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Kaely Harrod (00:01.164)
Welcome back to doula tips and tits. I am your host, Kaylee Harad, and it's so lovely to have you here today. I would like to tell you the next thing that you need to do in your doula business.
Now, if this is your very first episode, you might just be like sitting on the edge of your seat, like, okay, Kaylee, what's the next thing? Tell me. If you have listened to basically any other episode from me, you're like, Kaylee, you and I both know that there's not just one thing. And you're about to be like, it depends, because that's your favorite phrase. And honestly, you're right. You are very right. So
Today I had two coaching calls back to back. And it was interesting because it's two there are two doolas who are in very different places in their business and serve very different groups of people and live in different parts of the country. And some of the things I was telling them to do were similar. Like reach out to people that you know and connect with them so that they know that these are the services you're offering, right? Reach out to people that you already know trust you.
And tell them about your new solo business, right? Or tell them about your availability. Like show them your new website. Like do these things so that you continue to be top of mind for people, right? In other ways, the the things that they were kind of assigned, for lack of a better word, to do were very different, right? Like it was very different information that each of them were getting in terms of
what to charge in terms of like what to do besides that. Now there were also different calls. Like one is like my ongoing weekly kind of coaching with a doula. And the other was kind of like our first like one off call with a doula that I know really well, but has never done coaching with me. And so there's different contexts as well. Right. So I'm not saying I gave these two doula the exact same things to do and the exact same information and guidance. What I mean is that
Kaely Harrod (02:11.276)
When you're thinking about your doula business, part of what matters in terms of what comes next or what should you be working on is the context of where you are now. So the first call, for instance, today, I asked, I don't even know how many questions, like a million questions. And I am a question asker. Like I like a good question, you know? And so I was sort of like, All right, so what
Tell me what you're doing now. Tell me how your marketing is. Tell me what your packages are like. Do you already have a contract? Do you not have a contract? Like what it how full are you? How, you know, spacious are you? What kind of client load do you want? Blah, blah, blah, blah. Because I'm like, in order to really coach what you could do next and give you your options, I also want to.
understand where you are because I can't just go off of the little blurb that you gave me when you signed up for the call or the thing even just the thing I know about your business from like hanging out with you or having their last coaching call or whatever. I need to start with like where are you and what's happening so that there's then context for what to do next. Right. One of the ways I see this applied improperly, incorrectly is marketing.
specifically good old social media. And I it's frustrating to me because I think doulas shame themselves, right? And this is an actual quote from one of my calls today. So I said to this particular doula, listen, I want your website to be clear about who you are and what you offer. I want your website to work like someone wants to book a call with you.
The book of call link actually lets them do that, right? Like it needs to function correctly. And otherwise, and I mean I was talking about a website I was looking at, and I'm like, otherwise, I don't care if it doesn't look like super, super, super amazing. Like it doesn't need to be the best website there's literally ever been, right? For right now, because this particular doula is very experienced, very well connected in the in the community.
Kaely Harrod (04:30.248)
And is launching kind of into her a solo business finally, right? And I say finally only because she's been a doula for like nine years, like a very, very long time. And so when I was chatting with her, I was saying, like, okay, someone is coming to you because you are magic in your doulaing, right? Like you're amazing in how you do la. That's why they're coming to you, right? Not because you have the most amazing website.
anyone's ever seen. Now your website needs to work in the sense that it like shows them what your packages are and it navigates through to your About Me page and all of that. Like her website doesn't look bad, right? Like it looks fine. But it's yeah, it's not like the fanciest website there's ever been. But also like that's not what people are buying, right? If you are selling websites and your website is terrible, you're not gonna sell your services because that's crazy, right? But you're not selling websites. You're selling doula services. And so
What really matters about your website is that it's clear, that it's easy to navigate, that it functions in the way that it needs to function. And that is the most important piece of it because it is a tool for your business, right? The same is true of Instagram. Instagram is a tool, and how you're using that tool depends on what you're trying to do in your business. We do not all use tools the same because we all have different goals in our business.
I cannot state this enough times. You do not need to post all the time on Instagram to have a thriving local service business as a doula. Many, many doula's don't have Instagram at all and have a thriving local business. I'm not saying you don't need marketing and advertising and maybe some social media and whatever. I'm not saying that.
And I think again, going back to what I said in the first place, it depends on what is happening in your business and what you're trying to sell, right? What are you trying to grow in your business? Because depending on what you're trying to grow, you then need to emphasize different things. If you're trying to get more in-person clients, you need to emphasize in person things.
Kaely Harrod (06:54.478)
If you're trying to get more virtual clients, then yeah, you probably need to work on your Instagram presence. Especially if you currently have a really small audience, because you're not gonna sell an online offer to a tiny audience very well. Okay? Now I know that that last piece, I'm just gonna leave that there. This is not the point of the episode today. I am gonna invite you though. So today's episode is ending with an invitation because
I have a brand spanking new masterclass that I am very, very excited about that is on October 5th. It is all about content creation. So exactly what I'm talking about when I say what is your content? What do you need it to be? And why do you need it to be that? So just like all of my workshops, it's free. it cut
It does have the option of buying a doula content ecosystem workbook, which is more than just the workbook for the workshop. Like it's it's like a game plan, and you use that game plan to plan out 30 days of content, right? So it's a big, it's a big deal game plan. the doula content ecosystem is what the workshop is called what to create beyond social media, because it's not just social media.
What we're gonna talk about is some slow forms of content online, some faster forms of content online, some like evergreen content, like the that's what we're gonna be talking about. Podcasting, blogging, substack, Instagram, et cetera, et cetera. Okay. Part of what I want you to think about in this workshop is that it is at least I would say like 60%, what kind of content should you be making?
Right. And so I'm not the workshop is not gonna be like make this kind of real and that kind of carousel and start to make this specific type of podcast because I don't know what exactly your business needs without getting my eyes on your business. Right. This year alone I've told doula's a variety of things like
Kaely Harrod (09:09.696)
Your particular goal matches perfectly with having a podcast. A podcast sometimes grows kind of slowly if you're doing it organically. So I want you to do that now, like start a podcast immediately. But then other doulas, I would not tell them to start a podcast because that is not going to help them reach the goal that they have. And so, no, we're not doing that for you. It makes way more sense for you to focus your time on Instagram or on TikTok on faster kind of
more fluid, more everyday sort of types of marketing. But honestly, it really depends on what's going on in your business and what offers you're trying to sell. So all that to say, please come hang out with me on October 5th for the Doula Content Ecosystem Workshop. First ever of this workshop. I have never done it before. It is a new one for me and I'm very excited about it.
I'm kind of in the phase of like tweaking it and it makes me super happy because I think that it's gonna be filled with all kinds of amazing nuggets and I just love hanging out with you all and teaching you things about being a doula and running your business. So the link to sign up, just like always, is in the show notes. or you can hit me up on Instagram at hurad doula and I can share the link there. And I want you to go sign up right this minute because why not?
It's a free class. All right. I will see you on October fifth and also in the next episode.
Kaely E Harrod explains why doulas and other service providers can build more sustainable businesses by setting boundaries that reflect their lives and work. She shares practical ways to shape a schedule, make space for the unpredictable, and recognize which boundaries need attention.
3 core topics
Setting business hours that work for you: Kaely encourages business owners to choose a schedule that supports their needs instead of defaulting to client convenience.
Making scheduling and boundaries easier: She discusses using a calendar link and clear service structures to let clients work within the availability a business owner sets.
Building margin into unpredictable work: Through examples from doula work and family life, Kaely explains why protecting time and energy helps make a business more sustainable.
Quote from the show:
“What I can tell you is you probably already know the things that you hate. Like if you’re constantly thinking to yourself, ‘God, I wish I just had a free Saturday,’ it probably means you’re giving away too many of your Saturdays. Stop it. If you’re constantly thinking to yourself, ‘It’s so stressful to have evening meetings all the time,’ you’re giving away too many of your evenings. If you’re constantly upset about how early you have to get up because you have an early morning prenatal visit with a client, then you’re giving away too many mornings, right? Like, this is how you start to decipher what are the boundaries that you naturally want and need. It’s a bit of trial and error.”
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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
