Summer Productivity
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Unknown speaker 00:04
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
Welcome back to Dula Tips and Tits. For me, this feels like a big deal because it's my first podcast that I'm recording since June. If you've been listening over the summer, you know that I try really hard to do the least amount of work I can in July and August.
Unknown speaker 00:56
I recorded all of my podcasts through the first week of September in June, scheduled them all in June, and just listened to them along with you, honestly. I was getting notes from people saying, oh, I just listened to today's podcast, it was so great.
Unknown speaker 01:16
I was like, ah, I love this, it's amazing. Obviously, I can do a better job of batching during the school year as well, but for the summer, it really kind of fit the need for me, which was having some space from that piece of the business, like having some space from the constant need to schedule something.
Unknown speaker 01:40
And that, I think, can be a part of the business that when it's not running well or when it's not being done productively or efficiently, it can be kind of a big headache. Right. And so one of the things I think about is always like working smarter and not harder and also.
Unknown speaker 02:00
also simplifying your life as much as you can. And so part of what I am thinking about with this is kind of giving you a recap of what the summer has looked like, how it has impacted me to have that time off, and also what to expect going into the rest of 2025, because we are now, you know, in the wrap up time for 2025, which is wild.
Unknown speaker 02:26
And so the first thing I think this year, more than past years, it took me a couple weeks to kind of recalibrate my nervous system. And I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but honestly, for me, being on call is disruptive to my nervous system, especially when I'm dealing with particularly high anxiety situations or um, potential like baby overlaps and things like that, it can be really stressful.
Unknown speaker 03:05
And so that's just, it's just a lot, right? And it's something that like, I'm learning more and more about my own mental processing and sensory things and whatnot. And so part of what I'm learning in the midst of that is also like, Oh, okay.
Unknown speaker 03:23
So it is actually harder for someone who processes like I do to deal with the like constant unpredictability, right? Which, which is just affirming. Like I'm like, okay, yeah. So the hardness that I feel is real and valid and normal for someone with a brain like I have, right?
Unknown speaker 03:44
And so part of what I, um, had this year that I didn't expect was just a little bit longer of a time really settling into rest. And I mean, two of the August babies didn't get the memo that I wasn't supposed to have any babies in July.
Unknown speaker 04:04
And so they came in July, which was fine and lovely and wonderful and they're healthy babies. But, um, that means I didn't actually get a whole month off of attending births. Um, but then I did get a decent stretch at the beginning of August because those babies had come in July.
Unknown speaker 04:24
So it kind of shifted, um, how the month was going to go and also just stress levels, um, were high. Our oldest was doing the summer youth employment program that's here in DC. So he was going to work every day.
Unknown speaker 04:43
We went to see some friends for like a long weekend. And we had our younger two kiddos who are in middle school in like a summer program. So there was still a lot going on. And so August ended up really being my like month of chill.
Unknown speaker 04:59
Like I went to the pool a bunch my daughter and I went a whole bunch It was just the two of us and it was great Like literally we would have the whole pool to ourselves It was the most glorious thing because we could just be silly and like didn't matter, you know and so That kind of like summer rest that I crave really got to happen in the beginning of August and then as we kind of started creeping up towards school starting back and Like the weather started to feel a little different.
Unknown speaker 05:29
I was like, okay, I'm ready for fall. You know, let's let's do this I started having a lot of people hiring me for the fall the winter and even some like repeat folks for next year and I just got really excited about What the fall can look like?
Unknown speaker 05:46
so that's that's kind of what the summer was for me was like a lot of swimming and hanging out and going to my favorite coffee shop and chillin with my youngest and her friends and hanging out with my boys and taking them all places.
Unknown speaker 06:01
We actually, we went to the monument, so this is something we don't do very often. You know, we've been in DC now over a decade, so it's easy to feel like, oh yeah, we've been there, done that for all the touristy things, right?
Unknown speaker 06:17
But one night I was just like, you know what, let's go, let's go to the monuments. It's late, you know, we can't, they love going out at nighttime, like when it's dark in the city, you know, there's something like fun and mysterious about that.
Unknown speaker 06:31
And I, I am a late night person. My kids are showing more and more that they are as well. And they're, I mean, you know, teenagers and preteens now. So, so in the summertime, I'm like, hey, yeah, it's nine o'clock.
Unknown speaker 06:44
Let's go, let's go, like, let's go do something fun, you know, because we can, we don't have to get up early tomorrow, like, it's summer, let's, let's lean into that, you know. So we went to the the Washington Monument.
Unknown speaker 07:00
It was just us, not my husband, because he had to do some work. And we almost got duped into buying $10 ice cream cones at this food truck, but thankfully did not. We were saved in time. And we just hung out.
Unknown speaker 07:16
They took a bunch of pictures of themselves and the various lighting on the Washington Monument. And then the next day, we decided to go back again with my husband. And one thing that our kids have been begging to do for so long is ride the electric scooters that you can rent.
Unknown speaker 07:32
And I realize you're not supposed to ride them if you're under 18. So I mean, don't turn me into the scooter companies. But it was we were down at the Tidal Basin. It was a real chill night. There were not a lot of people out.
Unknown speaker 07:46
It was nice. And I'm like, okay, let's rent some scooters. Like, let's, let's do it. They were so excited. Like, they had so much fun. And we literally just like scootered around. the Tidal Basin for 25 minutes and it was so fun, like it was lovely.
Unknown speaker 08:05
It was a really lovely summer night and then we went to the Washington Monument after because they wanted to go back there and so we had just nights like that that were like lovely, wonderful, chill, you know.
Unknown speaker 08:22
We did a lot of barbecuing, we went to the pool a lot, we hung out with some neighbors and some family and so yeah it was it was like a really lovely summertime. So in the fall, so what we're kind of getting into now in September is first of all finishing up the year but also kind of starting to think about next year and and of course like with school in full swing for us.
Unknown speaker 08:51
We're also getting into our like fall and winter routines, you know, two of my kids have their first back to school cold right now. So, you know, we have lots of layers of things that are like, fall is in full swing, you know, part of what I am thinking about in my business is strategic growth, and leaning into the things that are working.
Unknown speaker 09:17
And what I mean when I say that is, like really emphasizing the things that sell easily, and making those things as good as I can make them, right. And I know I talk a lot about like, money mindset and things like that.
Unknown speaker 09:36
But like, honestly, I think we would not have the burnout rate that we have, if doulas got adequately compensated. And the reality is like, yeah, we're not doctors, yeah, we're not midwives, like, etc, etc.
Unknown speaker 09:53
But also, I mean, for one, I would say a midwife who's on call needs to be paid better than they are. That's my first thing. But also, like, we are literally on call. I had a lawyer client once who said to me, Kaylee, she was like, any other job, you would get paid your salary.
Unknown speaker 10:14
So she was like, let's say I think she had paid me at the time, I want to say, my package was like $1,500. And she was, this is probably like four years ago, five years ago. And so, you know, she's like, okay, I paid you $1,500.
Unknown speaker 10:30
This is actually the client who convinced me to eventually go up to 2,500 because she was like, you have to charge more money. This is in the middle of her birth, like her birth was like, it was stalling.
Unknown speaker 10:42
So we were together for ages, it was in the middle of COVID. And so like, I couldn't leave because if I left it wouldn't be able to come back. So we just like hung out for many days. And in the meantime, time, she wanted to restructure my business because she was like, the work that you do is crazy, and you're not charging enough money.
Unknown speaker 11:04
And she ended up being the first person to pay me 2000. She sent me $500 because she was like, I want to be the first client who's ever paid $2,000 for your services. And I was like, dang, but I know like, I mean, now looking back, I know she saw in me something I couldn't see in myself that was like fear of charging more, right?
Unknown speaker 11:27
And so she talked to me about it and she was like, listen, let's say your base rate was 1500, right? Like, let's say, let's say theoretically, that's what like a doula gets paid. She was like, any other job to then be on call 24 seven and be expected to drop everything and go in, you would get at least time and a half pay for that.
Unknown speaker 11:53
And so she was like, you know, let's say 1500 is your pay, then you get another, what is that like 2200 or something, for being on call. So she was like, that right there is $3,000 like, you need to not be charging this amount of money.
Unknown speaker 12:09
She was like, you cannot tell me that this is enough money for like sustainable living in the DC area and she's right, it wasn't right like we were not sustainably living at that point. Right. And so part of what I think about is the fact that we get compared to all these different other professions and kind of adjacent but not the same things like nannying or like nursing or obese, you know, where I'm like,
Unknown speaker 12:40
okay. But the reality is, when a company is setting their prices, they're not like, well, I mean, we're not as big as Target and Target only sells this for $3. No, I mean, maybe they're doing that but that's not good to do right that's not like a good helpful way to set your prices.
Unknown speaker 13:02
So part of what I think we do is we want this like external validation. That's like, okay, I'm going to set my price at 2000, because that's less than a midwife charges or that's less than an OB charges a midwife is doing more work than me they should get paid more than me, but they should charge more than they're charging right so if a midwife is charging 4000 and you also want to charge 4000.
Unknown speaker 13:27
It doesn't mean you shouldn't charge 4000 it means they should also charge six or seven, you know, so, and I'm not today is not about what your prices should be. That's not the point of this episode.
Unknown speaker 13:41
But the point of it is that I raised my prices this summer. So, so I think, I mean, I was kind of like, at this point mentally that I was like, yeah, my prices are as high as I can. they'll ever get.
Unknown speaker 13:54
And my business coach was like, Why? And I was like, What do you mean? She's like, Kaylee, you have loads of people trying to hire you. And the price that you have isn't deterring very many people. And I was like, Well, it's trying some people she was like, Yeah, but not enough.
Unknown speaker 14:10
And I'm like, What? And she was like, No, you need to raise your prices like you need to raise your prices because your demand is still way higher than you can handle. And so yeah, more people are going to say no to you.
Unknown speaker 14:23
But also, you're still gonna have people saying yes. And you're going to get paid a better rate for what they're saying yes to. So the moral of that story is I raised my prices this summer. For my actual doula services, my doula coaching on the flip side has gotten a little cheaper, because I want some sustainability on the side of doula coaching.
Unknown speaker 14:48
Not that it's gotten cheaper, I guess I just I included a new, the DULIP CEO experience, a three month package is a like hybrid between two packages I had before. So it's not that the actual cost of DULIP coaching is cheaper, it's that there are smaller packages that make it more accessible to work with me.
Unknown speaker 15:12
So I mean, part of what I think the summertime brought for me specifically is some space to sort of reimagine what to lean into and how to lean into it and also that I also am limiting myself. Like I have limiting beliefs that are still there, even after all this time, even after talking about them a lot, even after teaching other people about them, right?
Unknown speaker 15:38
Like my beliefs also are something that can hold me back and I need to be evaluating them as well. And I think my encouragement to you is to give yourself some space to do that as well, because honestly, I couldn't have even evaluated that had I not had some weeks to rest, right?
Unknown speaker 15:58
Like that's where I think the rest is so vital. It's not because you have stuff to do. It's not because you need to get stuff done. It's because your body needs time to actually recalibrate. Like rest is not like, Oh, I'm home today all day.
Unknown speaker 16:14
And so I can like do all the laundry and like get all the things dusted. No, absolutely not. It's like actually been to watch the whole Harry Potter series again, right? Like it's actually rest. Like that's what your body needs.
Unknown speaker 16:27
And, and from that comes some clarity, some ability to innovate some ability to even just see clearly where your blind spots are, you know, and that matters a lot. So this is kind of a topicless episode today.
Unknown speaker 16:47
It's a hello, it's the fall. And here are some updates. in my business kind of episode. If you have not yet signed up for our newsletter, please do that because we have a new workshop coming in October.
Unknown speaker 17:01
Well, a free workshop. It's one that we've done before, but we haven't done it for a while. And so I don't want you to miss that. And we are still doing the Q&A on Friday. So if you have a question, the chat, the show notes, not the chat, has the link to ask a question and then you'll be featured on a Friday episode.
Unknown speaker 17:22
And that's helpful for everybody. Like everyone gets to hear what the question is and the answer is, and it's really lovely to have that cadence. So all right, I'm looking forward to hanging out this fall, having some guests, having some fun topics and helping you grow in your business and your doula work.
Unknown speaker 17:40
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 hara doula so we can celebrate alongside you.
Unknown speaker 17:59
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.
Unknown speaker 18:15
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.
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
It’s fall and it’s good to be back at it with the Doula Tips and Tits listeners! Today’s episode dives into the productivity and business changes that came with my summer time off (and how it wasn’t entirely time off after all! Babies!)
Quote from the show:
“And so August ended up really being my like month of chill. Like I went to the pool a bunch my daughter and I went a whole bunch It was just the two of us and it was great Like literally we would have the whole pool to ourselves It was the most glorious thing because we could just be silly and like didn't matter, you know and so That kind of like summer rest that I crave really got to happen in the beginning of August and then as we kind of started creeping up towards school starting back and Like the weather started to feel a little different. I was like, okay, I'm ready for fall. You know, let's let's do this I started having a lot of people hiring me for the fall the winter and even some like repeat folks for next year and I just got really excited about What the fall can look like? so that's that's kind of what the summer was for me was like a lot of swimming and hanging out and going to my favorite coffee shop and chillin with my youngest and her friends and hanging out with my boys and taking them all places. ”
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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
