The Difference Between Dreams and Goals in Your Doula Business

Nov 7

Transcript
Welcome to Dula Tips and Tits, the podcast where we cut through the noise and get real about what it takes to build a sustainable doula business. I'm Kaylee Harrod. I've been a doula informally for 14 years and full time for seven.
Around here, we don't sugarcoat stuff. We talk autonomy, owning your worth, creating a business that works for you. No fluff, no burnout, just the honest truth on how to be your own best boss. Let's get into today's episode.
Welcome back to Dula Tips and Tits. I want to talk for a minute today about the difference between goals and dreams in your business. This is going to be a shorter episode because I just want to kind of give you some questions to think about, but also because I want to really encourage you to come to the workshop on December 6th to really strategize about your actual goals.
To start off with, I think both dreaming and setting goals is very, very important in business in general. I think in your doula business especially, it's important because if you're a small business owner, then you are your motivation and you've got to keep that going strong or it's going to fizzle.
When I think about dreams, I think about things that are farther out, like a place that you don't necessarily know exactly how you'll get there at the moment. I realize there's some overlap there with a goal and I'll talk about that in a minute, but really dreams are something that should be a little bit scary.
I'm going to share a dream with you that I have. One of my dreams is for this company that I have to be a multi-million dollar company, and that sounds a little bit crazy to me at the moment. To be honest, part of my brain as I say that is like, how, right?
Because that's how my brain works, but also because it just feels like a really far way off. Now the fact that I am at multiple six figures tells me I can do that, right? Like I can get there. I know I can get there.
I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna get there yet, but I am going to. I'm committed to that for myself, for my family, right? A goal that I have is to do trainings for doulas and perinatal professionals on trauma-informed care.
So that's like a much more tangible goal. A goal that I feel like is closer to me in terms of what's within reach, but a dream is to speak all over the country about how trauma-informed care saves lives in obstetric situations and in birth and perinatal situations, and that feels like, how would I even do that?
There's some fear around that, but also some like, I can't imagine that looking like what it would look like and how it would go. When I think about the difference here in a goal and a dream, I think about how tangible it is to get there.
Like what are the steps and if those steps can be in fact traced out? So for instance, if I want to begin to speak to people about perinatal support that's trauma informed, one of the things I can do is get a trauma informed certification.
I'm actually working on that at the moment. That gives me some kind of credibility behind a proposal that I can take to hospitals and birth centers and things like that to start that path. So there's actual steps I can take.
Another goal I have is to be an IBCLC. I can see that journey. Like I could aim for 2026 for instance, or 2027 if I wanted to, and kind of map out how I could get there. I still need to be strategic about it and I still need to sit down and actually map it out.
But it's not something where I'm like one day far off in the future, right? It is something that I'm like, this is my goal and I plan to do it. And so that is the difference there. What I want to challenge you to do today is to take some time and write down some dreams and some goals and classify your goals as things that you can do quickly or slowly or medium speed.
So IBCLC for me is a slow goal. trauma-informed certification is a fast goal. I already have that training and I can finish it and then be certified in that thing. And so that is a goal I can finish in the next couple months, where being an IBCLC is not a couple months goal.
I need to map out what that exactly is going to look like and then have milestones along the way that are my micro-goals to get to that bigger goal. Okay. The reason I want to invite you to the January 6th workshop is that that workshop is all about this.
It's about mapping out goals and then strategically having ways to get there by building on what you're already doing. And if 2024 has been kind of a crappy year for you in business, that's okay. We can still analyze that and work with it and grow and change and help us be more productive in 2025.
So you are not a lost cause if 2024 did not look how you wanted it to look or didn't look as good as you wanted it to look. It's still fine for 2024 to be something that we use as information to build on.
And that is an important step when you're planning for a new year. So I really wanna invite you to the workshop. The details are in the show notes. It's on January 6th at 12 p.m. Eastern. It's a two-hour workshop.
It costs $37 and there's only 25 spots because I want to be sure that we have time to really dig into each individual business. So that's part of the reality around charging for it and also having it be very limited and who can come so that we really can give you some specific information and attention to your business about how to move forward.
When I've done this workshop in the past, people have said that it was very affirming and also gave them like super clear benchmarks for what to do in the coming weeks and months. So I will see you in the next episodes.
I know that this week has been a little wonky in timing in terms of episodes coming out. I apologize for that. The election and babies have just, you know, made it tricky to stay on schedule. And so we're gonna get back into our rhythm and see you in next week's episode, both the guest episode and then also the solo episode.
All right, see you soon. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Dula Tips and Tits 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 hiradula 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.

In your doula business it’s vital to take a step back and reflect on the year—what went well, what didn’t, and where there’s room to grow in your doula business. If you’re ready to get focused, intentional, and strategic for the new year, I’ve got just the thing for you: a two-hour, interactive workshop where we’ll do this exact process together. Let’s set the stage for your strongest year yet!

https://harroddoulaservices.thrivecart.com/level-up-your-doula-biz-2024-pod/

Your doula business needs you to dream big and also set big, bold goals and make STEPS to actually achieve said goals. These are both important and absolutely not the same. Listen today to get you started dreaming and goal-making both. Then go sign up for the Dec 6th workshop!!

Quote from show:

“I think both dreaming and setting goals is very, very important in business in general. I think in your doula business especially, it's important because if you're a small business owner, then you are your motivation and you've got to keep that going strong or it's going to fizzle. When I think about dreams, I think about things that are farther out, like a place that you don't necessarily know exactly how you'll get there at the moment. I realize there's some overlap there with a goal and I'll talk about that in a minute, but really dreams are something that should be a little bit scary. I'm going to share a dream with you that I have. One of my dreams is for this company that I have to be a multi-million dollar company, and that sounds a little bit crazy to me at the moment. To be honest, part of my brain as I say that is like, how, right? Because that's how my brain works, but also because it just feels like a really far way off. Now the fact that I am at multiple six figures tells me I can do that, right? Like I can get there. I know I can get there. I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna get there yet, but I am going to. I'm committed to that for myself, for my family, right? A goal that I have is to do trainings for doulas and perinatal professionals on trauma-informed care.”

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Doula Tips and Tits is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services

It is sponsored by The Doula Biz Blueprint Self-Paced Class for Doulas Launching Successful and Sustainable Businesses!

Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay