The 6 steps to starting a doula business to set your business up for long-term profitable and sustainable impact. Covering everything from doula certifications, creating your doula packages, marketing your services and how to get doula clients. Consider this your doula business checklist to start a doula business. 

By Kristin Laffrey, business educator and consultant for doulas leading impact in fertility, birth, postpartum and motherhood.

Table of Contents

Let me start by saying congratulations!

Deciding to start a doula business is an incredibly exciting decision. Starting a doula business can be such a fulfilling career opportunity whilst also allowing a flexible lifestyle. Having spent many years supporting doulas to take their business from first client to booked out months in advance, I have seen first hand how to set your doula business up for long-term success. It starts with building the foundations within your business to support that to happen.

This article breaks down the key considerations to start a doula business and get your business successfully set up. We then look at what action to take on a continued basis to grow and expand your doula business and attract doula clients.

If you aren’t sure what actions to take daily within your business to attract clients, start by downloading my free Weekly Action Plan. In this, I break down my Client Attraction Process to get clear on how to attract clients. I also list out the daily action items to establish a repeatable process for growing your business.

Let’s jump in and get started!

Why Start a Doula Business?

As a doula, you have an incredible opportunity to support women and families through one of the MOST transformative experiences of their lives. Whether you are a fertility doula, birth doula or postpartum doula, you have the opportunity to support mothers through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond, to create lasting change for women and within society as a whole.

But you have the ideas and the vision to become a doula and grow a successful doula business but where do you start to make that happen? 

6 Essential Steps to Start a Doula Business

Let’s break down the key components to starting a doula business to get you moving and gaining momentum:

1. Complete Doula Qualifications and Get Certified (Optional)

Legally there are no requirements to complete a qualification and become certified to start a doula business. However, it’s certainly worth considering whether becoming a certified doula is a right fit for you personally. 

Over the years I have worked with both a combination of certified and non-certified doulas and can confidently say that whether you are certified or not is not going to be the determining factor of whether your business is successful. However, it can certainly build your confidence around working with clients and delivering your client experience.

Here are some of the key factors to consider when deciding whether you want to complete doula training and qualifications.

Key benefits of investing in a doula certification include:

• Increased Credibility: as more doulas start their business, there certainly is an element of adding to your credibility if you can show that you have qualifications within this space. It’s also important to note that it doesn’t have to be a contributing factor in getting clients (many clients will not even think to look at your certifications, especially if they have come through referrals) however it is worth considering that some clients may prefer to go with a doula who has completed doula qualifications rather than not.

• Professional Development: a core benefit of completing qualifications as a doula is that you develop professional skills that will enhance the quality of service you provide. Doula training can provide evidence-based knowledge to understand how to support clients during this transformative shift in their life. 

• Networking and Connection: one valuable aspect of completing a doula certification program is that you get to connect with other doulas and professionals within the industry. This is beneficial as you grow your business to maintain strong connections and develop a network around you of other doulas who are also building their businesses too. These connections can support with collaborations and building your online presence and profile.

If you decide to complete a doula qualification, undertake your own research to determine the best organisation for you. There are many different organisations that offer doula certifications, so do your research and find one that resonates with you.

2. Define Your Ideal Client

It’s important to decide who it is you want to serve and connect to your ideal client. This is essential to start a doula business. You cannot start a doula business if you aren’t clear on who you serve and how you serve them. This is important for many reasons. Firstly, to know how you can best serve them and secondly to know how you can communicate with them. Clarity around your ideal client will support you to attract potential clients and book clients into your packages. 

Given that there are many different types of doulas, it’s important to define your ideal client so you can market yourself effectively and attract the right clients. Do you want to work with first-time mothers or are you looking to focus more on experienced mothers? Do you want to focus on home births or rather hospital births? Are you interested in working with a particular demographic, such as single mothers or LGBTQ+ families? Once you’ve defined your ideal client, you can refine your services and market accordingly to speak specifically to that potential client.

This will ensure you are positioning yourself within your industry to stand out and also ensure you are attracting your dream clients. Both which come down to knowing exactly who it is you support and how it is you support them. 

Working in such an intimate space as a doula, it’s important to determine who it is you serve. This will allow you to create your doula packages and market your services effectively. In doing so, you will attract clients that are aligned with you and your mission in your business. Don’t skip this step when starting a doula business. Take the time to define your ideal client and clarify who it is you serve.

3. Establish Connections and a Strong Network

Networking is such a valuable and essential part of starting a doula business. It’s normal to just want to build connections with potential clients however establishing relationships with other birth/postpartum professionals within your community can be extremely valuable. Professionals such as OB-GYNs, lactation consultants, midwives and childbirth educators can establish strong referrals within your business. This can become an extremely effective way of growing your business.

Where to start? Attend local events, join conferences and become part of online doula communities. This will support you to establish connections and build a strong network where you can create two-way valuable relationships. Don’t put off building connections within your business. Focus on this and recognise that this is a key component to start a doula business and grow.

Networking is also an important part of positioning yourself with your industry. It allows you to build and maintain connections with other professionals. Not only that but you can establish your reputation and become recognisable for your work. 

This also allows you to reach potential clients through communities that already exist.

4. Package and Price Your Doula Services

Packaging and pricing your doula services is a key step to start a doula business. Once you are clear on your ideal client, you can package and price your fertility, birth and/or postpartum doula packages.

Consider the different types of services you want to offer. This may be services such as fertility support, prenatal visits, postpartum planning, birth support, and postpartum care. 

You can also consider offering additional services like childbirth education, sleep support, lactation support, and placenta encapsulation. These can also become a key part of growing your business once you have established your core business. Think about what makes you unique and how you can stand out locally and online. 

Some questions that can support you with clarity:

1. What am I most passionate about supporting mothers with?

2. What unique skills do I have that could support me to do this work?

3. What is it about me that makes me different?

Related post on how to package and price your doula services:

• How to price your fertility, birth or postpartum doula packages

5. Build a Website For Your Doula Business

It’s no surprise that creating a professional and effective website can have a significant impact on reaching potential clients. However, is a website essential to start a doula business?

The key benefits of having a website include establishing an online presence, building credibility and trust, and acquiring clients. Your website should be easy to navigate, visually appealing and reflect your brand. Your website should also be optimised to maximise your reach and ensure potential clients can find you when they are looking for a doula.

Website designers can be expensive and may not be the best investment for your business when you are just starting. Refining your message and unique offers is essential before investing in a website. This is because you may have a well-designed website however, if your messaging or offers aren’t connecting with potential clients, you aren’t going to book clients from it. This is the key reason I see low website conversion for doulas. Not because of the website itself but because of their messaging and their offers.

The good news is that you can build your doula website yourself without needing a lot of technical knowledge. In fact, these days you need VERY little technical knowledge to build an optimised website. Your doula website should include information about your services, your qualifications, and also the way you support clients that differentiates you from other doulas. 

So although investing hundreds or thousands into a website isn’t essential to start a doula business, you can create a highly professional and effective website yourself. I highly recommend including a blog on your website to maximise search engine optimisation (SEO) and provide valuable insight to your audience.

Related post on building your doula website:

• How to create a professional and effective website for your doula business

6. Market Your Doula Services

Having qualifications and a website is an important starting point in your business but marketing your doula services is essential to book clients into your doula business. This is because you cannot start a doula business without marketing your doula services.

It’s important to create a marketing strategy that gets you in front of your potential clients and positions your services. This is going to ensure you create a consistent flow of clients and grow your business. But here is the key thing to note about marketing your doula business. Marketing isn’t about just advertising everywhere or being on every platform online without clear intention behind your actions. Marketing is having clear direction of where you want to take your business, creating the pathways to get in front of the right people and creating a simplified marketing strategy with an effective messaging framework to book clients.

As you start to work with more clients you will also begin to build up referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Request testimonials from past clients and maintain genuine relationships with them even after completing your services.

Related posts on marketing and branding your business:

• 53 free and low-cost ways to market your doula business
• 17 marketing statistics to grow your doula business
• Key strategies to boost your brand as a doula
• How to create content that connects with potential doula clients

There are many factors to consider to start a doula business. Take the opportunity upfront to lay strong foundations so that you can build a doula business that meets your financial goals. This will support you in the long-run with building a profitable and sustainable business.

Remember that it is one thing to obtain qualifications but don’t forget about building your business and marketing to ATTRACT clients because that is what will support you to reach your goals and grow your business.

Where to next?

Step 1: Download this free weekly action plan that breaks down my Client Attraction Process with a clear action plan for intentional action you need to be taking each week to book clients into your business.

Step 2: Check out this article on 4 things you need to know before starting a doula business.

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Meet Kristin

Kristin has since supported over 300 businesses to solidify their business foundations, simplify their strategies and align their mindset to LAUNCH, GROW and SCALE their businesses for greater impact and income.

Learn more about working with Kristin