Doula business
Doulas! For the love of birth, please stop speaking for your clients
I’m just home from the AWHONN Michigan conference on Mackinac Island, where I was invited to speak about ways labor and delivery nurses can improve birth. As part of my main talk, I addressed nurse-doula relationships, as I usually do when I have the honor of working with nurses. I asked them if they ever…
Read More5 SEO Myths Every Birth Worker Should Know
Before we even begin, please let me encourage you to keep reading. I know that search engine optimization (or SEO) is not a “sexy” birth business topic. It has a reputation as being boring, too technical, and out of reach to normal human beings. My job as The Website Doula and a mentor on the…
Read MoreOn controversy, "one right way," and respect
by Jessica English, Kyndal May and Sarah Juliusson Let’s be real. Controversy is sexy. It grabs us and draws us in to someone else’s drama. That can be entertaining for a short time, but at its best controversy leads us to deeper, more thoughtful conversation. That thoughtful conversation? It’s what Heart | Soul | Business…
Read MoreFour Key Elements of a Rock-Solid Birth Doula Contract
A great contract is a helpful tool in any business relationship. It lays out expectations for everyone, and it can help protect you if there are ever questions or misunderstandings. Birth doulas often expand and improve their contracts over time as the doula runs into new situations or challenges with clients. Here are some elements…
Read MoreRespect. It’s good for business
Doulas haven’t always had easy relationships with the medical community. Especially when doulas misunderstand (or haven’t mastered) their advocacy role, tensions can develop inside and outside the birth space. There are tons of reasons why positive, collaborative relationships are good for doulas, for women and for birth, but most of that conversation belongs in another space.…
Read MoreMany Hats: 7 Tips for Successfully Diversifying Your Birth Business
[Editor’s note: I’m thrilled to welcome Sharon Muza to the Heart | Soul | Business blog! There are few other birth professionals who can speak with such authority on diversifying your business. Go ahead, ask Sharon how many hats she wears! ~Jessica] People arrive at birth work after traveling many different paths. You might have…
Read MoreSearch Engine Optimization for Birth Pros: What is SEO?
[Editor’s note: This is a guest post on SEO by Heart | Soul | Business mentor Sarah Juliusson. We are grateful for her expertise on the blog and in our Facebook group! I hope you enjoy learning more about search engine optimization — it’s an important part of today’s birth business equation. ~ Jessica] (Lesson…
Read MoreBusiness decision? BRAINstorm it!
As doulas and childbirth educators, most of us are familiar with the BRAIN acronym to help our clients think through challenging decisions. Many of my own students and clients have told me they use also BRAIN to think through all kinds of other life choices. Guess what! You can use the BRAIN acronym to think…
Read MoreSix Low-Squirm Tips for Talking About Money
Why is it that so many of us get the heebie-jeebies when talking about money? You’ve got a gentle, loving heart, absolutely. But you also need to be paid fairly for your work in order to keep the world benefiting from your talents. All too often, I hear from birth workers who easily bend their…
Read MoreHeart, Soul, Business: Why They All Matter
We are birth workers! Heart and soul are at the forefront of our business above almost all others. Our work, however, has been historically undervalued, leading to burnout and the loss of excellent professionals. In this nurturing, heart-centered field, how can we find a balance between emotion and financial abundance? That, friends, is the central…
Read More