Getting Unstuck in Your Doula Business
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Transcript
Welcome to doula tips and tips. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaylee Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born, 12, nearly 13 years ago.
I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, La Leche League leader, and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business. It is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Welcome back to doula tips and tips. Today we are talking about getting unstuck as a business owner. Now I don't want you to think that you should never get stuck.
That is not the case. Like in life, in business owning, in doula work, etc. It is normal to have seasons, days, weeks that feel stuck. That is normal. Nothing is wrong with you if you feel stuck as a business owner.
Now I of course do not want you to stay there. As your coach, I want you to have some skills to move through that stuckness, right? And there are various skills to do this. One thing I think about is first of all, normalizing it.
We shame ourselves way too often. And we shame ourselves about all kinds of things, but in business we shame ourselves for being stuck. Because we feel like there should always be movement, there should always be flow, there should always be all these different things that we think we should be doing or we should be doing better, we should be doing well, etc., etc.
But the reality is that there are going to be times when you feel stuck. Whether that is stuck in your finances, stuck in your services, stuck in not having enough clients, whatever that is that feels stuck, that is going to happen.
And the more you tell yourself it's okay, the better and faster you can move through it. Shame will keep you stuck, okay? I want you to write that down. Shame will keep me stuck as a business owner in my business.
What I need is to validate my feelings, recognize the issue that's sticking me in the first place, and then come up with a game plan for it. Now that may be something like, okay, you know, I'm not getting enough client inquiries.
And so I'm going to talk to 10 people this month about my services, right? It might be that you have an offering that nobody is saying yes to. Well, then how are you going to talk about that offering?
How are you going to change that offering? Is that an offering that you still want to have? Do you like that offering? Because let me tell you something, if you're trying to sell something that you are not convinced of, you're not going to sell it well.
Because you're going to sound like it's not that great when you're trying to sell it to people. You're going to be like, I mean, we have this thing. We could do it. You can do it if you want. It's fine.
You know, like that's the vibe you're going to give off. If it's not something you really want to do, or it's not something that you feel like is the value that you've put on it in terms of price or packaging or whatever.
So if you are stuck today, I want you to take a minute to just be okay with it. Like just be okay that you're stuck. Life is not always sunshine and roses. It is not no matter who tells you what. Business is hard.
And there are going to be seasons that feel stuck. And that is okay. Once you validate yourself, I want you to think about what step you can take to start the process of un -sticking yourself, right?
What is your next best step to take? How can you grow from this place? Okay. Now, in the coming weeks, we are going to be talking on the podcast about different things in my business in hopes of inspiring you in your business.
Because doula work is isolating, and it can be incredibly lonely. And I want you to hear a bit about the things that have gotten me through some of the stuck times, and also to be able to validate some of what you feel and experience as a doula.
I hope that that will be encouraging to you. That is my hope and my plan. Now I also want to remind you this is May when I'm recording this podcast that I specifically take off July and August as much as possible.
That means I'm going on vacation with my family. That means I'm trying not to do in -person client work. That means I am not recording podcasts if at all possible. There's obviously things that come up in the business that sometimes require me to do something last minute, but I'm in the process of planning and scheduling my summer content and podcasts so that you get awesome stuff from me in July while I am literally not working because I want that time off for myself and I also want that time with my children.
It is necessary to have that kind of break in business and I fully appreciate that you might not be in a place yet where you can do that for a whole two months. I was not in that place until recently, but I do want you to consider adding even just a week or two into your life that is free of some kind of business stuff, free of something that will make you have more space because mental space and physical space and monetary space, all of those things are vital to your existence, okay?
So this episode is kind of short and sweet, but I just want to take it to be an encouragement to you. I've been feeling stuck. I know a bunch of the doulas that I mentor have been feeling stuck and you might be one of those people also feeling stuck, so I just want to encourage you that this stuckness is not a permanent state, okay?
If you are not yet on our slide into your inbox with tips and tricks and education and encouragement and all kinds of doula business -y stuff and also you'll get information about classes coming up, you'll get information about free master classes, free workshops, and you'll get the latest podcast episodes there as well.
So I really would love to have you on that newsletter list. I do not spam you with things, I promise, but I would love to stay connected with you there. That link is at the top of the show notes, so grab that and join us today.
I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the doula tips and tips 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.
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.
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If you’re feeling stuck, you are not alone. Being stuck in your business can be hard. It can even make you want to quit. But you don’t have to be stuck there!
Quote from the show:
“We shame ourselves way too often. And we shame ourselves about all kinds of things, but in business we shame ourselves for being stuck. Because we feel like there should always be movement, there should always be flow, there should always be all these different things that we think we should be doing or we should be doing better, we should be doing well, etc. But the reality is that there are going to be times when you feel stuck. Whether that is stuck in your finances, stuck in your services, stuck in not having enough clients, whatever that is that feels stuck, that is going to happen.”
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
