End-of-Year Doula Reflection: When growing is a must and not an optional part of business
-
Unknown speaker 00:04
Welcome to Doula Tips and Tips, the podcast where we cut through the noise and get real about what it takes to build a sustainable doula business. I'm Kaylee Harad. I've been a doula informally for 14 years and full-time for seven.
Unknown speaker 00:20
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.
Unknown speaker 00:37
The thing I have heard more than anything else from doulas this year is I have to figure out how to be able to keep doing this work and grow my business, scale my business without burning out. And I think that's kind of my whole jam, right?
Unknown speaker 00:58
Like that is what I love. Like when I hear someone say that, I'm like, tell me more. Because I'm like, yes, you're already on a good path. Like you know that you need to figure this out. I know it's an overwhelming path.
Unknown speaker 01:13
I know it's a hard path because it does feel a little like you keep running into dead ends. But also the fact that you even know the need is there is the step in the right direction, right? It's like, it's not like this.
Unknown speaker 01:30
I'm not going to make that comparison. I was thinking an addiction comparison, which to be honest with you, it's not the same. And so I'm not, I'm not going down that path. Sometimes when I am recording episodes, my brain gets, well, really all the time, even when I'm not recording episodes, my brain loves a good analogy.
Unknown speaker 01:50
And so it just jumps right to it. And it's like, do that one. And I'm sometimes needing to slow it down a little. So there are a couple moments that can happen in a business where you know something needs to shift.
Unknown speaker 02:08
And obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, right? Part of what can happen is we realize physically how demanding this work is and we sort of hit a wall physically. There also can be times when like every single baby comes at once and you're just like, burn it all down, right?
Unknown speaker 02:32
Like nothing is right with the world. All four babies came in the same week. You know, we've, we've all been there. Maybe not all of us, but a lot of us have been there. The other thing is that there are times where you can kind of feel like I've hit the ceiling, but where I am is not where I want to end.
Unknown speaker 02:58
And it's funny to say that when you own your own business, right? Because on the one hand, what ceiling? Like you're the architect here, my friend, like just build a, just build a different ceiling, right?
Unknown speaker 03:10
Like it's like, if you've ever watched someone play Fortnite, my teenagers sometimes play it and it's so fascinating to me. First of all, it's overwhelming. But second of all, it's fascinating that they like build and unbuild stuff the whole time.
Unknown speaker 03:26
Like they like build things to run away from each other, but also unbuild them just as fast. And it's truly daunting and overwhelming. But when I think about like, you know, obviously if I'm bumping up against a ceiling that I have all the control to move, I just move that ceiling.
Unknown speaker 03:47
But it's not that simple, right? Like sometimes there is this space that's like, I already charge this much and I don't think I can charge more than that. When I was at half of what I charge right now, I believed I was at the top of what I could charge.
Unknown speaker 04:01
This was like probably two years ago. And I was like, okay, well, my price can't go up from here. And I don't want to have more birth clients. And I don't really have the time to have more postpartum clients unless I work every day of every week, you know, and like never have time off.
Unknown speaker 04:21
And I don't make enough money to sustainably live in the city I live in. Right. And so I remember being like, I just, this part of my business has grown to its max capacity. Now, in that moment, what happened for me was I was like, I think I really want to start coaching doulas, right?
Unknown speaker 04:40
Like I really want to have this like mentorship piece that I've been wanting for a long time that doulas have asked me about. I want to start having that. Right. And so I don't regret feeling like my doula business that was like pregnant people facing had reached its max capacity.
Unknown speaker 05:03
I was wrong about that. I was so wrong about it, right? I was wrong about how many clients I could serve. I was wrong about having a team or not. I was wrong about the capacity to change my prices and change my packages.
Unknown speaker 05:18
I was wrong about so many parts of it. But in that moment, it allowed me to be brave about a different new thing that I had been dreaming about doing. So I'm not mad that I hit that ceiling. It did make me sort of create a new path.
Unknown speaker 05:37
And then eventually I got back to being like, wait a second, I can just knock this ceiling down. Right. But from that point, because at that point I really believed my package was at its maximum amount and that my capacity for attending birth was at its maximum amount.
Unknown speaker 05:56
I then did not believe I could raise my rates. I did not believe people would hire me at a higher rate. And I did not believe, excuse me, that I could have more clients do. I just was like, emotionally, I can't manage it well.
Unknown speaker 06:12
And financially. So I was like, emotionally, I can't handle it well. Financially, people aren't going to pay me more than this money. Right. And at that point, actually, it was right around then that I had a conversation with a friend of mine who's a doula.
Unknown speaker 06:28
And she said, I just found out doulas in California or I think it was California, are going to start getting paid like $5,000 from Medicaid. And she was saying to me, like, okay, if doulas are going to get paid $5,000 from Medicaid and the cost of living here is very similar.
Unknown speaker 06:49
If doulas are going to get paid $5,000 from Medicaid, then private births should be charged the same or more than that, right? And that should also subsidize some of what you do with your lower income clients.
Unknown speaker 07:07
And I remember saying to her, like, imagine anyone in the DC area charging $5,000. I charge pretty close to $5,000 now. Like, that's, I mean, honestly, if I had told myself then, hey, that's going to be you in two years, I would have, I would have laughed.
Unknown speaker 07:27
Like, I would have really been like, what? But no, it is me. Here I am. Right. But I think part of that is thinking like, all right, this is, this is the ceiling I've hit. And I'm not willing to stop going.
Unknown speaker 07:46
I'm not willing to just sit here and be like, well, that's it. This is all. I'm just not willing to do that. And I'm actually very proud of that. Like I'm proud of the fact that my tenacity has made me figure shit out.
Unknown speaker 08:07
Like that is something that I am so proud of. And also, it's exhausting, right? Like it's exhausting to be like, I'm at this wall again. Where do I go from here? How do I create my own other journey that I can take?
Unknown speaker 08:26
Like, what does it look like? There is no playbook. No one else can tell me what to do here. And so the overwhelm there is legitimate. Part of what I love about that space. So I started off this episode by saying, this is the thing I hear the most from doulas, right?
Unknown speaker 08:43
That like, I know something needs to change. I don't know what it is. Like my business right now, as it functions is not scalable. It's also not really sustainable for me in terms of burnout, et cetera.
Unknown speaker 08:56
I hear that all the time. The reason it makes me happy and not overwhelmed like it makes you is that I love helping people figure that out. Right. I mean, I think about the work that we do in birth, right?
Unknown speaker 09:13
I was telling a client recently, I've always said to folks, like, oh, we get really excited about crazy things like feeling pressure in your butt or like needing to throw up, right? Like we get like overwhelmingly excited about that stuff.
Unknown speaker 09:26
We're like, this is a great sign. And our clients are just like, you're so terrible. Like, why are you so demented? And what you enjoy. But part of why we do that is to bring reassurance to the situation.
Unknown speaker 09:40
Right. So when a client is like, Kaylee, why am I puking? I have already said to them like, hey, this is a good sign of progress. And you're like, awesome. I'm so excited that I'm puking. No, it's not that I'm happy for you that you're puking, but it is a good sign of progress.
Unknown speaker 09:58
And so we are going to welcome it, right? We're going to welcome the shit out of that puke. And I'm going to welcome it so fast that your brain doesn't even really have time to freak out about it and think something's wrong.
Unknown speaker 10:11
And so when I hear you say that, like when you come to me and you say, Kaylee, something about my business needs to change. It has been going well. Things have been growing. I've attended lots of births.
Unknown speaker 10:22
Like it's not all bad, but it's also not all working well. And it feels like I know at my core, it's not sustainable and not scalable. And this is not my stopping place. I want to right away be like, that's a good sign, right?
Unknown speaker 10:44
Before your brain starts freaking out about it and wants to burn the whole business down, remind yourself that it is a good sign. And yes, it does mean something needs to shift. It does mean you need to get creative and strategic and intentional that the haphazard stuff you've been doing is no longer going to cut it in 2026, right?
Unknown speaker 11:06
Like that shit is not for a business that's strategically growing. That's the reality. Like either you are strategic or you're not strategic. If you're not strategic, your business will maybe grow, but it will not be because of your intentionality, because you are not being strategic about your intentionality, right?
Unknown speaker 11:28
And so if you're ready to be strategic about what you do and put your effort into, then let's do it. And then there is unlimited potential for you, right? Unlimited potential for your business. Like there are such awesome things that can come from that.
Unknown speaker 11:47
But the need to recognize that there's a pivot that has to happen is vital. And so just like a transition in labor, where we're like, hey, this is a good sign of progress, not because you have to puke to get a baby out of your body, but because when you do, it tells us your hormones and your position of labor, like your, your like space that you're in is shifting.
Unknown speaker 12:13
So if you say to me, Kaylee, something about my business needs to change and I don't know what it is, I'm like, that's a great place to be. It's not a great place to stay. It is overwhelming, but it's a good place to be to then start some coaching, to have some progress, to have some guidance, right?
Unknown speaker 12:35
To have some strategy, to really dig in at that place. Like, what is it that isn't sustainable? What do you love about what you do now? And what is not working? That is where we can start. Okay, so that's the end for today.
Unknown speaker 12:57
I will be back with many more episodes about kind of the end of the year. This is again a time where I'm sort of being reflective about 2025, things I've experienced in my business, things I've learned and talked with doulas about, and also looking ahead to 2026, setting ourselves up well and what will that look like and how do we sort of plan and be strategic for that.
Unknown speaker 13:21
Okay, I will see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Doula 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 Haradoula so we can celebrate alongside you.
Unknown speaker 13:42
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.
Unknown speaker 13:54
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.
Unknown speaker 14:06
We'll see you again soon.
ASK A QUESTION!!! My plan is to start Friday Q&A (we need a new name, I know!) but first I need your questions! Submit them using the form below:
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/ask-me-a-question
One thing that is universally true about all of us and therefore all of our businesses: We must keep growing. Yes, GROWING. We have to. It’s natural. There’s not a world in which our natural instinct is to shrink! We grow, we flourish, we bloom, we thrive. That is what we do when left in the best of environments. Imagine your business like your favorite plant. You don’t just put it in a corner and hope it’s good enough, you water, you feed it, you tend it, you prune it, you repot it, etc. to help it thrive and in that thriving you have pride because you know it is thriving because of you!
Quote from the show:
“I was wrong about how many clients I could serve. I was wrong about having a team or not. I was wrong about the capacity to change my prices and change my packages. I was wrong about so many parts of it. But in that moment, it allowed me to be brave about a different new thing that I had been dreaming about doing.”
CONNECT with Kaely on TikTok or Instagram
https://www.tiktok.com/@doulacoach
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
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
