If You’re Turning Away Doula Clients, It’s Time to Listen to This

Summary

The Doula Darcy Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: If You’re Turning Away Doula Clients, It’s Time to Listen to This
Host: Darcy Sauers
Guest: Juanita Harris, Southern Charm Doula
Release Date: March 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, host Darcy Sauers welcomes Juanita Harris of Southern Charm Doula to discuss a transformative journey from burnout to successfully running a doula agency. Drawing from her extensive experience both in advertising and as a doula, Darcy expertly navigates the conversation to extract valuable insights for doulas facing similar challenges.

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Guest Background and Initial Challenges

Darcy begins by introducing Juanita Harris, highlighting her long-standing presence in the doula community and her expertise as a birth doula. Juanita shares her initial reluctance to start a doula agency, feeling overwhelmed and on the brink of burnout due to consistently turning away clients when booked months in advance.

[01:22] Juanita Harris: "Oh, geez. I think my first birth I attended was in 2014."

Darcy acknowledges the severity of maternal health statistics in Alabama, providing context to Juanita's challenges.

[02:29] Juanita Harris: "We rank 50th in maternity care... it can be challenging."

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The Turning Point: Starting a Doula Agency

Juanita recounts her experience of nearly quitting and how joining Darcy’s Doula Village became a pivotal moment. She attended a virtual weekend retreat hosted by Darcy, where the demand for her services became undeniable.

[03:51] Juanita Harris: "I was on the edge of burning out. I knew I didn't want to quit, but I was so overwhelmed."

Inspired by the influx of inquiries even while on vacation, Juanita decided to act swiftly to establish her agency, enabling her to manage the increased demand without sacrificing her personal time.

[05:00] Juanita Harris: "I got tired of driving over there every night... And she took that client and I think we've already got her booked for two or three more clients over the next nine months."

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Building and Managing the Agency

Juanita details the rapid setup of her agency, emphasizing the importance of having a reliable team to handle overflow and provide backups during emergencies. This structure not only alleviates her workload but also ensures consistent client care.

[07:33] Juanita Harris: "I was petrified of doing all of the paperwork. What was the legal ramifications of this?"

Darcy praises Juanita's swift action and dedication, highlighting how Juanita's agency model supports both seasoned and newer doulas by fostering mentorship and collaboration.

[12:25] Juanita Harris: "And these doulas are pretty well. They're not as seasoned as I am, but they are pretty well seasoned."

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Marketing Strategies and Client Acquisition

One of the standout points is Juanita’s minimalist approach to marketing. Unlike many doulas who rely heavily on social media, Juanita leverages word-of-mouth referrals and effective SEO practices to maintain a steady stream of clients without the need for constant online presence.

[15:40] Juanita Harris: "I don't do any [social media]. When I am doing like a long term postpartum overnight gig... I use Facebook, and I make comments in groups."

She also credits Darcy's guidance for improving her SEO, which significantly boosted her booking timeline from five months to nine months in advance.

[17:40] Juanita Harris: "Google is the majority, and that is because I found somebody to do my SEO for me."

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Community Support and Mentorship

A recurring theme is the importance of community and mentorship in Juanita’s success. Through Doula Village, Juanita has built a supportive network where doulas can share expertise and provide mutual assistance, enhancing the overall quality of care.

[25:58] Juanita Harris: "It's a huge blessing. And I just love the community that you have built for us."

Darcy reinforces this notion, emphasizing that surrounding oneself with supportive peers is crucial for both personal and professional growth.

[26:50] Darcy: "No matter how seasoned you are, you will always benefit from surrounding yourself with other doulas who are cheering you on and building you up."

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Personal Resilience and Adaptability

Juanita shares a personal anecdote about her husband's accident, which further solidified the necessity of having a robust agency structure. During her husband's recovery, the agency ensured that her clients continued to receive excellent care without interruption.

[23:26] Juanita Harris: "My husband fell down a flight of stairs... So I had to become his postpartum doula and take care of all of his physical hygiene and needs."

This incident underscores the importance of adaptability and having a dependable team to navigate unforeseen circumstances.

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Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Juanita Harris's journey from nearly quitting to successfully operating a doula agency serves as an inspiring roadmap for doulas feeling overwhelmed by client demand. Her approach emphasizes:

1. Proactive Action: Taking decisive steps to scale operations when necessary.
2. Effective Marketing: Utilizing SEO and word-of-mouth over constant social media engagement.
3. Community Building: Fostering a supportive network of doulas for mutual growth and assistance.
4. Resilience: Adapting to personal and professional challenges with a strong support system.

Juanita’s story highlights that with the right strategies and support, doulas can overcome burnout, expand their services, and continue to provide vital support to families in need.

[25:15] Juanita Harris: "They need to take the step. If you're thinking about it, if you're turning away inquiries, you need to just go ahead and take the step."

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Final Thoughts

Darcy concludes the episode by encouraging doulas to seek support and take actionable steps towards growing their businesses, leveraging the insights shared by Juanita. The episode serves as a testament to the power of community, strategic planning, and unwavering dedication in building a successful doula career.

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Notable Quotes:

• Juanita Harris [03:51]: "I was on the edge of burning out. I knew I didn't want to quit, but I was so overwhelmed."
• Juanita Harris [07:33]: "I was petrified of doing all of the paperwork. What was the legal ramifications of this?"
• Juanita Harris [15:40]: "I don't do any [social media]. When I am doing like a long term postpartum overnight gig... I use Facebook, and I make comments in groups."
• Juanita Harris [25:15]: "They need to take the step. If you're thinking about it, if you're turning away inquiries, you need to just go ahead and take the step."

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Join the Conversation:
For doulas inspired by Juanita’s story, Darcy invites listeners to connect via Instagram @thedouladarcy or join the free Facebook community, The Doula Marketing Group, to delve deeper into strategies for growing your doula business.

Feedback:
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the podcast on your favorite platform to help more doulas discover valuable resources and support.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Darcy]

Welcome to the Doula Darcy podcast. I'm your host, Darcy, a business coach for doulas, and I love helping my fellow doulas master the art of marketing so that they can grow their businesses and help more families. On the podcast, I combine my decade of experience in Advertising with 14 years as a doula to empower other doulas with the marketing strategies and mindset shifts they need to attract more clients and create successful, fulfilling doula careers. Whether you're just starting out as a doula or you're looking to take your doula business to the next level, you're in the right place. Let's go.

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Doula Darcy podcast. I'm really excited to share with you Juanita Harris of Southern charm Doula, who has been a doula inside of my doula village for a couple of years now, which seems time really flies.

[Juanita Harris]

Does. Sometimes. I feel like. Sometimes I feel like I started with you. I'm not sure when you started, but I feel like I've been there from the beginning. I've been there so long.

[Darcy]

Yeah, you were. You. I think you were there. Yeah. A few months after the whole thing started. And I remember thinking as you joined, how long have you been a doula, Juanita?

[Juanita Harris]

Oh, geez. I think my first birth I attended was in 2014. Yeah. And you attended 11 years.

[Darcy]

Yeah. And you've attended a lot of births. So I was like, what? Wow, this. Why is this experience doula joining? And I thought, oh, maybe she's just gonna check it out. And here you are still there. I absolutely love what you bring to my doula village, the expertise that you share with the other. Your primarily. Actually, you're both, but you're primarily a birth doula. And I love your way of mentoring and just giving advice and your experience and expertise to the newer birth doulas in there and postpartum doulas. And as you'll see, Juanita does have a southern charm, and it's kind of a sassy. I think of you as having a sassy southern charm. But the other thing is, Juanita is down in Alabama and is Alabama officially ranked the 50th worst state for 50th.

[Juanita Harris]

We. We rank 50th in maternity care. So we are at the bare bottoms, and we are definitely in probably the lower 2 or 3 ranked for just overall health. So you put those two together, and it's. It can be challenging.

[Darcy]

Yeah. And anytime I read any statistics about maternal mortality or maternal health or anything, you know, and they say that Alabama is down there at the bottom. I always am a lit. Just a little comforted. I just think Juanita's there. Juanita's there and she's doing what she can. But I mean, some of the stories you've told me are, it's, it's a little shocking the difference between what my birth doulas up here in New Hampshire and New England talk about versus but anyway, that's another whole PODC cast. What I invited you here today to talk about was how you end it went from saying, heck no, I'm never starting a doula agency to now happily running a doula agency. And it makes me, I think it makes me extra happy because you're in Alabama and you're. You have gone to. You sent me a message that you were at the edge of burning out. You didn't. You were just exhausted. You weren't going to quit, but you were exhausted. Do you remember that?

[Juanita Harris]

So you actually had a virtual retreat over a weekend. And I did that. I was already a part of Doula Village. And I joined my Doula village because I was rebuilding. So I'm not, I am from Alabama, but I started my doula career in San Diego.

[Darcy]

So.

[Juanita Harris]

So while I was out there, I was taking all the classes I could because I knew where I was going to be coming back to. So then I come back out here six months before COVID started. So I'm trying to rebuild at a time where doulas really aren't even allowed in the hospitals. And so I, I happened to come across one of your webinars and that's how I got started with my doula Village. But then I took one of your weekend retreat things. I love the fact that it was online. Cause that meant I didn't have to travel. If I got called to a birth, it was okay. And you went around at the coffee time and had everyone say what they were looking for and what they wanted to get out of the doula retreat. And so many fresh faced young doulas were in there going, I just want to have free time. I want to be able to go take care of my children. I want to be able to go on vacation when I want to. And it got around to me and I was the last person who spoke and I just started falling and I was like, all of y'all want to have free time? Let me tell you, when you get booked solid nine months out, you have no free time. You are turning people away. And I would love to be able. I was Just, I don't know, I just, I didn't, I knew I didn't want to quit, but I was so overwhelmed and I didn't want to be a bummer on all these people that were saying, I took this, I'm doing this career because I want to have all of this. But I'm thinking if this career takes off, you don't have any of that. And hopefully I didn't turn anybody away, but that's where I was. That's where I was. I was so burnt out and it was still a couple of months before you and I talked and I actually was, no, that was the beginning of it. We were talking for that next week because I was thinking about doing an agency and so I did get the chance to go on vacation and I was on a 10 day vacation with my husband and we were in Ohio and I had four inquiries in one day and they were all for times that I was booked. And I just called you and was okay, what do I have to do to start this? And you're like, I can walk you through this. And you gave me your price and everything. And I was like, let's do this. But I got to do it now. Like I don't have two months to work on this and learn a little bit week by week. Because within three or four days I had three or four more clients booked with doulas that I literally just called up and said, hey, instead of referring to you, do you want to be at my agency?

[Darcy]

And I just, this is the part I love because we think we. You're the fresh face doula that's ready to not be a corporate worker and have this free time. But you, I love that you just shared the reality with these new doulas but you get to the point where you build a strong reputation in your community. You've done a really good job. You're getting word of mouth referrals from your clients, providers are sending people to you and then. But you can't handle it. Cuz you only have two hands and you. But so many doulas think, I can't open an agency. That's hard, that's big. That's like a real business that and you. Or that will take me years to do. And I just, I remember you saying I want, maybe I need to start an agency, but we have to do it this week.

[Juanita Harris]

I was petrified of doing all of the paperwork. What was the legal ramifications of this? I'm going to say it. I hadn't even formed A LLC at that point, it was like seven or eight years in of me doing this full time. So there was, I was more worried, I think, about the legalities of it and the fine print and the behind the scenes stuff. Because what it came down to, I was already interviewing with clients, explaining to them what a doula does, selling them on having a doula and then going, but by the way, I'm not available. But if, but I want you to have this information to move forward with the. Whether it was the environment we're in or the classes they could have or the chiropractor they need to go see if they were asking me these questions during an interview. I wasn't gatekeeping because I want, even if I'm not at your birth, if I say one thing to one pregnant woman that helps her birth be better, I've done my job. I've really done my job. And that doesn't cost me anything to share five or five or ten extra minutes with somebody. But what I was doing was I was basically selling them on the idea and going, by the way, call this doula. And so by the time they called that doula, they were already sold on her because I already talked drunk. So I was already doing that part, the referral part, the selling part. I just wasn't doing the paperwork part. And the money.

[Darcy]

Yeah.

[Juanita Harris]

And I was leaving money on the table. And I think as doulas, you're right. We talk about this sometimes in my doula village, that sometimes money is just not. Is taboo in the doula world. But I did cut in San Diego, there is a huge community of doulas. Huge. We're talking 3, 4, 500, 600 doulas community that do doula circles and meetings. And you can get on the Facebook group and say, hey, I'm at a birth and my backup's at a birth and I have another client in labor and somebody, or maybe don't know it's got to chime in and say, hey, I can help you out as a backup. And here in Alabama we just don't have that. We don't have that many doulas. So in San Diego, because I had all of these backups available, there wasn't a whole lot of agencies out there. We just, if we were booked, we just paid it forward. And I'm all for paying it forward to the next doula, helping that new doula get a somebody can't afford my services and sending them to a new doula who has a lower price and so forth. While Encouraging that newer doula to raise her price. I'm happy to do referrals like that, and I do. I did them in San Diego, and it was helpful for people when they sent them to. It was helpful for me when doula sent me referrals. But after a while, you realize that you're really just giving money away unless you set up with a. With a doulas. Hey, if I refer to you, will you give me X amount of money?

[Darcy]

But it sounds like, though, in San Diego, it. It was. And that's what kind of what it was is like here with a few of my doula friends, you know, I refer people to them and they refer people to me, and it's. I just. It's a wash. Like, we don't exchange money. It all evens out in the end. So sounds like in San Diego. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it wasn't on the top of your mind in San Diego to start an agency.

[Juanita Harris]

It. It wasn't because there was a lot of referral back and forth. But here in Alabama, there's just not as many doulas. And honestly, the doulas, a lot of the doulas that I have brought on with me, they came from other states. They were doing good in other states, but they were also part of an agency or a partnership or had clients that were funneled to them through a particular agency, through a particular social service agency. And so they really weren't getting clients here. They weren't marketing and so forth. They're great doulas. They didn't have time to do the marketing. They don't even. Have. One of them doesn't even have a website. Right. It's just phenomenal. But. So it just worked out perfectly for them. Could I have sat down and said, hey, if I refer to you, I want X amount of money each time? Yes. But somehow that just felt weird.

[Darcy]

Mm. Yeah.

[Juanita Harris]

But asking them to come on and work for me and me handle all the paperwork and keep a partial portion of the fee worked out great. And they all got pay raises when they came on with me, so love that.

[Darcy]

And. And it's. I have a doula like that in my agency. She just. She doesn't have a website. She doesn't. She has no interest in that. She's phenomenal. And I just think it's a blessing to her that she and this doula were all the doulas working for you. They get to be a doula without having to worry about all that other Stuff that's so valuable. And also, I know personally for you, you really enjoy the mentorship aspect of it as well. Like you enjoy working with some of the newer doulas that you have worked with. And just, I mean, I think you probably don't even know you're doing it. It's what you do. In my doula village, you're a natural, just teacher and sharer and giver. So I know that is another reason you enjoy having an agency.

[Juanita Harris]

I do. And these doulas are pretty well. They're not as seasoned as I am, but they are pretty well seasoned. But there is that advantage of the fact that they know enough that if there's something maybe I run against up against that I've never seen that maybe they have. The part of the agency that I really love is that you don't have a doula who's done a hundred births and two doulas who have done 10. You have a doula with three, with 200, 120 or 130 births experience because of the high mind.

[Darcy]

Exactly.

[Juanita Harris]

So I think knowing you have that person you can call in the middle of the night when you hit a wall and you're exhausted and you just want to make sure that you tried everything you could for this client, it's nice to have those in your back pocket.

[Darcy]

Oh, I'm sure. And have you noticed that since starting your agency, you're able to bring on more clients because you have more of a. What they call, like in sports, a bench. Like you. More what? It's just you have to start saying no to people at a certain point. But when you know you have a team.

[Juanita Harris]

Oh, definitely bringing on more. Because I've been doing this for so long and my reputation and I guess I've just built up repeats and so forth, I do tend to stay booked up anywhere from eight to 10 or 11 months out because I also do postpartum. So sometimes you get booked for nine months out for a birth, then two or three months with. With postpartum with the same client, and suddenly you find yourself 11 months bugged out. And that's very common for me. It's very common for me. If you wait until you're 26, 27 weeks and think, oh, my goodness, I have to push this baby out my vagina. I need help. I'm not available.

[Darcy]

Right.

[Juanita Harris]

I'm just not. I'm booked. And at that point I'm booked and have already taken a one or two extras at that time period. So it's a weight off of my chest to be able to refer to these awesome doulas and know that they're still going to be taken care of. That we all have backups for each other. That is so huge. To be able to take more than one or two clients a month is because you have backups. But I definitely bring in more. I actually just recently brought in a new postpartum doula because I keep getting inquiries from a city about an hour and an hour and a half away from us. And I got tired of driving over there every night. So I looked and I happened to get in every time I'm doing a long term postpartum job. I get a lot of inquiries at that time. So I started searching and of course it was another postpartum doula who was new to the area. So she wasn't known. She really wasn't marketing or anything. And I was like, I have a client interested now. Would you be interested in doing this as an agency person and let's just try this out for the first time. And she took that client and I think we've already got her booked for two or three more clients over the next nine months.

[Darcy]

Amazing.

[Juanita Harris]

And I'm five. My doulas, my. My teammates typically get my overflow.

[Darcy]

Yeah.

[Juanita Harris]

And it just is what it is. They can be busy, they can take vacations, they can take care of their kids and we just.

[Darcy]

It's a win for all of you. And how, tell me how you're booking out 11 months in advance. How much social media do you do? How much marketing?

[Juanita Harris]

Not nearly as much as you wish I did.

[Darcy]

I don't like.

No, this is my point in asking. You don't do any.

[Juanita Harris]

And I have to just. I don't do any. When I am doing like a long term postpartum overnight gig. Like around that 8 to 12 week mark, I'd start getting really bored at night. Cause I just don't really sleep at night. But my babies do by then because of how I can sleep condition them. And so I will pull up and I will make some posts and I have learned that GPT on Canva and GPT period works amazing and I will throw up something together and I'll plan out for a month and then I may not post again for another six months.

[Darcy]

But so I we. I'm asking you this because we have within the My Doula Village Facebook group, we have a hashtag called Be like Juanita. As she'll be like, oh my God, you guys, I just got booked for May 2026. And we're like, how did you do that?

[Juanita Harris]

Yeah, this is how it works.

[Darcy]

You have good SEO and amazing word of mouth, and you're doing good things. I just. So there's two things I want doulas to hear. That being a successful doula does not have to mean posting on Instagram five times a day.

[Juanita Harris]

And you wouldn't do it.

[Darcy]

You don't do it.

[Juanita Harris]

I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't enjoy doing it. I use. I use Facebook, and when I say I use Facebook, I make comments into groups. There's in the main. Two main local mom groups that I get clients from. One of them I advertise in like maybe once a month. And the other one, we don't even. I don't even advertise. My clients just tag me. Every time somebody talks about doula or postpartum issues, everybody just tags me. And that's where I get the majority. I get a lot of them from Facebook. But thanks to you, I did put on my. My intake form. How did you hear about me?

[Darcy]

Yes.

[Juanita Harris]

And I will say that Google is the majority, and that is because I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I found somebody to do my SEO for me, and I wasn't feeling bad before I picked someone to do my SEO, but I did. Instead of being booked up five to six months out, I went to being booked eight to nine months out when in my holes for me, a little.

[Darcy]

Bit quicker, which is amazing. And it. And like you said, it's not like you're in San Diego where there's 600 doulas you're in. Are you in Montgomery, Alabama?

[Juanita Harris]

That area? Yeah.

[Darcy]

Okay. You're in a more rural area or smaller.

[Juanita Harris]

It's a capital city. I'm in a city, but I'm in the capital area.

[Darcy]

It's. But it's Alabama. It's not San Diego. My point is there's not hundreds of doulas. So there's also that. Meaning that you've built a great name for yourself. And the other thing I want doulas to hear is that, yes, you can build an agency that has 50 doulas in it and is a big complicated machine. Go for it if you want to. I don't. That's not how I want to run my agency. I have four or five doulas at the most, at a time. And I keep it super simple. And you. That's what you Wanted to do, too. And the other thing I want people to hear is, you know, back where you were saying, you were like, I need to get this done now. We worked together one on one, and I was like, all right, if you want to launch an agency, like, this week, Here are the 10 things you need to do. And in my head, I was like, this is going to take her three months. I remember three hours later, you sent me a vox and you were like, all right, I've done eight of the 10 things. And I was blown away. That is the thing. You took action. You took so much action. You had no, like, inner monologue. I. I think so many of us are like, should I do this? What's the best way to do this? And, oh, what will people think of me if I stop start the. You were just like, no, I have to do this. Alabama needs this.

[Juanita Harris]

I had already gone back and forth in my head so many times. Do I do this? Do I not? You've been encouraged for a while, and I'd been like, no, I don't do that. I don't want the headache. I don't have time for that. And then once I decided I was going to do it, it was. I had to just get it done because, like I said, I had clients coming on like that. The next day they were signing, and I didn't want to be cleaning up my mess. In retrospect, I wanted to get things in order from the get go. So I had to learn new systems very quickly. And it did help a little bit that I was on vacation. And when I say vacation, we were visiting our kids in other cities, so we were staying in Airbnbs and so forth. It's not like we were going to Disney every day or that kind of thing. So I had a little bit of free time downtime at that point. And then while on vacation, my husband injured himself and needed his own postpartum doula for two months. So I had a little bit of free time in my hands, sitting in the hospital waiting rooms while he was doing surgeries and so forth. So I did have a little bit of extra grace when it came to that, but. But, yeah, I wanted everything to be done right from the beginning. And so having you there, where I would be like, I know I need to have some kind of a contract. What kind of things do I need to have in there? Yeah, I didn't have to go crowdsourcing on Facebook or in doula groups and so forth and hear the Good, the Bad and the ugly. I had the expert who had already done it before, who would walk me through and tell me how I could get this and explain to me how different agencies do it. What are the different, what do the different models look like for me to be able to figure out what I felt worked best for me.

[Darcy]

Right.

[Juanita Harris]

And having you there to give me that answer right then so that I didn't have to wait three days to make the decision as to how I was going to move forward. It was a lifesaver. It really was.

[Darcy]

That's, I think such a great example of working with a coach, a business coach is it's a fast track to. You could configure everything out on your own or like just get it done. But a big piece of that is your initiative to take action. And whether you're starting an agency or not, whether you're just your own doula instead we human nature to spiral ourselves out in self doubt or worry or whatever when we just need to just take action, just take the steps towards what we're trying to build. And you did that in a way I have not seen ever. And it was, I just, it makes me so happy. And I completely forgot that your husband got injured and you, it ended up being even more of a blessing to you that you had started this agency because your clients were taken care of when you had to go to care for your husband.

[Juanita Harris]

I knew I had them there if I needed them. I will say that I missed the birth. I didn't miss the birth. I was blessed in the fact I was supposed to take vacation and then go out of state and travel and do a three month doula job for a repeat client.

[Darcy]

Oh, that's right. Yes.

[Juanita Harris]

And so I didn't have clients during that time period. And then my husband fell down a flight of stairs. Somehow or another he did not die, which is amazing. But he tore his, his triceps off of both elbows and he was in arm braces. He couldn't bend his arms for two months. He couldn't feed himself, he couldn't brush his own teeth or anything. So I had to become his postpartum doula and take care of all of his physical hygiene and needs.

[Darcy]

Yeah.

[Juanita Harris]

So it was a blessing that I didn't have anyone. But at the same time I had that time to interview with other doulas and to go ahead and continue booking them and so forth and get these, get my contracts and my agreements and so forth in order.

[Darcy]

And you did. And now it's running along so well. And I just, I am personally so happy that you are and your agency are down there in Alabama making birth and postpartum better in that state. It's. It truly. I mean, I joke about it, but it truly does just make me so happy. You're such a hard worker, and you're so devoted to your work, to your clients, to your doulas. To the doulas in my doula village. You're just. You're a real gift to women everywhere. Juanita. I really mean it.

[Juanita Harris]

Well, thank you. We have a lot of work to do down here in Alabama, and part of it, really, for the doulas, is just getting the word out there that we are. There are doulas. There are doulas. That there are people who can come in and help you, that there are postpartum doulas. We're not night nurses, because night nurses have nursing degrees. People down here are still looking for baby nurses, and we're like, those aren't really a thing. We're now postpartum doulas and just explaining what's out there. So for us, there's still. I think it's across the United States, but in my area in particular, there's a lot of education about. You have options.

[Darcy]

Yes.

[Juanita Harris]

Options. More than what you're told about at your doctor's appointment.

[Darcy]

Thank you so much for sharing your story, and I hope it inspires doulas who are on the fence or scared about opening an agency or even just whatever, taking the next step in their doula business, whatever that is. I hope that they have been inspired.

[Juanita Harris]

They need to take the step. If you're thinking about it, if you're turning away inquiries, you need to just go ahead and take the step. Maybe that first step is partnering with another doula that you already back up with all the time, or just going ahead and forming an agency, but just get somebody hired, business coach who already knows, has done it, knows the ins and outs, can help you with contracts, can tell you what you need legally do. And just.

[Darcy]

And then go to Darcy.

[Juanita Harris]

Just talk to Darcy. Join Medulla Village. We've got the experts.

[Darcy]

Yeah. Yes. If this is you, send me an email. Shoot me a dm. Let's doula this. And. Yeah. So is there anything else you'd like to add, Juanita, or say to.

[Juanita Harris]

I don't think so. I'm thankful so much that you've had me on here. I'm so thankful for the growth that I have had with you and the friendships I have made in my doula village. It's. They always Say that you grow by. You always want to have people that are above you and people that are a little bit below you. So you're pulling somebody up, but you have someone helping pull you up. And I really feel like that's where my doula vil is. And even though people talk about, oh, you're so seasoned, you're so good at this, it's so nice to have people that are even more advanced than me in, in my doula village. And I have made great friends. I never thought I would make friends on the Internet, but at 3, 2 o'clock in the morning, I know I can call the doula in Alaska and ask her a question. She still time zones ahead of me. Yes. And I have done that. And it's just a huge blessing. It's. It's a huge blessing. And I just love the community that you have built for us.

[Darcy]

Thank you for saying that. And I think that's a great point. That no, even. No matter how seasoned you are, you will always benefit from surrounding yourself with other doulas who are cheering you on and building you up and answering your questions. And it is a great community and you're a huge part of that, Juanita. So thank you so much.

[Juanita Harris]

Foreign.

[Darcy]

Thank you for tuning in to the Dula Darcy podcast. I hope you found this episode valuable, and I'd love for you to join me on the next one. Let's keep the conversation going. Shoot me a DM on Instagram thedula Darcy or join my free Facebook community, the Doula Marketing Group, where we dive deeper into growing your doula business. If you enjoyed the episode, please take a moment to rate and review the podcast on your favorite platform. Your feedback will help more doulas discover the show, which in turn helps more families find the doula support that they need. And I believe that that is how we save the world.