New Doulas Charging Nothing
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00:04
Welcome to doula Tips and Tips. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaylee harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born, 12, nearly 13 years ago.
00:23
I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, La Leche League leader and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business. It is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way.
00:36
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Welcome back to doula Tips and Tips. I am riding this horse a little bit longer around money. I want to tackle one of my pet peeves in doula work. That is that some of your first births should be free births.
01:02
I have issues with this on various levels. One is that we do a disservice to doulas when we train them and then we are like, good luck. You have 18 months to find a job and go do it. You already know this about me.
01:25
If you've been around for any of these last episodes, I am for support for the doula after their training. That is part of why I have the coaching that I have that I do with doulas because I think we just literally leave them hanging out to dry.
01:41
We have so many people who have done doula training and have been notified of the business piece of it. The fact that we are just like, find clients somewhere and support them for free and then have them review you.
02:00
and then we'll get your certification. Like that is a problem, right? And I think the idea that birth should be free, like birth support should be free initially, is also problematic. So, MI4, discounting your first couple births, if you'd like to, you're welcome to do that.
02:24
Do I think that new doulas have an obligation to the community to immediately give back? No, absolutely I do not. I do not think that. And I think the problem in the strategy around having doulas think that they need to give this work away for free initially, is A, starting setting the standard that you can typically find a free doula, which is problematic.
02:59
in and of itself. See, putting the burden of the community care that's needed in the community on the doula who oftentimes does not have the emotional and financial sustainability to be able to hold that care where let's say like, you know, I'm a six figure business owner.
03:16
Why can't I do some of the free births? And I do some of the free births, right? But why is it the new doula who has no idea what they're doing initially who's getting put into the space of support the community?
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Right out the gate, right? Like we're just throwing them to the wolves. Like good luck and also don't get paid a single thing. So if you need this business to make money, you just can't do that. Like you just aren't making money initially.
03:50
The other thing is that as a doula who charged very little at the beginning, I just didn't think people were gonna hire me. I'm gonna be honest. I just had some major self -esteem issues and really did not think people would hire me.
04:06
Even though I had attended a dear friend's birth and she swore I was like the most amazing doula ever. And I wasn't even a doula, right? And so I had some good reason to believe that I could do this work well.
04:22
And I still was like no random person is going to hire me to be their doula. I don't know what I'm doing, right? And so I charged $350 for the first, I think three people that hired me. And then one of those people has only been one.
04:45
I think only one of those people has, no two of them have come back as repeat clients. And by the time they came back, I was charging three or four times that. And so, which for good reason. Right and so one of the things that it does is set up the idea that doula work should cost $300 which is unrealistic and then Honestly my clients were thrilled when they came back and they're like oh my gosh you charge $1500.
05:14
I'm so happy for that because How are you gonna do this at $300 a pop? so I think what my repeat clients kind of taught me is that They didn't necessarily expect for me to charge so little in the first place and they didn't wish that I was still charging that little When they came back to me They were actually thrilled that I was charging more than that because they thought my work was invaluable And so they wanted me to be sustainable, you know and I think I think back to the people who paid me like three or four hundred dollar tips at the end of charging Very little for their services because they're like you should be charging way more than this like you're worth so much more than this.
06:02
And so I think I just feel like we are setting doulas up to already have really terrible business boundaries around charging and prices and packages and all of that. If we're asking them to start right out the gate, charging nothing.
06:19
So that is my rant today about that philosophy around doula work. I firmly reject it. And I do not believe that any single business owner should be told to do things for free unless that is the goal that they have.
06:34
Now, if you have not already done so, I want you to sign up for my class on January 10th. It is a free class. It's all about money mindset for doulas, charging what you should be charging, charging what you need to charge, feeling amazing about what you are charging.
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All of that is what we're doing and it will be wildly beneficial for you. Please sign up before it gets filled. I can only have 100 people in there. And my first master class filled up to 88 within a few days.
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So I would really recommend grabbing your spot soon, sharing it with a doula friend, and then showing up live on January 10th so you can ask all of your questions and get all the juicy details about how to just have a more sustainable practice around money in your business.
07:19
All right, I'll 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 heradoula so we can celebrate alongside you.
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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 the same thing. and that we do this work together.
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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.
08:04
We'll see you again soon.
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Let’s talk about what pay looks like during your first couple of births. Just because it is your first birth does not mean you have to charge nothing. You deserve to start your business off making money after the training you have gone through and just your time in general. So let’s talk about what kind of pay should a first time doula have then!
Quote from the show:
“Do I think that new doulas have an obligation to the community to immediately give back? No, absolutely I do not. I do not think that. And I think the problem in the strategy around having doulas think that they need to give this work away for free initially, is A, starting setting the standard that you can typically find a free doula, which is problematic in and of itself. See, putting the burden of the community care that's needed in the community on the doula who oftentimes does not have the emotional and financial sustainability to be able to hold that care where let's say like, you know, I'm a six figure business owner. Why can't I do some of the free births? And I do some of the free births, right? But why is it the new doula who has no idea what they're doing initially who's getting put into the space of support the community? Right out the gate, right? Like we're just throwing them to the wolves. Like good luck and also don't get paid a single thing. So if you need this business to make money, you just can't do that. Like you just aren't making money initially.”
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Are you looking to GROW your doula business? We have our next doula business webinar on January 10th at 1pm EST. Sign up below:
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/doula-money-mindset
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https://www.tiktok.com/@doulacoach
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
