How I Stopped Running My Doula Business Like a Squirrel (and Started Acting Like a CEO)
-
Welcome to Dula Tips and Tits, the podcast where we cut through the noise and get real about what it takes to build a sustainable doula business. I'm Kaylee Harrod. 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 00:36
I want to start today's episode with a visual for you. It was, I think, 2018 and my doula business was still a baby and I started getting booked up. People started becoming left and right and I flipped out about it.
Unknown speaker 00:56
I was like, shut off all my availability. No one can book me for anything. No one can book a consultation. No one can talk to me about doula work. No one can be my client because I was freaking out about the fact that as it grew, I had absolutely nothing in place to have a big business.
Unknown speaker 01:12
I remember saying to my husband, I'm going to forget people. I'm going to forget due dates. I'm going to forget what they want. I can't remember all of this. This isn't what I was ready for. And that's true, right?
Unknown speaker 01:23
I wasn't quite ready for it, but my business was kind of like, screw you, ready or not, you're here, right? And actually, now it's sort of funny to me that I was kind of like, ah, it's working. That was a bad thing, right?
Unknown speaker 01:37
But it also was kind of terrifying because how I was doing things was so haphazard that it wasn't sustainable if it works. It had worked up until that point because I had only had one client, two clients, three clients, and then all of a sudden had like 10 open client spots and I was like, blah.
Unknown speaker 02:00
So, why am I sharing this with you? Part of my coaching in doula businesses, as you've heard me say on this podcast, comes from a place of, I wish I had known this, right? But it also comes from a place of, this is always true whether you have a one day old business or a 15 year old business, right?
Unknown speaker 02:25
So I want you to hear me when I say, having strategy, having planning, having consistent boundaries and clarity on where you're headed in your business is necessary always. So I talk about it because I have to do it too, right?
Unknown speaker 02:48
Like I need to do it. You need to do it. It's not something that like you need to do until you get to where I am. No. No. We all need to keep doing it. and we need to get in the habit of doing it all the time so that we're not just randomly making stuff up, right?
Unknown speaker 03:05
And honestly, you all have felt the impact of that on this beautiful podcast, right? I talked so much in the spring about how I was scheduling everything out. I was planning everything out. I was recording all the episodes, getting them out ahead of time, et cetera, et cetera.
Unknown speaker 03:21
And then we got to September and I was like, hey, I'm back to just doing it as I have the time, which turns out has never been a good strategy and still isn't a good strategy, right? And so it's not that all of my squirrelliness has left me.
Unknown speaker 03:37
Like I'm still a little that way where I'm like, oh, I thought of 14 things I could do on Instagram. And then I do them all and then I don't do anything for a whole week, right? Like I am not perfect at this either, but part of what I do clearly know is that without strategy, I'm just going to do whatever the heck I want and it's going to be absolute chaos.
Unknown speaker 03:57
So part of where I have purpose and strategy behind my decision-making is in the sense that I know I can be really squirrely. And so I want there to be some boundaries and some scaffolding around that, right?
Unknown speaker 04:13
And part of that is personality. Part of that is ADHD, right? Like part of that is other stuff. If I sound a little scratchy, I'm still getting over my cold, so there's that. But what I think I like to consider when I'm coaching a doula through how to strategize is that the need to strategize is the first step, right?
Unknown speaker 04:41
Just decide strategy is necessary and then decide who's going to help you strategize, right? I'll raise my hand, I would love to do it. And then actually do it. before you're gonna decide who coaches you or who leads you on it or how you do it, before you do it, you have to decide you need it.
Unknown speaker 05:03
You have to take your business seriously enough to decide it needs business strategy, right? Like it would be insane to you to think, oh, this coffee shop that's all over the country is out here just like making decisions by the seat of their pants.
Unknown speaker 05:18
No, that coffee shop had all of 2025 planned out midway through 2024, right? Like that, obviously, we all think that. Like none of us are thinking like, I bet that coffee shop just came up with that marketing strategy yesterday.
Unknown speaker 05:33
No, their team has been working on that for months, right? But in our own business, it's okay for it to be a yesterday idea in our minds because we don't consider ourselves a real business like them, right?
Unknown speaker 05:48
And I realized that's not the only reason we do it. There are other reasons. But honestly, I think. So many doulas feel like where they are right now, what they're doing is fine. Like what I'm doing is working for where I am and so I'm gonna keep doing it.
Unknown speaker 06:05
But then what happens when you get to the next place and it's not working and you have to then catch up to what you're doing, right? You have to catch up to the strategy that you actually needed in the last level of your business but you have never had, right?
Unknown speaker 06:21
So what I think about in this is a couple different layers. One, planning and strategy are vital for life and business. Two, we can't be intentional about any other decision we're making, about marketing, about our client load, about any of that without planning and strategy.
Unknown speaker 06:44
It's necessary, right? And in order to actually have goals and actually have metrics that we're trying to meet in our business, we need to know where we are. I talk to so many business owners who tell me a random number.
Unknown speaker 07:02
I would really like for my business to make this much money and I'm like, how much does your business make right now? And they're like, I'm not sure. And I'm like, well then maybe it does make that much money and you just don't realize, which is wild but also a thing that happens.
Unknown speaker 07:19
It's a thing that happens, right? There are people who are like, I wanna make $70,000 a year in my doula business and then we do their math and I'm like, you make 86,000 a year. And they're like, oh shoot, I did not realize that.
Unknown speaker 07:31
And I'm like, girly, that tells me two things. One, you need a higher goal. Two, you are very out of touch with what is actually happening on the day-to-day of your business, which means the business is kind of running itself in a way that's not good, right?
Unknown speaker 07:47
Like the silence of toddlers kind of not good, right? Like, yes, maybe they're doing something kind and gentle and productive and giving you some alone. time, there's a way higher chance that they're ruining something or covering themselves in paint, right?
Unknown speaker 08:01
So when we think about the focus of our business, we have to be the driver of that. If we're not the driver of it, something's driving it, but it's not driving it where we want it to be, right? Like it is going, but it's going without an actual strategy or direction.
Unknown speaker 08:24
And for you. Okay. So first of all, message number one, you do in fact need a strategy, my friend. Message number two, I have a way for you to have that strategy. So if you're listening to this episode, when it comes out, it's coming out on the 22nd of October.
Unknown speaker 08:44
And six days from now, we are going to be having the last free workshop of 2025. It's called the doula CEO game plan, who Focus, flow, and financial growth is what we're focused on. It's on Tuesday, the 28th, from 12 to 1.30 PM Eastern time.
Unknown speaker 09:06
So in that workshop, we are going to spend a small chunk of time learning about why it matters to have a game plan. And I'm calling it a game plan, but it's quarter four planning, right? We're talking about wrapping up the year with an actual plan so that we can walk into 2026 with an actual plan, OK?
Unknown speaker 09:29
So we're going to start by talking about why it's needed. Then we're going to go into focus, into flow, financial growth, like what are you doing in those categories and how do you really lean into them, right?
Unknown speaker 09:41
And I'm going to end by talking to you about my coaching because the coaching is what helps you actually work this out in real time, right? And so part of what we're going to do together is some strategizing in the call, but also part of what you're going to do is see if it actually makes sense to have me on your team longer term to strategize with you, right, because that's actually what would be helpful.
Unknown speaker 10:07
In the actual workshop, we will have about 30 minutes of Q&A, and that Q&A is live. So I turn off the recording for that just because I want people to feel comfortable asking questions with whoever is present and not worrying about who's going to see those questions in the future.
Unknown speaker 10:26
And so I do record it for everyone who is signed up. They get the link to the recording, and they have access to that for about like a week or two. And then at that last 30 minutes, you can actually troubleshoot with me in real time.
Unknown speaker 10:41
Like that's because I think application needs, right? Application needs you being able to say, OK, but I have this thing in my business. What do I do about that? And like, does this mean like this, right?
Unknown speaker 10:54
How do you do that? does this convert into this scenario, right? And so I like doing that troubleshooting with you because I do think it's hard to take something that you're learning that's a little bit abstract and apply it really specifically to your scenario and your business.
Unknown speaker 11:14
So how to do it is that, right? So one, you need to do it, your business needs it, two, you should come to the workshop next week so that you can do it with me, and then three, how often should this happen?
Unknown speaker 11:31
So is this just like we have a workshop on Tuesday and then you're done, you've strategized, check and check, right? No, that is not the case. You need regular strategy in your business and maybe that looks like quarterly planning, maybe that looks like yearly planning, maybe that looks like both honestly, because your business needs direction.
Unknown speaker 11:52
just like your life needs direction, just like your family needs direction, like your business needs your strategy. And in order to have that, you need to really set aside time to sit down and do it.
Unknown speaker 12:04
Now, again, if you're a doula or a birth worker, you don't think with like a corporate calendar in your head, right, so you're not like Q3 energy, Q2, no, like you're probably thinking to yourself, when I say Q3, Q4, you're like, when did that start?
Unknown speaker 12:20
Like, what is that? That's the kind of framework that you need to get into the strategy of actually growing a productive business. Because then you can say, okay, this is the game plan for this portion of the business.
Unknown speaker 12:37
I'm not changing stuff in my business and then expecting it to work for five years, right? I'm changing stuff in the business and then testing it out for 90 days to see how it goes and then troubleshooting and strategizing again about the same stuff and different stuff, depending on where I am in this process.
Unknown speaker 12:59
That's what we're doing on a regular basis because it's necessary on a regular basis, okay? So I would love for you to sign up for the workshop, October 28th, again, it is free. It is the last free workshop I will host in 2025.
Unknown speaker 13:16
So it's your last chance to come hang out with me at a free workshop. It will be from 12 to 1.30 Eastern time and there will be a replay if you are called to a birth, et cetera, but you have to be signed up to get access to that replay.
Unknown speaker 13:31
So do sign up so that you do have access and then I will see you in there. I can't wait. All right, see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Dula Tips and Tits podcast.
Unknown speaker 13:48
If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share. that on Instagram and tag us at hiradula so we can celebrate alongside you. 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.
Unknown speaker 14:06
That helps other doulas find us as we do this work together. 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 14:21
We'll see you again soon.
There was a time when my business was pure chaos — lots of hustle, lots of energy, and very little direction. I call it my squirrel era. 🐿️
In this episode, I’m sharing how I went from reactive and overworked to strategic and sustainable. We’ll talk about why clarity beats hustle every time, how to figure out what actually moves your business forward, and what it means to start running your doula business like a CEO instead of a squirrel with a to-do list.
And if you’re ready to plan your next quarter with Focus, Flow, and Financial Growth — come join me for The Doula CEO Gameplan workshop on Tuesday, October 28th at 12pm ET. It’s free, live, and exactly the reset your business needs.
Quote from the show:
“Having strategy, having planning, having consistent boundaries and clarity on where you're headed in your business is necessary always. So I talk about it because I have to do it too, right? Like I need to do it. You need to do it. It's not something that like you need to do until you get to where I am. No. No. We all need to keep doing it.”
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
