You Need The Ingredients And The Instructions
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Transcript
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.
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.
Hello and welcome back to Dula Tips and Tits. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to just let you know about a masterclass that's coming up. You know that I do masterclasses every few months and it's something that I love doing.
It's free for doulas. And I think that it's a part of sharing some insight, sharing some growth possibilities, sharing some knowledge and sustainability for folks who can't necessarily sign up for coaching or don't want to sign up for coaching or who are just needing to tweak some things in their business, right?
So this newest class is happening on May 13th. This is your first chance to sign up for it. So the link is in the show notes. And it is called Your 90-Day Dula Business Plan. We are going to build a simple focus plan to help you grow your business with clarity, without the hustle, so you can stop spinning your wheels and actually have a strategy to move forward.
Now, this is a one and a half hour masterclass. So it's going to be an hour of teaching and then about a half hour of question and answers. It will be recorded like always, but the Q&A portion, I never do record that because I for people to be able to be authentic and comfortable with asking questions with whoever is there present.
There will be a workbook that's available for purchase. So you can kind of dig into it a little bit more. And so all of that can be signed up for in the show notes today. And I want to just encourage you to do that because I want you to be able to have a good second quarter of 2025, start to see some productivity, start to see some changes and shifts in your doula business.
So moving on to the today episode, today's episode, we're talking still about feeling a little bit stuck. So I don't know if you've ever watched the Great British Baking Show, but I am a fan of that show.
And I recently found the Great American Baking Show, which apparently is like American contestants, but they go to London to do it or to Britain to do it. I don't know that it's, I don't think it's filmed in London, to be in the tent and everything.
And it's just... Yeah, I'm a fan of that too. I don't know if you've ever watched their technical challenge. But if you've watched that, you already know what it feels like to run a doula business without a plan.
So what happens in the show, if you're not familiar with it, bakers are given ingredients, a vague, incomplete recipe, and expected to produce something beautiful, precise, et cetera. How it usually works is that the Great British Baking Show has weekly themes.
So it'll be like biscuit week, or like cake week, or pastry week. And then the technical challenge has something to do with that. And so I've seen ones where they're making a old French pastry that none of them have ever even heard of.
And the instructions are often like, make a vanilla sponge. And they're like, OK, great. So there's this idea. When I hear it, it's always funny to me because I sometimes hear them say what the instructions say.
And I'm like, I would be so lost. I've made, I don't know, dozens of cakes in my life probably. I couldn't make one from memory. And so it's always amazing to me when someone says, I have no idea what this even is, or I've eaten one of these, but I've never made one of these.
How often someone actually gets it pretty accurate. And I'm always like, gosh, your working knowledge of these missing pieces has to be so strong in order to do that. And so when I think about business stuff, right, over the years, I have some very distinct memories where I have realized.
realized there's like a piece that was missing, right? And it's funny because throughout the years of my business growth, there have been so many ups and downs and bumps and, you know, slow periods and like, I feel like I ran, you know, I'm going the wrong, like I'm trying to swim upstream kind of thing.
But there's also this like sense that like, this can work, but I haven't quite figured it out, right? And so that that feeling is awesome on the one hand because it gives you motivation to keep going.
It tells you that you are great, which is true, right? It tells you you can do this, which is true. But there's often some chunks missing in how to make it work, like how to go from A to B and and actually get that.
And if someone says to you, hey, in order to do that, you need to have a free guide and that free guide needs to be attached to an automated email list. And you're like, okay, great. What do those things mean, right?
Like for me, when I remember learning that, like someone saying, hey, you have an online class, you want people to learn about it, you need to have a freebie. And I was like, what's that? And then they were like, there needs to be like a freebie on your website.
And when someone gets the freebie, they need to give you their email. And I was like, okay. And they're like that then when they give you the email, it needs to connect somewhere so that an email gets sent to them.
And I was just like, you are speaking a foreign language, right? And that's kind of how I feel with the technical challenge. Like I think like, make a Swiss meringue. And I'm like, just like make it.
Just, we just assume you have a working knowledge of Swiss meringue, which to be fair, they do, right? Because they are all on the baking, the great British baking show. But in doula business so often, there are chunks of pieces missing in the doula portion, because I mean, in the doula portion, in the business portion, because so often doulas come to this work, not because they love owning businesses,
but because they actually want to be present with their clients, right? And so they don't know all the technical pieces. You don't know all the different things, right? You've taken trainings, you've got experience.
You know that this is your thing. This is your passion. This is where you belong. But there's like some really big parts of your business that you're just like winging it. Like just hoping for the best, right?
I talked to a doula recently who was like, yeah, I just like dreamt about it. to people's houses and have them sign contracts and I was like you live in a massive city you literally drive to their house just to have them sign a contract and I'm like girl we're talking about hours of your life that you could get back if you just had a free contract online that they could sign and pay all in one step like imagine I interrupt this episode to bring you a message from our sponsors the educated birth as a birth worker I am always looking for tools that make my job easier and help my clients feel more confident that's why I love the educated birth toolkit binder it's like having an all-in-one guide at your fingertips with over 155 beautifully illustrated pages covering pregnancy labor and postpartum topics with durable,
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Trust me, you will notice a difference in your client interactions. Back to our episode. When we think about doula work, if I say to a birth doula, this baby is posterior, we need to do some things to get them to the front.
A lot of doulas are like, got it, let's go. Baby's in the back, how do we get them to rotate to the front? That's a sweet spot we have. If I say this client is really freaked out about labor and then you talk through some of those fears and process some of those fears, most doulas are like, yeah, let's go.
I got it, I know what that is. If we're doing a doula baking challenge and the technical challenge is do a good hip squeeze, survive 24 hours without sleep, eat an applesauce pouch as you walk to the bathroom on the way to the nourishment room while your client is about to start pushing and you have four and a half minutes flat to pee, get them water, get yourself water and consume this applesauce.
We are on it. Those things were crushing it because that's our expertise. That's what we know. For postpartum stuff, someone says, this baby is fussy. You're like, give me the baby, man. Honestly, as a doula, the number of times that I have seen someone in a store in an airport and I'm like, I will happily soothe that baby.
I could get that kid to sleep in a few minutes. I don't say that to say I'm better at this than you. you, I'm saying I feel very comfortable with a fussy baby. They do not intimidate me. I am like, oh, I'm going to win this battle, my friend.
I will soothe the heck out of you, little one. So that comfort is something that we bring to our work with our clients, right? But then when we think about business growth and expansion, we are often just throwing shit at the wall and like, oh, hopefully it works.
We're going to try this. We're going to try that. We're going to try this. We're going to try that. And some of them work, and we're just like, sweet, amazing, awesome, right? And again, it doesn't mean that what you're doing is all bad.
What it means is that there is a more direct path, right? There are easier ways to connect these pieces, right? You're missing the... systems, you're missing the roadmap, you're missing the consistency, you're missing even offers.
Like you're missing ways to keep people in your world, right? You're missing classes you could be teaching. You're missing groups you could be leading. You're missing, you know, online resources that you haven't made.
Like these are things that you can do and have the skill set to do, have the passion to do, excuse me. But you're missing pieces to make it happen. It's like trying to make a souffle without even preheating the oven.
Like you're not failing, you just like don't even know where to start, right? Like you literally just don't have some vital pieces of information. And I think when we think about the cost of this, it's mostly the speed of growth, right?
And I say this so frequently to folks where I'm like, if you start a business and you have a lot of money to either invest in growth, invest in people who know how to do stuff that you don't know how to do, right?
So people who are like, I hired someone to set up all my email automations or I hired someone to set up, which I think is amazing, right? That's great. But that person is inherently going to get those systems working faster than someone who's like, I am literally Googling this and like learning how to set up an email automation by myself, right?
Which was me, to be fair. But if you came to me now and were like, hey, I need an email automation for this, I can whip out a very complex email automation in no time because I have done so many of them, right?
And I can make them complicated. Like I can make them all sorts of specific. I have done them to customize things for people. I've done them to deliver only this thing if it's at this point, like really.
Basically, I'm killing it on email automations, right? But even three years ago, I was like, what even are those? I don't even know what that is. I don't know how to set up an email list, like DSN, what, I'm sorry, you know.
And you might be listening to me and being like, you are literally, I don't know what you're talking about. That's my point. That is exactly my point. If you're listening to me and you're like, what is an automation?
Think about, you buy something from Target and Target immediately sends you an email that says, thank you for your purchase. That's an email automation, right? That is an email automation that continues to work for your specific order.
It sends you an email when it's shipped. It sends you an email when it's expected. It sends you an email if that gets delayed. It sends you an email if something has been recalled that you purchased, that they have proof that you bought.
I mean, like those are all automations. That's what that is. And big businesses do it so much that we don't even notice it, right? We don't think like, oh, we think of it as like a receipt, like the machine prints out a thing when I buy, you know, I check out at Whole Foods and it gives me a receipt.
That's what that email is. Yeah, but how does that email get to you? That email gets to you because an automation sent it to you, right? And so when we think about the time that it costs you, part of that is time that your business could be growing, but also part of that is time that you are doubting yourself, time that you are burning yourself out, right?
Time that you're floundering in this business work. It's not just like you could grow faster, you could do more, you could make more, you could, it's also about like what is the cost of feeling so stuck, right?
Because that feeling is so defeating. And there are so many times where I've been like, I just don't want to keep trying. Like this is just a lot of work. And honestly, if it weren't for a couple like amazing cheerleaders in my life, I think I would have thrown in the towel if you'd, I almost did actually, I almost closed up my business and I want to say it was 2021.
And I was like, I'm just tired of being on call. I'm tired of being in charge of my business. I'm tired of all the politics. I'm tired of the drama around COVID that was happening at the time. And I really almost closed everything up.
And I'm so glad I did not because this business is more than I could have even dreamed at that point, right? Like this is truly bigger than my wildest dreams in 2021. And it's only been four years, right?
That's only four years ago. And I was literally like, I don't know if I can keep going because I don't know how to do this well, right? And it was. It wasn't doula work. I was loving doula work. It was the being a business owner that was so tricky, deciding what to charge, deciding how to charge it, deciding what the packages should have, just the pure decision fatigue of being a business owner.
When you think about this, I want you to think about the difference between the Great British Baking Show Technical Challenge, where you're like, you get four instructions, seven ingredients, and they're just like, good luck.
Having a video tutorial that's live that you can ask questions as you go. Imagine trying to make a souffle based on memory versus walking alongside a chef who's giving you instructions. That's what I think about when I think about the benefit of having guidance in your business.
Is this space for like... Like not only does someone else see me and know me and like validate the heck out of me, but also someone else can actually answer these questions so that when I say, am I doing this right?
They can say, yeah, you got it. Like tweak this one little thing, right? This thing shouldn't be there because that is going to create this complication for you. Right? And, and I think that piece honestly keeps us from so much grief in our businesses because it really is so discouraging to be kind of in the midst of that business grind and feel like we just hope we're doing it right.
You know? So this 90 day doula business plan masterclass is for you. If you're feeling a little stuck, right? You're feeling like, okay, I got, I got some things going. I'm like showing up for my clients, but I don't really know what to do with my business next.
I don't really know how to grow my business. I'm not really making any money in my business or maybe like I'm making some money, but I don't really know if I'm doing it right. You know that this class is for you, right?
And it, it is again, a free masterclass. Um, it will be May 13th at 1 PM Eastern. It will go until 2 30 PM Eastern. I will have a replay, but you won't get to do the Q and A if you're not on the live call, because I like to, to not record the Q and A so that people can just chat and ask questions and things.
So if you're feeling like you are broken, you don't know how to do this, you're messing it up. It's not that you are broken. It's not that you can't do this. It's that you're missing some key ingredients in the recipe, right?
You're missing some key steps. You need someone to come alongside you and say, Hey, this is how hot the oven needs to be. Right. And even just those, those few little, tweaks will make your cake beautiful, right?
I'm just going to milk this metaphor for all I can get out of it. And so I really do think you don't have to be the doula that's like half-heartedly baking in the midst of their business, right? Like you can be the one who's like, I have a whole strategy.
I have a whole guide. I have a whole person walking with me to show me what I need to be doing. So anyway, go sign up for that masterclass right away. And I will see you in next Wednesday's 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. 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’s Episode is sponsored by The Educated Birth. You can get 10% off The Educated Birth Binder right now with my code TIPSANDTITS at theeducatedbirth.store.
Grab your seat in the 90 day Doula Business Plan Masterclass!!! May 13th 1-2:30pm Eastern. Click below to sign up
https://harroddoulaservices.thrivecart.com/your-90-day-doula-business-plan-pod/
We are honing the Great British Baking Show energy today in this episode. It’s one thing to have all the right ingredients, but without the right instructions how do you know you’re putting those ingredients together correctly? That’s true in baking and it’s equally true in business.
Quote from the show:
“So what happens in the show, if you're not familiar with it, bakers are given ingredients, a vague, incomplete recipe, and expected to produce something beautiful, precise, et cetera. How it usually works is that the Great British Baking Show has weekly themes. So it'll be like biscuit week, or like cake week, or pastry week. And then the technical challenge has something to do with that. And so I've seen ones where they're making a old French pastry that none of them have ever even heard of. And the instructions are often like, make a vanilla sponge. And they're like, OK, great. So there's this idea. When I hear it, it's always funny to me because I sometimes hear them say what the instructions say…. so when I think about business stuff, right, over the years, I have some very distinct memories where I have realized. realized there's like a piece that was missing, right? And it's funny because throughout the years of my business growth, there have been so many ups and downs and bumps and, you know, slow periods and like, I feel like I ran, you know, I'm going the wrong, like I'm trying to swim upstream kind of thing.”
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
CONNECT with Kaely on TikTok or Instagram
https://www.tiktok.com/@doulacoach
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
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
