The Doula Darcy Podcast

Do doulas really need liability insurance? What does it actually cover? And do you need professional liability insurance, general liability insurance…or both? These are questions that come up ALL THE TIME in doula groups and instead of relying on what someone heard from another doula who heard it from someone else, I decided to go directly to the source. In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast,...

Why real-life connection might be one of the most underrated ways to build a sustainable doula business. What if one of the best things you could do for your doula business had nothing to do with marketing, strategy, social media or even AI? I recorded this quickie episode in real time as I was getting ready for one of my favorite weeks of the entire year: the Maine Doula Business Retreat. And whi...

What does it actually take to go from doing doula work "on the side" to making it your full-time career? In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm talking with My Doula Village member Rachel Bailey about exactly that. When Rachel joined My Doula Village in June 2025, she was a college professor teaching Public Health while also trying to build her doula business on the side. She loved doula...

As doulas, we already know that words matter. We help clients change the way they think and talk about birth. We use affirmations. We pay attention to the language being used in the birth room. We know that one seemingly innocent comment from a provider can completely change how someone experiences their labor. But have you ever stopped to think about the language (via self-talk) and the deeply he...

Only Have 3 Hours to Market Your Doula Business? Do This If you only had three hours a week to market your doula business, what should you do with them?   Should you batch 50 Instagram Reels? Post three times a day? Try to educate every pregnant person in your community about why they need a doula? My answer is easy: work on your SEO. In this episode, I'm explaining why search engine optimization,...

If working harder were the secret to making more money, the busiest doulas would also be the wealthiest. But that's not what we're seeing. Too many talented doulas are working 6 nights/week, attending birth after birth, squeezing in more clients, putting their own needs last and still struggling to make the numbers work. And eventually, something has to give. In this episode of The Doula Darcy Pod...

Exactly What I Say to Get Doula Clients to Hire Me Without Feeling Sales-y You don't need to become "better at sales" to book more doula clients. In fact, the harder you try to sell yourself during a doula interview, the more awkward it can feel for you and the potential client. In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm sharing 6 simple phrases I use during doula interviews to help potential...

If You're Charging $600 for a Birth, We Need to Talk In this episode, I dive into one of the biggest mistakes I see doulas making: setting rates without considering the real costs of running a business. From liability insurance and continuing education to website costs, self-care, and recovery after births, your pricing needs to cover far more than the hours you're physically attending a birth. If...

As doulas, we spend our days nurturing, supporting, and caring for everyone else. But how can we also teach mothers how to care for themselves? In this week's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Gertrude Lyons , author of Rewrite the Mother Code: From Sacrifice to Stardust , for a conversation that completely reframes what it means to support women through motherhood. We dive into the concept of self-mothe...

Do you hate social media? You're definitely not alone. In fact, it's one of the biggest complaints I hear from doulas. In this episode, I'm sharing a mindset shift that has completely changed the way I look at social media and it's changing the way my students think about it too. Instead of seeing social media as another annoying marketing task, what if you saw it as one of the most powerful ways...

On the Doula Darcy Podcast, Darcy interviews Ciarra Morgan, owner of Empowered Beginnings in Austin, host of the Birth, Baby! Podcast, and founder of Birth, Baby! Academy, about using authentic networking to grow a doula business doula without relying heavily on social media or paid ads. Ciarra explains that the best early referrals come from other perinatal professionals such as chiropractors, pe...

Is Your Doula Business Feeling Slow Right Now? If your inquiries have slowed down, you're not alone. In this episode, Doula Darcy tackles the "elephant in the room" that many doulas are experiencing right now: fewer inquiries, fewer consultations, and a noticeable slowdown in business. Drawing from conversations with doulas across the English-speaking world and her own 16-year-old postpartum doula...

Why Doula Agencies Take a Cut (and Why Hard Conversations Matter) The Doula Darcy cuts right to the chase on this episode, urging doulas to stop complaining about typical 25–30% agency commissions (noting 45–50% is excessive) and explaining that agencies earn their cut by handling contracting, negotiations, interviews, background checks, references, invoicing, client management software, and the s...

You Can't Build a High-Value Doula Business with Low-Value Decisions In this candid and "slightly spicy" episode, Darcy challenges a pattern she's seeing across the doula industry: the constant search for the fastest, cheapest, and free-est way to build a doula business. From low-cost trainings to DIY websites and free mentorship requests, she breaks down why this mindset is quietly sabotaging dou...

In this episode, Darcy sits down with PR expert and seasoned doula Kristin Revere , founder of Gold Coast Doulas, to break down how doulas can bootstrap their own public relations strategy without spending thousands on a Public Relations agency. From pitching local media to leveraging national features, Kristin shares actionable, real-world strategies to help doulas get visible, build authority, a...

Would you ever guess that The Doula Darcy is an introvert? She is! And this week, she's sharing encouragement and practical tips for introverted doulas. She explains how introverts recharge alone, why she books her own hotel room at events to decompress and rest early, and how learning about introversion (including the book Quiet) reduced her guilt and helped her plan downtime.   Drawing on early...

Money, mindset, and what to actually do when your income grows In this episode, Doula Darcy is diving into a topic that doesn't get talked about enough in the doula world.  Money . Inspired by doulas in the My Doula Village community who are hitting consistent five-figure months, this conversation explores both the  practical strategies and the mindset shifts needed to handle more income with conf...

It's World Doula Week!  But what the heck does that even mean and what are we supposed to be doing? Doula Darcy breaks it down for you in this episode and shares 5 actionable things you can do to piggyback off of World Doula Week and spread awareness about your own doula business.  ✨ Connect with Darcy on Instagram : @thedouladarcy   / thedouladarcy     Join My Doula Village   for deeper training...

If you're a doula wondering what to post on Instagram to get more clients, this podcast episode is for you. Today I'm talking with Instagram expert Molly Cahill all about how doulas can use Instagram to grow a local business, attract more of the right clients, and stop overthinking social media. We cover what actually works on Instagram right now, why you do not need to go viral, and how to create...

If you've ever thought about adding passive income to your doula business but felt overwhelmed by building a course from scratch this episode is for you. Today I'm joined by Lizzie Bolliger (aka Fierce Lizzie), founder of Unmedicated Academy , to talk about what it really takes to build an online offer as a birth worker. We cover: How Lizzie went from high school math teacher to full-time online c...

The Power of In-Person Events for Doulas - Retreats, Summits, and Putting Yourself in the Room with Doula Darcy & Jodi Congdon   We're trying something new and doing a joint podcast episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast and The Birth Boss Podcast today!   In this episode, Darcy & Jodi discuss why in-person events are a powerful catalyst for business growth, mindset shifts, and community in the doula...

Curious about pricing strategies for doulas? It's your business, your decision! Explore why some doulas showcase prices online while others don't, and what might work best for you. Register for the free webinar that Darcy mentioned on How to Get Doula Clients here: https://douladarcy.com/webinar   RESOURCES MENTIONED 📥 FREE Doula Client-Getting Cheat Sheet → https://douladarcy.com/how-to-start-g....

In this episode, I'm coming to you from sunny Clearwater, Florida a few days ahead of The Birthworker Retreat. I share the behind-the-scenes of how I intentionally designed this event (and my life!) to match my personal needs and seasonal rhythms. From walks on the beach and hotel massages to the mindset shifts that took me from burnt-out martyr to thriving doula business owner, I walk you through...

There comes a moment in many doula businesses when everything is technically "working"… You're getting clients. You're good at what you do. You're busy, maybe sometimes too busy. And yet, the income still isn't where it needs to be. In this episode, I'm talking about the very real (and very common) moment when doulas hit an income ceiling  and what to do when you realize that trading hours for dol...

If you're a people pleaser (and if you're a doula… chances are high), this episode is for you. In this conversation, Darcy unpacks the quiet but powerful connection between the work doulas do for their clients — teaching them to advocate for themselves, ask questions, and trust their gut — and the places we  don't do that in our own lives and businesses. From birth rooms to living rooms, doulas ar...