Do These 4 Things to Build A Sustainable Doula Business
Have you ever wondered how to grow a sustainable doula business beyond just supporting births in person?
If you’ve been curious about how to have a bigger impact in the birth community and make more money at the same time… then get out a pen and paper, this episode is for you!
Things you’ll learn in this episode:
How to build a sustainable doula business from day one…
What types of offer you need to create for your doula business…
How to make an even bigger impact on the birth community…
… and a whole lot more!
I didn’t know what a doula was until 4 years ago…
…And now I can introduce myself as the CEO of a multi-six-figure birth business. (We will get into what that looks like in this blog)
I’m not gonna lie, it feels really weird to introduce myself as the CEO of a FREAKING company because it was only four years ago that I even learned what a doula was.
That's how fast you can turn your passion for birth into a business that impacts tens of thousands of lives across the world, day in and day out. That's how fast it can happen for you.
But let me tell you, it won't happen easily UNLESS you learn how to avoid burnout from the start by building an authentic doula business that fits your lifestyle… and unless you STOP trying to conform to what everyone else is doing.
So if you read one sentence from this entire blog, let it be this…
Build a sustainable and authentic doula business from day one.
If you are not doing what I'm about to teach you, from day one, you will hit a roadblock, you will quit. It's only a matter of time, I promise you. Because as the years go on, your business will have to change to meet your needs.
Your needs are going to change as you get older, and your business will have to change too.
But if you're not ready to pivot… and if you don't see the endless opportunities to create income in the birth community… you won't know how to make your business pivot with you.
Before we jump into the actual practical strategies to build a sustainable doula business, I want you to take a second and think about your favorite birth educators and birth influencers.
Why? Because I bet that damn near every single one of them is doing what I'm about to teach you.
They are finding ways to impact the global birth community beyond simply attending births in person.
And BTW, a lot of us are still birth doulas! We still go to births, yes, but we've figured out that the way to burnout-proof our business (and make birthwork a sustainable thing for ourselves) is to look beyond the status quo doula role and step into something so much bigger.
So that’s why we’re here… to teach you the four totally different ways that you can build a wildly successful (and totally sustainable) doula business that fits your lifestyle.
Why is it important that the doula business you build is sustainable?
Because your needs are going to change throughout the years… and your business is going to have to change to meet those needs.
If you're not ready to pivot (and if you don't see the opportunities in the birth community) you're gonna quit.
So, HOT TIP — I want you to constantly be asking yourself, “What am I doing to make this sustainable for me?”
Okay, so let's get into those four different ways that you can create a sustainable doula business that fits your lifestyle.
So the very first way is where a lot of people are starting... and that is in-person doula services.
In-Person Doula Services
Offering in-person doula services could look like birth doula support, postpartum doula support, or even placenta encapsulation. Or even things like birth photography, prenatal yoga, in-person birth classes, mother's circles, and in-person support groups.
All of the offers that I listed above are amazing options! And for a lot of doulas, this is the foundation of their offerings. This is where a lot of doulas start… and actually, this is where a lot of doulas end.
Most doulas start off by offering in-person birth support and postpartum support, and then they don't ever extend their services beyond that.
And that's what I want you to watch out for.
Why? Because if your income relies only on supporting someone in person, what happens when you can't be on call or don’t want to be on call?
Throughout your life, there will be times where you want to take a step back…where you don't want to be on call so much… it WILL HAPPEN. It’s only a matter of time…
And so you need to ask yourself, “What am I going to do to sustain my income during the periods of my life where I don't want to be on call?”
So that's where we start talking about offering virtual doula services.
Virtual Doula Services
I would say most doulas are dabbling in offering virtual doula support, especially since the last few years (re: the pandemic) changed birth culture and hospital policy.
If you are not already offering virtual services, this should be your next step.
Virtual services can include virtual birth support, virtual postpartum support, or maybe even one-on-one coaching.
For one-on-one coaching, you can create an offer (maybe a 30-minute “pick my brain session”) that people can pay for and schedule right from your Instagram bio or website.
You could also offer online support groups. So, maybe instead of doing an in-person mother’s circle every month, you create a weekly virtual support group.
Virtual support groups are actually a pretty common offer for doulas and something I totally recommend.
Something else I would consider adding to your “offer stack” is an online workshop.
Can you put together a Zoom workshop about birth planning, prenatal tests, or maybe about preparing for a VBAC?
Essentially, a virtual service is anything that still requires you to show up in real-time, but it’s virtually instead of in person.
The next way to expand your impact as a birth worker is by selling tangible products.
Creating and Selling Tangible Products
I would LOVE to see more doulas doing this!
Something that you can sell as a birthworker is a deck of affirmation cards.
Step One: Draw up some affirmation cards by hand and upload them into a printing software. (Not artistic? No worries, just create them in Canva.)
Step Two: Order them in bulk and have them delivered to your house.
Step Three: Buy supplies for packaging — most people order from amazon.
Step Four: Set up a sales page on your website.
Step Five: Put in a little work and watch the sales come in
✨ Ta-dah! You’ve created a tangible product.
Full disclosure… I haven’t personally created affirmation cards, but I do sell my book online!
It's called Bringing Birth Home and it's a collection of stories of birth beyond the hospital.
Whatever you decide, adding tangible products to your “offer stack” is a great way to increase your profit and burnout-proof your business.
The next (and my favorite) way to expand your offerings is by creating digital offers.
Creating Digital Offers
This is what I've implemented in my own business, and it’s led to amazing success.
Digital offers are not like virtual services… Remember, virtual services require you to show up in real-time, whereas digital offers are all pre-recorded.
Digital offers do not require you to show up live on Zoom (or for you to show up for a phone call to support someone in real-time).
Digital offers are the offers that you can sell 24/7/365.
You could create an ebook or a pdf download… maybe a birth plan template, or maybe audio meditations for pregnancy and birth.
The options are endless, but the magic remains the same: these are offers that you don't have to deliver live. You can sell them from your website while you're sleeping or sipping vino on the couch watching Stranger Things.
If you can’t tell already, my favorite type of “digital offer” is an online course.
I have a business that is geared towards moms, @theautonomymommy, and I have online birth courses that range from $37 to $397.
My best-selling birth course has sold well over 1,000 copies and is a mini-course about mindset. ONE THOUSAND COPIES! Can you believe that? I made a course ONCE and sold it 1,000 times!
Can you just imagine for a second, what it would look like to start incorporating these types of offers into your doula business?
What would it look like to start expanding your services to include these other money-generating offers beyond supporting birth in person?
What would it look like to not have to show up in person all the time?
Maybe it's creating an ebook... Maybe it's creating affirmation cards... For me, it's mostly digital courses.
But whatever you choose, just know that when you start incorporating these things from day one, you're setting yourself up for success.
If you do these things, you’re going to be ready to pivot at any given moment.
Remember… every step of the way, I want you to stop and ask yourself, “What am I doing to make this sustainable?”...
But even more importantly, I want you to start imagining what it's going to feel like to stop trying to build a successful doula business, and what it's going to feel like to actually do it.
thank you for listening
If this episode lights you up, I’d love it if you’d rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. After you review the show, snap a pic and upload it here… and I’ll send you a little surprise as a thank you.
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Systems I use behind the scenes in my doula business to make my life easier.
✨ BIRTHWORKER ACADEMY
Go from side-gig doula to full-time birthworker... so you can impact lives all across the world.
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Meet your host, Kyleigh Banks, a side-gig doula turned CEO of a multi-six-figure birth-focused business. Her passion? Teaching birth nerds, like you, how to build an incredibly successful doula business that allows you to quit your day job, stay home with your kids, and most importantly, make a lasting impact on the world.