Professional Consulting
Defining Your Niche
You’ve just finished your doula training, or maybe you’ve just finished your practicum, and you’re eager to venture out on your own as a doula. But how do you distinguish yourself from the other doulas in the community while still maintaining open connections with your colleagues?
The best businesses, no matter what service they provide, know exactly what their strengths are and highlight their passions and skills in their marketing.
We’ll sit down with you and help you articulate just what it is about doula work that gets you fired up. What unique skills and attributes do you bring to doula work?
Together we’ll create a vision statement for your practice that will help guide your business decisions. A clear and concise message will make it easier to connect with clients who resonate with your vision of doula care.
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Developing a Web Presence
Everyone knows a website can be a huge help in hooking in new clients. Learn the ins and outs of good web design, whether you plan to do it yourself or hire a web designer. We’ll help you decipher the technical jargon, offer ideas on website structure, and give you tips on how to improve your search rankings. We’ll map out a plan for building a website that will meet your needs and showcase your practice in a way that feels authentic to your personality.
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Connecting With Your Clientele…and Your Colleagues
The easiest way to get new clients is to know other doulas in the community. We’ll help you get plugged into the amazing resources of the birth professional community in the Portland-metro area, as well as brainstorm ideas for reaching the best clients for your practice.
Advertising in the 21st century is more than business cards and flyers…and believe it or not, it’s more than websites, too.
We’ll help you move beyond just print and online marketing to develop effective networking and outreach skills.
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The Nuts and Bolts
You have visions of rubbing mamas’ backs, offering soothing words, and helping dads through the more intense moments in labor.
But interviewing? Record-keeping? Taxes? Yes, these are all parts of being a doula, too!
We’ll wade through some of the more mundane aspects of being a small business owner, ensuring that you have a solid process for interacting with clients and keeping track of the details. Good records and book-keeping will make your work easier. Together we’ll set up efficient, easy-to-use systems that let you focus on the doula work rather than the paper work.
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Consulting Process
The first step is to contact us. Tell us what you’re looking for as you develop your practice. We’ll connect over phone or email and set up a time to meet. We’ll estimate how much time we’ll need together, create an agenda, and then dive in to the creative and nitty gritty work of setting up a practice. At the end of our work together we’ll create a working business plan that will help guide you through both the short and long-term tasks of growing your practice.
Consulting Fees
We understand that the thought of hiring a consultant when you’re just starting out can be financially daunting. You’ve just paid for training, books, your practicum, which all adds up. It can be hard to justify another expense.
It may help to reframe the idea of a “fee” as an investment instead.
When you hire us to provide professional consulting, you are nurturing the growth of this new infant called your doula practice.
Think of this as an investment into the long-term future of your practice, which someday, will be nurturing you.
We charge an hourly rate of $35. Most initial sessions will be between 2.5 and 3 hours, depending on your needs.
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Questions? Get in touch!
We look forward to helping doula you through the process of growing your practice!