Providers That All Doulas Need To Know About
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Transcript
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, near
13 years ago. I am a birth and postpartum du-
a doula child birth 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. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Welcome back to Dula Tips and Tips. In this episode, I'm sort of priming you for what I want you to think about for networking and growth. So one of the things that I am gonna focus on in the coming months in my own business is going out to providers, networking with providers, and growing with providers, like helping providers know what I'm doing and getting a sense of what they're doing so that I can send people their way.
I had a conversation recently with Becky, who is my private Dula coach, my private Dula coaching student. So Becky is a Dula out in LA, and she hired me to be a Dula coach for her business at the beginning of the year.
So we've been working together now through the springtime. She has been able to quit her full -time job and go all in on her Dula business, which is amazing. It makes me so happy for her. And we were just discussing the amazing work that she's doing in networking.
And really, like she is inspiring. Like she, first of all, is just, she's gonna be on the podcast soon. And so I'm excited for that. I'm excited to share her with you, let you hear her awesomeness. But her networking specifically just is awesome.
Like she has done such a good job. She printed out a bunch of things. She went to these places. She went to some pediatrician offices. She went to some OB offices. She went to like, I think an ultrasound place.
And she just kind of canvassed to be able to be like, hey, this canvas is not the right word. She went and networked with these folks. She also brought them donuts or donut holes. Like, you know, also brought them delicious things, which helps tremendously, and left them with materials from her services, her classes, her doula services, et cetera.
And so really made some amazing connections, and also was able to share what her team does, what she does, what the people that she runs space with, what they do in terms of lactation and massage, et cetera.
And so that is what prompted this episode for me. Because I was thinking, you know, I'm gonna do this myself coming up, and I haven't done that kind of thing in a long time. And so I want to kind of talk through like, who am I gonna be talking to?
What kind of providers would I want to network with? So the people that I regularly refer to, and want to build network with, are acupuncturists, massage therapists, lactation consultants, chiropractors, pediatricians, nannies, if at all possible, because nannies can be hard.
I mean, hard because they're like working with a family, right, and so it's not the same in terms of like, a nanny can like serve a ton of families at once. But I get so many inquiries for nannies, and so that's someone who I'd like to connect with.
And then people who deal with tongue and lip ties, so like pediatric dentists or ENTs. And then of course, midwives and OBs, like providers who do birth, right, who deliver babies, et cetera. So when I'm thinking about where to start with this, I'm gonna start with the people I refer to who I've never met in person.
So like there's a chiropractor who I send clients to, who I've never met in person, and I am gonna go to her office, and I'm gonna meet her, and I'm gonna give her donuts, and I'm gonna share my information.
There's another chiropractor that I've sent a bunch of clients to that I've never met in Virginia, so I'm gonna do the same there. There's a PT office that I send clients to that I've never met people at, so I'm gonna go there and take materials, and also take donuts and stuff like that, and make sure they know about prenatal care, but also about postpartum care, because pelvic floor PTs are working with that same kind of, same group of people, you know, lactation consultants, um, tongue -tie folks.
Now part of the reason for me that I am looking at going to see these folks and network with these folks is that I want them to get to know me. Of course, right? I want them to know about my services. I want them to know about my team. I want them to know how we operate. I want them to know what their people can expect from us. But also because when I refer someone to a provider, I want them to be like getting a good referral, right? So I am very particular about who I refer to. Like very, very, very particular. And I get regular inquiries asking me for a good pediatrician recommendation, for a good chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist. Like these are people that I get asked about from almost every single client and almost every single class I teach. So those are folks that I refer to all the time. And a lot of them know me virtually because they're like, yeah, your clients come to us.
Like you send them to us constantly, you know? But some of them don't know me. And so in that case, I want them to know me and want them to be like, oh, I've heard, you know, my patient came in and said, Kaylee, my doula sent me to you.
You're Kaylee. Oh my gosh. And that kind of personal connection is incredibly helpful for my company, for my brand, for my team to get more clients. But also really helpful for my clients to get good care when they're being personally referred in.
So I have an OB that I really adore. She also really likes me. It's mutual. And we both get very excited about hearing about each other. So I've had clients say, oh, I went in and I saw her and I'm like, oh my gosh, my doula is Kaylee and she loves you.
And she's like, oh, I love Kaylee too, you know. Or I've had people come to me because she's like, you know, what you need is a doula and you should call Kaylee because I really love Kaylee. She's so amazing.
And so it's mutual, right? Like we send people back and forth to each other, but we very rarely get to see each other because we're only together occasionally at birth, right? So that kind of connection is already growing in my business.
It's already flourishing in my business. But it could get better if I invest some time and space into that, okay? So that's what I'm going to be doing. Now I wanted to share this with you because I of course want to encourage you to do the same.
It would benefit you greatly to start to network with providers. Start small. If you're feeling nervous about it, check out just a couple of chiropractors or check out, you know, a massage therapist in your area or see who's in your zip code in terms of lactation consulting.
You do not have to do a day or two days worth of canvassing, especially if you are introverted and it's really difficult for you to go and connect with people that you don't know. That's okay, right?
You don't have to go crazy with this. But if you're trying to grow your business, which is exactly what we were talking about last episode, right? If you're trying to grow a piece of your business, it is going to help dramatically to have people to connect to about that.
And it's going to help your clients in the future and potentially now to say, hey, I know this IBCLC, I actually send people to them all the time. I know them well. I know how you're going to be treated when you're there.
I know the kind of things that they're going to tell you to do in terms of strategies. I trust them. And I would trust yourself and your baby with them as well, you know, because that's really powerful.
That's a place that we as doulas hold in these parents' lives. And I think that we should not take that for granted. So that's all for today. I would love to hear about your networking efforts. I do really get excited about this, as you can hear in my voice.
And also, you can ask some other doulas that know me well, I get so pumped when I hear about them going and networking and meeting new providers. The best way to connect with me is on Instagram. So at Harad doula, it's H -A -R -R -O -D doula.
And send me a message there. Like, obviously, come follow, join the party over there. But also send me a message and I will chat with you. I love chatting with people. You're not getting a random person on my team.
You're not getting automated responses. You're getting me. And so I would love to meet you. I would love to hear about your networking. And I would love to encourage you along the way. In the meantime, 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 Harad doula 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 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. We'll see you again soon.
Today we are discussing networking! What kind of providers would I want to network with in my doula business? People that I regularly refer to, and want to build network with, are acupuncturists, massage therapists, lactation consultants, chiropractors, pediatricians, nannies, pediatric dentists or ENTs. And then of course, midwives and OBs.
Quote from the show:
“Now part of the reason for me that I am looking at going to see these folks and network with these folks is that I want them to get to know me. Of course, right? I want them to know about my services. I want them to know about my team. I want them to know how we operate. I want them to know what their people can expect from us. But also because when I refer someone to a provider, I want them to be like getting a good referral, right? So I am very particular about who I refer to. Like very, very, very particular. And I get regular inquiries asking me for a good pediatrician recommendation, for a good chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist. These are providers that I get asked about from almost every single client and almost every single class I teach. So those are folks that I refer to all the time. And a lot of them know me virtually because they're like, yeah, your clients come to us often!”
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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
