Doula Tips and Tits with Kaely Harrod

Business reviews are a big part of social proof! Doulas need reviews and recommendations from current and past clients in order to get traction with future clients. The reality is that it can be tricky to get reviews either because you’re nervous to ask or because your clients just had a baby! Keep listening to hear what my favorite way to ask is!  Before we dive into HOW I want to hammer down the...

Big Dreams are super important in any business. As a doula, do you dream big? Do you give yourself time to dream as a doula AND as a business owner? Do you give yourself space to think WAY bigger than usual? Join me in doing just that!  Business dreams go in this order: Dream, Goal, Plan. So in order to plan we have to first dream, yet so often we just jump right ahead to planning without ever tak...

Doulas need emotional and relational encouragement just as much as any other person. But this work is especially taxing in how you give of yourself for the type of support you are giving to clients. While we need those skills in all of life to really decipher who is a good support person that is really vital for doulas. This episode outlines what types of support every doula needs to have on their...

What do I need to know to be a doula? What might I be missing? What if there’s something crucial that I’ve never known and I find it out later?? These are hard questions, but normal questions! When we are coming to anything new we are faced with questions like theses that can be debilitating if we let them be! So how do we bridge this gap and not just leave new doulas feeling swept away by the anx...

Branding and consistency in marketing is important, but can be daunting. As a new doula you already have many things to think about in your business, but you don’t want to skip over thinking about what your business is about and what your core values are in your business and how you want to connect with your future clients. Today’s episode dives into how to start thinking about this in your busine...

Doulas need things that all businesses need! Websites, branding, marketing, networking, etc. Today we are working on websites! What to write, when to write it and how to make it work for you. Doulas can let their websites speak to their ideal client before ever connecting with them on a call. If you’re working on websites Erin Ollila is the person you want telling you what to write on it! She’s a...

A baby race is what I affectionately call two babies coming on the same day. Today’s episode is a continuation of the last episode about planning for possible baby races and babies getting all mixed up together. Spacing out due dates is one way doulas help to avoid this situation, but it’s not entirely avoidable.  How you space due dates is one thing, but landing on what makes you most comfortable...

Avoiding a baby race is the aim of doulas near and far! Two babies coming at once when they are not both due at once is a contingency that a doula has to plan for, even if it’s unlikely, and even if it’s fairly rare. Having a solid backup system that works well and is full of trustworthy doulas is the biggest key in this regard. This episode and next will dive into having backup systems and also s...

You are a doula. You are also a business owner. You’re self-employed! That can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! It is often something that I see doulas neglect. They want to be a doula, they are excited to work with clients, but they do NOT love the idea of running a business! Another amazing thing to aspire to (or being with if you have the finances!) is to hire a team of contractors o...

Doulas come in all shapes and sizes, for lack of a better phrase! We have all different struggles physically and otherwise just like all humans! As a person with various chronic conditions, I want to talk through doing doula work while also supporting your own body’s needs and limitations.  Doula work is physically demanding work, so keeping your body well supported throughout the time you’re with...

Today’s topic is on a long list of biases and misconceptions people have about doula work. If we think about other professions we do not require that people have a specific experience in what they do before they do it, or ever for that matter. You can be an amazing doula whether or not you even have a womb! Or ever plan to have children. Or if you would love children but can’t have them. None of t...

Doula Training and Certification is typically the first step into doula work. Doula coaching is a bit different because it’s the guidance you need as you’re putting your work into action after training is over. Doula trainings can leave you feeling excited and also overwhelmed as you set off to actually do this work. A coach should help you sort through your own approach as a doula, brainstorm and...

Social Media for Doulas can be intimidating! It is especially hard to think about competing with folks who have a whole social media team! As a new doula something is better than nothing and the more you regularly post the more you will flex the muscle of doing it. It will become loads easier with time. If you want a little slice of how my own online presence has grown over the years, I welcome yo...

Finding doula clients is an imperative part of doula work. New doulas are often trying to figure out how to find doulas when they’re just getting started. I remember some advice of just approaching pregnant people who are out in the wild! The reality is that every doula needs various streams of clients, so there are multiple answers to this particular question. I like to refer to these as slow, me...

Being a new doula can make you feel a lot of imposter syndrome anyway, but when you feel the need to know absolutely everything that does NOT help! Everything is not something that anyone knows! A new doula or otherwise.  One key to remember is that you DO know more than you think you do! You also have credible resources from training and books and online resources. So there are strategies that ma...

Meet The Doula events are meant to be a way for pregnant parents to learn about doulas and meet a few as well! It’s also an opportunity for doulas to get comfortable with talking about what they do and how they serve families without having to have people set up a doula consultation individually with each doula.  I suggest thinking about how/where to meet doulas who could participate, think about...

Just like before a birth it’s important to prepare (check out the last episode for that info!), it’s just as important to have a post-birth ritual or rhythm to help yourself recover. Births are a lot of work both physically and emotionally, so it’s vital to have a ritual of coming down from the work you’ve done as a doula and helping yourself be ready for the next client.  This is one more of many...

Before heading into a birth it’s important to prepare yourself well so you can be as strong and ready as possible. One big unpredictable piece of this work is how long a birth could possibly be. Because of that it’s imperative that you prepare yourself before arrival so you can support your own wellbeing.  We are all different in how we prepare, so this is just to get you started thinking about wh...

I remember when I was super intimidated by Doula Consultations. I felt super awkward each time, unsure of what to say or how to engage in a meaningful way with prospective clients. I also always felt like I was selling myself rather than meeting this possible client to assess if we were a good fit for each other or not. Over time I shifted both my strategy and my mindset around these conversations...

If you live in an area full of doulas like I do it can feel a little intimidating to put yourself out there and seem like a different or unique option. I am firmly against the idea that you have to market yourself by saying you are the BEST or the ULTIMATE or any other bleh marketing words. You can set yourself apart by building relationships and showing your unique experience without needing to d...

Marketing yourself as a doula is vital to the process of getting clients. Oftentimes the strategy that works the best varies from person to person. From referrals to social media to teaching classes and organically meeting pregnant people there are many different ways to approach meeting and working with clients. Location is also a big factor here because in smaller communities with fewer doulas y...

Cost of doula services is a hot topic. As you know, I care deeply about people being paid well in this work. I do also care deeply about equity and access to doula care. I just firmly do not believe that should happen at the expense of the doulas. We need better systems in place to support families who have less financial resources and ALSO support doula work as a sustainable and well-paid career....

From vacations to dinners with friends to Dr appointments for yourself or loved ones, there are things in life that you need to attend! How do you do that when you’re on call as a doula? This is a tricky part of our work; I’ll be the first to admit that! There’s a reason people buy shirts that say “unless I’m at a birth”!  Episodes Mentioned: Episode 101: How Do I Take Time Off As a Doula? https:/...

Today I get to introduce you to Allison Nevalga of Kaya Ko Doula Services. She’s another of my Doula Biz Blueprint Coaching Students. She shares a bit about her own birth stories as well as how her doula business got started and has grown. Her unique perspective from where she started in her first pregnancy to where she is now is worth a listen!  Meet Allison Nevalga of Kaya Ko Doula Services My n...

Nikkea Anderson and I first connected when she was already trained as a doula but figuring out what she wanted to do and how to get started in this work. She was working full-time in daycare services and had been for many years. Fast forward to today and this is her final work in a daycare because she’s doing full time doula work in an agency and taking on private clients. She was struggling with...