Things I Quit Doing to Build a Multi-6-Figure Business
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Kaely E Harrod (00:01.25)
Hello and welcome back to doula tips and tits. I am talking today about things I don't do. And that might sound a little bit ridiculous, but actually I think it's necessary to have a conversation about what I stopped worrying about, excuse me, in order to grow so big.
First, I want to clarify something. I think that the interwebs are filled with sensational language around business. So multi-six figure doula business can get a little like, what does that mean? How much money are you making? You know. for my business, that means I'm on track to have a $300,000 year in terms of income coming in.
That doesn't mean $300,000 revenue for the business, or that I got paid $300,000 because I have doulas who work for me, right? So it's a multi six figure doula business, meaning that we should bring in just over $300,000 for the year in 2026 by the end of the year. and also growing.
exponentially. So maybe more than that. But also like I think growth is always the plan, right? So these are things that I stopped doing a while ago. And I kind of credit them to to various extents, right? To getting to the place I am financially. So and I am going to share one thing I started doing at the end as well. So one thing I stopped doing. So the first thing I stopped doing is posting on Instagram every day.
And I know I've talked about this in the past. I know I've talked about the fact that like actually if your clients aren't coming from Instagram, why are you posting on Instagram so much? You know, and not not that you shouldn't be like for me, for instance, I have doula clients and I have doula's who are clients, right? So I have two two kind of buckets of clients. So one audience is my doulas that I my doulas that I coach.
Kaely E Harrod (02:26.382)
You, right? The other audience is the clients that I show up with to their births and help prepare them, et cetera. So the people that are not on Instagram is my clients who show up at births. And right now in my business, that is still the biggest money-making side of my business. So the coaching side, I'm like really intentionally growing, et cetera. But like when we think about the multi-six figures, it's mostly Doula clients that are bringing that.
money into the business. So that's what I mean when I say that's not where my my audience is. So you guys are there, but that's not in from my experience, me posting every day doesn't make a big difference to you. And it makes zero difference to my doula clients because my doula clients aren't even there. In fact, I think the doula clients who follow me on Instagram are like repeat clients or like past clients who are excited about my work.
But it's not what drew them in. Like that nobody has found me. Maybe one person has found me from Instagram, but very few. Like it's not my main marketing space, right? So at some point I think I put so much effort into figuring out how to do Instagram and Facebook posting correctly, sufficiently, enough, etc. And the reality is I could do better at it, of course. I also
could do more in terms of like growing the audience of my coaching, et cetera. But I don't need to do that right now because that's not my main focus right now. And posting every single day is not the main way that I'd like to do that. So that being said, I took that pressure off of myself. Do I like to post on Instagram? Sure. Right. Do I want to post like commemorative days and whatnot? Sure. I I mean I want to. I care a lot about my clients. I care a lot about the
ethnic and r and religious holidays people have. Like I care a lot about all of that stuff. I have client, like a very diverse client pool. So I want to celebrate the things they're celebrating. And also I just it's not the top priority of my business, right? Second thing I stopped doing. Taking every client that talked to me. So this is a big one. Like I think sometimes as doula's okay I'm gonna rephrase that. I know
Kaely E Harrod (04:51.084)
That as doulas, we often have a desperate energy for getting hired, which means we will let literally anyone hire us. I recently had a back and forth via email with someone, and this is kind of how this went. Keep in mind this person had an insurance plan called Carrot, which many of you are probably familiar with, where they get fully reimbursed for whatever they spend on their doula care. So, and not, I mean.
They have a limit on what they can get reimbursed on. But it's like a lot. Like they, you know, for my doula package, they're buying my package and definitely getting reimbursed for it. So, I spoke with this family. I spent a long time talking to them because they had questions about like goodness, sorry, all my notifications. Because they had questions about what doulas even are, like what's the difference in the packages, how could it work how could we work together, blah, blah, blah. So we've spent a lot of time.
I really like felt like it was a good vibe, like we matched. It was, you know, it was great. So then I emailed them to follow up, maybe like a few days later, like, hey, just checking in, you guys, you know, would you like to move forward? Like, what are thinking? And she was the wife was like, Hey, we have carrot insurance and I like, great, I love that for you. You know, that's wonderful. I'm in network with them, so no problem. Like I can give you everything you need to get reimbursed after. She's like, Okay.
She was like, Do you have a special rate for people who have carrot? And I was like, No. And she was like, Well, the person who told me about you told me that they paid a different rate than this. And I was like, excuse me. I was like, no. And I'm like, no, the only way they paid a different rate from this is if they are a repeat client and they got the repeat client price, which is not you because this is your first baby. And so that's not like that's this is the only price I have. Like I've already shared with you.
You can do this package in these two ways, that's all. Or when I have a repeat client or a client who's on like baby number two, three, four, et cetera, they have a different package, but you're not a repeat client. Like you ha are on your first child, you know? And so I responded like, Yeah, I don't know. I mean, unless it was someone who hired me many years ago and my price has changed, I don't have various packages for people who are on care insurance and also like
Kaely E Harrod (07:18.198)
No, I'm not giving you like a carat insurance discount, you know. and we like went back and forth. I think she sent two more emails, maybe. And I was like, what what am I doing? Like, what am I doing with this family? Like, why am I going back and forth with this person? They have a way to get completely reimbursed for paying for my services. So I don't understand what the hangup is. Like they're not even paying for it themselves, right?
And they clearly think they're getting like fleeced in some way. Like they I'm much like, do you think I'm getting like taking advantage of you? Like I'm getting over on like I don't know. And so I was just like, I am no longer available for you. I'm so sorry. Like I didn't say I'm so sorry 'cause I don't apologize for that. I just said like I just wanted to let you know I'm no longer available for your birth time, but please let me know like if you want a referral to someone else or whatever. And I never heard back from them.
But for me, I think the lesson for myself is like I trust that that is not the only person who's reaching out for that due date. And it wasn't. I had someone else hire me for that due date recently. So I'm like, yeah, I know you're not my last option. And also like I don't want to work this hard for you to want to hire me, especially in the case that you are literally getting reimbursed for the whole thing. Like
I know that the price that I set is higher than a lot of doolas in the area, which is fine. So hire one of the other duels in the area. But if you want to hire me, this is the price I have. And I don't like negotiate with you unless there's actual financial need, which to be honest with you, if you work at a job that gives you carrot insurance, there's not financial need, right? And so I'm like, I do sliding scale and low cost births for people who are like on Medicaid and social services and whatnot.
But that is not you, you know? And so I'm not doing that. I'm not going back and forth with you like this, and you have not even hired me. So that's the second thing. So first thing, I stopped posting every day. Second thing, I stopped taking every client. Third thing, I stopped being available nonstop no matter what to my clients. So the language that I use with my clients around communication is that.
Kaely E Harrod (09:36.715)
I never wake up from text messages, which is true. I turn off my text notification at 10 p.m. I think it turns back on at six. And even if it's on, I it does not wake me. Like I sleep like an absolute log when I've been at a birth, especially. And I like you could like jump on my body. I mean, like my children have done this, like jumped on my body and I sleep through it. Like I they make fun of me when when I finally awake from my like absolute death sleep of post birth recovery.
They'll be like, we had this whole crazy conversation with you. And I'm like, you could tell me anything. I believe you. Like, I'm sure I said wild things to you. And I'm sure I got mad when you stopped, wouldn't stop messing with me. And I'm sure my phone like had a thousand notifications and I didn't hear any of them. I do hear when it rings. So that, yes. But notifications, like ding, ding, ding. Uh-uh. Nope. I sleep through that stuff. So what I say to my clients is text messages never wake me up. So you are welcome to text me anytime.
And I will answer you the next time I'm awake, right? And I'm like, if I'm at a birth and you text me at 2 a.m., I might answer you at 2 a.m. But mostly I'm not gonna answer you at 2 a.m. because I'm usually not up and looking at text messages. And if I'm not at a birth, honestly, and a text message comes through and I see it at like midnight, I just leave it alone because I'm like, I'm not responding to you at midnight. I don't need to do that. That's not something I want you to think is normal, you know. But also I say to them, if something's urgent or you need an answer from me, you always have to call.
And so what that does for me is it frees me up to not constantly monitor my text messages because I know if there's a text message, it's not urgent. It's just an update, quick question, it's like no rush, you know. But if someone calls me, it's cause something's happening, you know, and they're not just calling to be like, Hey, I went to the doctor today, I just wanted to say hi. No. They're texting that stuff. They're calling me because they think they're water broke, they're calling me because they're in pain, they're calling because
They don't know if their baby's moving as much. Like they're calling because it's urgent. And so then I answer the call because it's urgent. Right. And then I talk to them and then I manage it. And that's all. And that's really the only thing I'm available for at a drop at the drop of a hat. Like I'm not just instantly available for you all the time. I can't be, you know. So so that's the third thing. So one, I stopped posting. Two, I stopped taking every single client. Three, I stopped being constantly available.
Kaely E Harrod (12:03.116)
And set very clear boundaries around what that looks like. So I don't say to clients like you can only text me from eight to nine, right? Or like, my God, I can't even like nine to five. But I do say I I like will answer within a day and it's not urgent. If it's a text, I assume it's not urgent, right? And so then I'm not urgently texting you back. the f the last thing I will say for this episode, because there's more than just these things, that I stopped doing
Is caring what other people thought about my prices. Now I will say this comes and goes, right? I am a recovering people pleaser and will probably always be. I think it's kind of like being in yeah, like in recovery of any kind. You're like, this is a habit I have, this is a you know, neural pathway that I've built. And so it's gonna be there forever. I'm gonna kind of fight against it for the rest of my life, you know. but I think when I initially raised my rates higher than anyone else I knew.
I was very nervous about it and was like, peop what are people gonna think? What are people gonna say? What if people think I'm like shouldn't ha shouldn't cost this much? What if people think I'm not experienced enough? What if people think and now I'm just like, I really don't give a damn. Like I I charge what I charge. And you don't have to think it's a good price. You don't have to wanna pay that price. You don't have to pay it. You don't have to hire me. Like you don't have to agree with what I charge. None of that.
Like it actually isn't about you at all. Right. And so for me, I'm like, no, I have landed on a package price for now that feels good for what I'm doing with my clients and how I need to live my life. And that's what I'm doing. And that's all. Like, and I think more of us need to do that. You know that. If you've listened to literally anything I ever say on this podcast, you know that I think you probably need to charge more money. But also you need to not care about
what people think about you charging more money. Like if they care, they probably not don't charge enough. And they're just mad that you charge more and they don't charge more and they feel weird about charging more. And that's really on them. Right? I mean that's not your problem. That's their problem. But I think also like if you're gonna build a business, you have to charge money. Like money is how a business grows. It doesn't mean you have to be selfish. It doesn't mean you have to be greedy. It doesn't mean you can't
Kaely E Harrod (14:26.764)
Like I pay, I charge more than almost anybody in the area for birth and for postpartum. Postpartum, not not necessarily. There are some doulas that charge more than I do for postpartum, but I also pay my doula's more than almost any other agency in the DC area. And that I am proud of. Like I will shout that from the mountaintops. Like I pay better than most doula agencies for postpartum care. That's a big deal to me.
And that means I make less money from those postpartum packages. It also means my postpartum packages are more expensive. But when I'm able to say to my clients, listen, I know my postpartum packages are more expensive, it's because my postpartum doulas get paid a sustainable rate. And most agencies don't do that. Then they're also aware that when they buy the cheaper package, they're paying for unsustainable rates for the doulas, right? Like that's what you're that's what you're supporting in that moment. And so I'm not saying like,
Please hoard all your money and be like a you know, a rich jerk. But like honestly, you need to have sustainability in your life and charging prices that sustain you is part of that. I get on this soapbox so easily. Like, that is not the purpose of what I'm saying right now. And I just like rage about it. Like, geez, I should probably maybe have a therapy session around this. so yes, that's the last thing I'll say for this episode of constantly lowering rates, like something that I stopped doing.
I will say there are two things that I started doing that I wanna just share. Well, and I could I guess I could phrase them as like I stopped doing, but
I'm gonna phrase them in the positive because I want to. So the one is I started letting more people hire me than I used to. And what I mean when I say this is more people do in a cer certain month. And part of what needed to happen in order to do that is the second thing I did. I started working on not feeling like I had to be the person who was at everything. And
Kaely E Harrod (16:35.978)
I don't mean I had so many people hire me that I knew I wouldn't be be at their births. What I mean is I let go of the fact that I can't control if I am or am not at a birth, right? So I let more people hire me in months that I needed to make more money and then have a good support system for when I need to send backups, right? But also trusted myself.
That if it meant I went to a ridiculous number of births, I'd be okay. And I have never given myself that freedom ever. Like that, the freedom to let people hire me because I need to make more money for that month. And knowing that I can handle the physical and emotional and financial toll of having another birth, I've never trusted myself in that way. And it feels like a big deal. Like it is a really big deal to me.
To be able to say, like, I actually can say, like, gosh, I have a huge car repair that's needed. And so I'm gonna let one more person hire me and I'm gonna use that money to repair my car. That's a big deal. Like I have then control, right? Like I have and I mean this comes from a place of having an overflow of client desire. So like I have more people wanting to hire me than I can handle. So that is a privilege that I have, right? But I also then
let myself lean into that privilege and let people hire me. So these are things I stopped doing or in the final two started doing to build a six figure doula business. I think we emphasize so much what you need to do instead of what you need to stop doing. And there's so much shit you need to stop doing. Like as doulas, we spin our wheels in some wild ways.
And I hear some doulas tell me some crazy things that they're planning to start doing that I'm like, why though? Like that's not going to go anywhere for you. Like what are you what is your aim here? And it's like so frequently, like, I'm scared to raise my prices. I'm scared to have more people hire me. And so instead I'm gonna start down this totally random path to try to have another training and another class that I could teach and another. No, like raise your rates and have more people hire you.
Kaely E Harrod (18:59.502)
Like it's not it's just that's gonna be your easiest path of less res least resistance, right? Like, come on. So that's my soapbox for today. I have been a little bit sporadic because my eighth grader graduated eighth grade, my tenth grader started playing J V basketball, and my youngest ha my my seventh grader had what feels like a million band obligations. So
I'm working on consistency in this beautiful, wonderful podcast, hanging out with you all because it matters to me a lot. So just know that you can expect weekly episodes now that my shit is a little bit aligned and I can get myself together. So you have this today, and then the goal is to have one every single week into the foreseeable future. We'll just hang out together until we die. Okay, great. Have an excellent day. I'll see you in the next episode.
In this episode, I dive into the transformative decisions that have shaped my business journey. I stopped posting on Instagram daily, realizing my clients weren't there. I also learned to be selective with clients, valuing my worth and setting clear boundaries. By focusing on sustainable pricing and trusting my instincts, I've embraced growth and financial stability. These changes have empowered me to build a thriving six-figure doula business, emphasizing the importance of stopping certain habits to truly succeed.
Quote from the show:
“I charge what I charge. And you don't have to think it's a good price. You don't have to wanna pay that price. You don't have to pay it. You don't have to hire me. Like you don't have to agree with what I charge. None of that. Like it actually isn't about you at all. Right. And so for me, I'm like, no, I have landed on a package price for now that feels good for what I'm doing with my clients and how I need to live my life."
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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
