3 Things I'm NOT doing to Grow My Doula Business
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Kaely E Harrod (00:37)
Hello and welcome back to Doula Tips and Tits. Today we're going to talk about three things that I am not doing to grow my business and that I think you should also not do to grow your business. So I think in a season where for one, it's just transitional time, right? We're moving from summer into fall. We are transitioning into school if you have kiddos in school or if you are in school yourself. and so there are transitions happening all around us.
I think this is the perfect time to kind of get back on track with your everyday and your business, like what is your general like mode of operation, et cetera. the thing that I don't think it's the right time for is to do things that aren't strategically helping your business. So for me, one thing I'm not going to do in this next quarter is create a new offer. Right. Now, it's not that you should never create a new offer. You know this. You know that I like a good new offer.
But if your business feels like something needs to change, something needs to grow, it's almost never starting something new that you've never ever done before. And I just want to say that again. Like if your business feels like something needs to shift, something needs to grow, there needs to be more revenue, there needs to be more bandwidth, there needs to be more buffer, it's almost never by creating a brand new offer you've never had.
That is not a fast growth situation, right? And I don't mean like, change your birth package from this to that. I mean like offer something you've literally never offered. Please don't do that this quarter. And maybe do it. But if you're wanting to grow, if you're needing to grow, and that's what your focus is on, the growth almost never comes from a brand new thing. It usually comes from better intentional strategy.
Around one of the offers you already have. So the first thing I would stop doing, and I have stopped doing myself, is creating a brand new offer that no one's ever seen that you think is going to be amazing. Freebie, package, course, workshop, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Please don't do it. Okay, number two, I would stop assuming, I do stop assuming that being busy means your business is growing. I think intentional growth is different than busyness.
I love busyness for you. Like if you're fully booked, I love that for you. If you are partially booked but pretty busy, I also love that for you. But it doesn't mean that you are working to intentionally grow your actual business, right? And part of that is different the difference between doula work and your CEO time and your business. Like we neglect that time, especially when we're busy with doula clients, because we do the doula part so much easier.
Right. It's so much more intuitive, so much more fluid, so much easier for us to do the doula stuff. And so we do that. But the reality is that we do it at the expense of the CEO time. And then we're not intentionally growing because we're just getting by day to day, serving the clients that we have, which again, depending on the season you're in, is not always bad. Right. But it's also not growing your business. And I think part of
Client retention and client referrals and things like that is having amazing rapport with your clients, which matters a lot. But also, it doesn't mean that you should be constantly busy with doula clients. If you are, you actually probably don't put nearly enough focus on the actual strategy of business growth. And that is going to catch up to you.
Right. And if you're listening to this and you're like, yeah, Kaylee, I don't ever do that. I would I would be willing to pay a lot of money that you are feeling a little burnt out and you are wondering how long you can sustain this, and you're dreaming about doing other things, like maybe offering different things so that you're not on call, etc. And that, my friend, is the signal that something needs to shift. Okay. The third thing.
I'm not doing that. I don't want you to also do is wait until the time is perfect. Now, I know that's a silly thing to say to not do because don't wait is what I'm essentially saying. But I think also we tend to drag our feet a little bit in our business, either because we're afraid or because we think it's gonna take too much work or because we're a little bit nervous about what to do. We don't know what to do exactly, we're confused about what we should be doing. All of those things.
keep you from growing in your business. And the reality is that if your business needs to grow, something needs to shift so that you stop avoiding changes. Right. And I I think part of this is a little bit like I ch I actually was chatting with the do one of the doulas I'm coaching right now last week and said, you know, you're kind of moving from copying what you see other doulas doing
into you have a rhythm that feels good to you and you kind of don't care if any other doula does it the same way. And that's it that's an awesome place to be because you feel less like you need the constant reassurance and validation that someone else also does their prenatal visits like this. And you've moved into the space of being like actually this is what works for me. Even if you don't do it like this, that's okay. Right. I don't need another doula
To be doing the same thing, to feel validated in how I'm doing the work that I'm doing, right? And that's awesome. Like that's super amazing. But also that space does require some energy from you, right? So going back to number two, it does require some intentional time. It does require some planning. It requires some strategy, right? And if either you don't know what time and strategy you should be putting in.
Or you're scared to put that in, or you don't have it to put in, then you are waiting, even if it's not because you don't think it's the perfect time. It could just be that you're nervous to start. It could just be that you don't feel like you have the knowledge that you need to start. You don't have the guidance that you need to start, which is where a coach comes in, my friend. but I think also sometimes it really just is like, well, I guess I'll do that at some point, but maybe not right now. And it's like, but
If not now, like when are you gonna get to it? Because if you're feeling like a little burnt out, like you're like on the burnout spectrum, that's not going to go away. Like you have to intentionally change it. You don't just like wish yourself out of that. You have to shift something that's happening in your business, right? And right now in my business, I think if this is you, like if this is resonating with you, you're like the person that I'm talking to most, right? Because I think what I
Always I'm saying is I think doulas make birth safer and better and the transition to postpartum safer and more supported. And if we're going to keep doing that, we have to be sustained and supported ourselves, or we can't show up like that for clients. And so for me, you being sustained is a matter of safety and security for clients to have your support later.
Right. So it's it's not just that I want you to have a thriving business. I think the work you do is changing lives. And I want you to be able to keep doing it if you want to keep doing it. And I think in order to keep doing it, you need support. Right. And so that's where my passion comes in is I am like, you don't have to keep on this treadmill that is really at a higher speed than you want to be running.
Just because you don't know what else to do and hopping off of it feels like you're just giving up everything, right? And so part of what I think about in this is reflection, like taking some time to reflect. Like, if I could change something in my business, what would it be? And is that something I can change on my own, or do I need coaching or guidance or more money or technical skills or whatever to be able to change that? Right. And
If my business needs to grow right now, am I the one keeping that from happening? And I know that might feel a little sticky, like maybe it's your fault, but actually I want you to be honest with yourself. Like, am I standing in my own way of growing this business by not giving it time and attention? Or am I setting myself up for success by being intentional and strategic about my time, my attention, my business?
my CEO space so that I can be sustained into the future. And I'm not looking at just like what does the next 90 days look like in terms of client care? How many babies are due and when are they due and where are they giving birth? Right. So I'm going to leave you there. I want you to reflect. Take some time to be honest with yourself and also remember that you are not alone in this.
There are other doulas working on these same things and I would love to do some coaching with you to talk through how this could be beneficial and what it would look like to have support as you're shifting and changing things. Okay. I will see you in the next episode.
In today’s episode Kaely shares three growth traps to avoid if you want a doula business that is sustainable, strategic, and actually growing. This episode focuses on stepping out of reactive mode, protecting CEO time, and making intentional changes instead of waiting for the “perfect” moment. While doula business is not a one-size fits all situation, these are ideas you’ll resonate with!
Quote from the show:
“Today we're going to talk about three things that I am not doing to grow my business and that I think you should also not do to grow your business. I think this is the perfect time to kind of get back on track with your everyday and your business, like what is your general mode of operation. The thing that I don't think it's the right time for is to do things that aren't strategically helping your business. For me, one thing I'm not going to do in this next quarter is create a new offer. If your business feels like something needs to change, something needs to grow, there needs to be more revenue, there needs to be more bandwidth, there needs to be more buffer, it's almost never by creating a brand new offer you've never had. That is not a fast growth situation. It usually comes from better intentional strategy around one of the offers you already have.”
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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
