harrod 00:04
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 Herat. 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, lovely cheerleader 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. Today, we are answering the question, Do doulas need business strategy? Now? The short answer is yes. Yes, we do. And that's all that's the end of the episode. I of course, I'm going to add to that answer. But one of the things that I love to think about when I think about doula work is the work that we support in birth. If you're a birth doula, you support the process of labor, right? And we would not say that someone should go into the process of labor, knowing nothing about labor, having no strategy at all, having no plan, no preference is no sort of goal to get to besides just like, have a kid, right? Because we know that while someone can just go into labor, knowing nothing and successfully get to the other side, there's a significant risk of trauma, there's a significant risk of harm along the way, there's, at the very least a lack of knowledge, which can be really scary for people, right. And then there's also a loss of autonomy in that because you don't get to kind of design what you want some of this experience to be and how you want to be supported in the midst of it. So one of the things that I think is similar between a doula business and doula work, specifically labor doula support, is that you need to have some kind of game plan, and also a little bit of flexibility for how this might go. So when you're thinking about a birth plan, for instance, you would normally encourage clients to have a birth plan, and also have some flexibility in how the birth might play out. Because the reality is, we don't control these things in the midst of birth, right. Similarly, in your business, it's important to have a strategy of some kind, but also have an expansive vision for how this could go and that it might be even more amazing than you imagine. Right? One of the big things that I think we do ourselves a disservice in when we're talking about doula work, is coming into this work, sort of just like freely being like, I want to support clients. But I don't really have any solid goals outside of that, right? I remember very clearly, a dear friend, who's also a business owner, saying to me, how many goals how many clients do you want to support this year? Like, what is your goal number of clients? And I was like, I don't know. And, like, wait, what, like, how? So how many births Do you want to attend? And I'm, like, as many as I can. And she's like, but no, you don't want it like so, big part of this. I know, this sounds a little bit ridiculous. But part of it was this feeling of like, I'm going to do whatever I can to get this business going. And so I'm going to attend as many births as possible. But what I didn't mean is I was going to attend like six or seven a month, right? Like what I meant was one or 123. But also, I couldn't even imagine getting to 12. Right? And so I was in this shaky space of just being like, I don't want to set goals, because then what if I don't get to them. And in that space, I then had no strategy for getting to a goal that I would possibly set, right? So part of what I want you to think through as you're beginning this dude work is how do you get to where you want to be? In order to have that strategy, you need to know where you're going, you need to know where you want to be right? And also have a realistic expectation for how that might go. Now, this looks different for everyone. This is where I think doula coaching really needs to be a little bit more specific to you. Because you can't say okay, my goal is to have you know, 15 clients this year, and I'm gonna have you know that in order to get that goal, I'm going to have one to three clients every single month. And then another person is saying they want to have some Six clients for this year because they want to only take one birth every other month, you can't have the exact same strategy for those two goals because those two goals are drastically different from each other right? Now, of course, some of the same strategies apply in terms of like getting clients and networking and having referrals and meeting other birth, doulas in the area and things like that, right. So there are things that can be applied to both. But your actual goals are so different, that the work around getting to those goals or the strategy for getting to those goals is also different. Right? So what I don't want you to walk away from this episode with is a feeling of like, overwhelm that you have to know your strategy right this minute. But I do want you to fully embrace the fact that if you are starting out as a doula doula work is a business and you have to embrace the part of running a business, as well as the part of being a doula. Those two things go together. And it's really important that you hold them together, or neither of them are going to work well. Okay. I know that this is a shorter episode, we're gonna be diving into a little bit more of strategy stuff in the future. But I just wanted to kind of touch on it, in part because this is something that I am meeting with people about right now. And so I'm having a lot of these strategy conversations and it's an important topic for us to continue to go back to as business owners, but also as doulas, so, I would love to hear from you. I would love to hear what question you would like for me to answer. Hop on over to Instagram at her rod doula, send me a quick message. And then I would love to all mention you when I answer your question and episode and give you kind of a shout out and a tag during that episode. So I am super excited to connect with you. In the meantime, I wish you consent filled, well informed, doula experiences.
Kaely Harrod 07:19
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 Herat doula, 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 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
Description text goes here
Strategy and planning is at the center of what we do as doulas. If we support birth we tell our clients they should go into the process of labor with a plan, or at least a bit of knowledge and some preferences! Because we know that while someone can just go into labor, knowing nothing and successfully get to the other side, there's a significant risk of trauma, there's a significant risk of harm along the way, there's, at the very least a lack of knowledge, which can be really scary for people! Your Doula Business is similar to this! You need to have some kind of game plan, and also a little bit of flexibility for how this might go.
You need to have an idea of not only where you hope to go as a doula, but also what that could look like and how you may get there. Now I specifically want to encourage you to both DREAM BIG and also plan strategically. Those two need to go hand in hand. They need to be held together, just like in birth preparation.
Key Takeaways:
All business owners need plans and strategy
Doula business owners are no different
There’s still a LOT of variety in how that can look
But intentional planning is important no matter what your goals are!
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https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below and coupon code PODCAST
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/birth-prep-blueprint
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
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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
