Reflect & Grow: Key Lessons From 2024 for Doula Biz Success

Nov 1

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. I have a special announcement today and you actually maybe heard this in the pre -episode little blurb about an upcoming workshop that is about evaluating this year and planning strategically for 2025.
Now, when we think about business, I think sometimes we just kind of hope for the best, right? And we're like, hey, I made a lot of money this year. I didn't make a lot of money this year, but it's really important for us to take time each year.
And I would say quarterly if possible, but definitely yearly and evaluate. Evaluate what we've done so far and what we could shift. Part of the reason this is really important is that oftentimes we don't realize the things that aren't working well or the things that like we're putting a lot of time and effort into, but aren't having a lot of success or we aren't having a lot of revenue growth.
And I think things like, you know, this thing is priced in such a way that you either need to stop offering it or you need to change the price and particularly raise the price because oftentimes we are actually cutting ourselves significantly short in terms of.
business income and revenue. I recently realized for instance that between sorry about that between fees etc on my in my business the prices that we were charging for our packages are not sufficient in order to cover the fees, pay the doulas that are doing those packages and also to be able to have some income come into the business and so that's something that I am evaluating as a new team leader as a business owner who now has people as contractors working for me and something that I am evaluating in terms of sustainability and growth in the years to come.
When we think about this I think one of the most important things is is to have a real honest look at a couple different topics. One is what was really amazing. Like sometimes we don't celebrate ourselves sufficiently.
And so going back and looking through things can help you realize you actually did some really kick -ass stuff, right? And also sometimes we think that we've done some amazing things that we actually haven't done.
And I say that not to be discouraging, but because I think it's easy to think we've made more money than we did, for instance, or that we've created more revenue in one particular area than we did. I know for me specifically, the goals that I had laid out at the beginning of 2024 look really different now because I broke my ankle.
I added a lot of doulas to my team. That meant our services shifted quite a bit. That also meant a lot more money was going out of the business than ever before because I'm paying people, which I love to do.
But also that means that the revenue and profit kind of flow is very different than it ever has been. And that's a big deal, like that's a big shift. But also we've met our revenue goals that we've had, but not in the ways that we thought we were going to.
So I have kind of a rough idea from the beginning of the year of what I was hoping to make in different categories. So like revenue for birth clients for myself, revenue for birth clients for the team, revenue for postpartum clients, revenue for childbirth ed, revenue for coaching, et cetera, et cetera.
And I didn't make, while my numbers are what they should be, I didn't make it in the categories I thought I was going to make it in, okay? So that is something that I need to evaluate. Why is it? Well, for me, part of that is I injured myself really significantly this year and I went through some really serious family stuff.
And so those two things had a massive impact on when and how revenue came into the business. The great thing about that is I am very good at pivoting. I'm very good at kind of reevaluating things and making it work anyway, but that takes a ton of work.
And so I want to go back and celebrate the heck out of that and also evaluate like how to not do that same thing this year where it feels a little too scrappy and a little too like, okay, we got to figure this out now that this thing has shifted, especially with the massive injuries that I sustained this year and I'm still kind of working through.
That's wild to say that, I mean, you guys are listening to this on November 1st. Why am I still injured? this is ridiculous bodies i'm getting old i suppose um i'm only 38 so i'm not all that old but when we think about um reflecting back i think one of the things that is really important is to have outside eyes on that to help us evaluate what needs to shift the workshop that we're doing on december 6th um and all the information to sign up for it etc is in the december 6th is a two -hour workshop it does cost it's $37 but that is because it's limited to 25 people and we are going to actually dig into your numbers so it's not the same as like you know the workshops that are recorded and people who watch the replay and all of that you will own the recording to this so you will have access to it like it's a class you'll get to go back to it we will talk about your actual business your actual numbers etc um well part of what i want to do in that class is look at what is working really well and how do we make it work better and what is getting a lot of revenue if you even still like doing that because there are times in a business where one thing is working really great and actually my business is a great example of this i can make a lot of money attending births but attending births have the hardest biggest impact on my family and my body and so i want to attend less births and do more non -birth things right like teaching and things like that um that is something that that for me i still probably this year i haven't looked at i haven't evaluated all of my numbers because i'm doing that for um to for us to do at the workshop um but my revenue for personally is definitely still primarily birth and um that is my number of birth are lower than ever before because I'm intentionally taking less fewer clients,
right? But still the biggest percentage of my revenue is from births. That was a big goal for this year, to have the percentage of revenue that's coming from births to be lower. But that has not happened in the way that I wanted it to in part because of my injury.
I needed to kind of recoup some of the cost of that and so then to do that I took births that I wasn't, like I was thinking of taking a number of months off for instance. I did still take a month and a half off and that was wonderful.
It was awesome and also that meant I took like a couple births in August and then September, October, November, December are all like normal flow months of births. I don't have those months off because the business required that, right?
That's what I needed to do in order to continue forward and that's okay. Like I love birth. I love supporting clients. And also my long -term goal is to do that less because that is the least sustainable part for me.
So when I think about celebrating things that worked well, it's not just like this piece of your business made you the most amount of money. It's also this piece of your business is what you want to make you the most amount of money.
This piece of your business sustained you. That can be celebrated while we also say I don't want this much revenue to come from this piece of my business in 2025. That takes a lot of intentionality and also planning.
And I will tell you that it is very easy to look at your own things and not have any idea where to start. That is precisely why I want you to go immediately sign up for the workshop that's coming up on December 6th all about reflecting on 2024 and planning strategically and with big dreams and goals for 2025.
Because it is really hard and heavy and discouraging and sometimes there's a ton of fatigue around choosing what things need to be tweaked in your own business when you feel like you're literally just pulling it out of your ass.
Okay so a this is these are these are your takeaways for today. I'm recapping for you. A you need to evaluate things in your business. I do not want you to do that by yourself. So b is evaluate things in your business preferably with someone who can help you evaluate them like me on December 6th at noon for two hours together.
We'll workshop it. C is it is hard to make strategic decisions about your own business by yourself. That is true for all of us, like those of us who are kind of farther along in this journey also have help and guidance.
It's not just that you need a coach for your business, I also need coaching in my business, right? And I have coaching in my business and I have encouragement in my business and I have business besties that are like kind of nudging me along towards the finish line every month or every year or whatever.
That is necessary for all of us. I would like to do that for you on December 6th at 12 noon Eastern time for two hours with only 25 max people so that we can get through everybody's business and really dig into what people's numbers are looking like.
Okay, so go sign up for that class and I will see you back for a private or a solo episode next Friday and in the meantime enjoy our guest episode on Wednesday. All right. 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 hiradoula 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.

In your doula business it’s vital to take a step back and reflect on the year—what went well, what didn’t, and where there’s room to grow in your doula business. In today’s episode, we’re diving into the importance of reviewing your business metrics, spotting the wins and challenges, and using these insights to set yourself up for success in 2025. If you’re ready to get focused, intentional, and strategic for the new year, I’ve got just the thing for you: a two-hour, interactive workshop where we’ll do this exact process together. Let’s set the stage for your strongest year yet!

https://harroddoulaservices.thrivecart.com/level-up-your-doula-biz-2024-pod/

Quote from show:

“For me specifically, the goals that I had laid out at the beginning of 2024 look really different now because I broke my ankle. I added a lot of doulas to my team. That meant our services shifted quite a bit. That also meant a lot more money was going out of the business than ever before because I'm paying people, which I love to do. But also that means that the revenue and profit kind of flow is very different than it ever has been. And that's a big deal, like that's a big shift. But also we've met our revenue goals that we've had, but not in the ways that we thought we were going to. I had kind of a rough idea from the beginning of the year of what I was hoping to make in different categories. So like revenue for birth clients for myself, revenue for birth clients for the team, revenue for postpartum clients, revenue for childbirth ed, revenue for coaching, et cetera, et cetera. While my numbers are what they should be, I didn't make it in the categories I thought I was going to make it in. So that is something that I need to evaluate. Why is that? Well, for me, part of that is I injured myself really significantly this year and I went through some really serious family stuff.”

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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