Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: The Doula Darcy Podcast

Episode: Low-Cost Decisions Are Costing You High-Paying Doula Clients
Host: Darcy Sauers
Date: May 4, 2026

Episode Overview

In this candid and “spicy” episode, Darcy Sauers addresses a recurring mindset challenge faced by many doulas: the temptation to cut corners and make low-cost decisions when starting and growing their businesses. Darcy argues that seeking out only the cheapest options for doula training, mentorship, or website development can actually block doulas from attracting high-paying clients and building sustainable, valued practices. Through practical examples and mindset shifts, she urges listeners to critically examine their own investment habits and recognize the strong connection between self-value and business success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Pattern of “Cheap & Fast” in Doula Communities

Recognizing the Trend: Darcy observes a common theme in doula Facebook groups where members frequently ask for the "fastest, cheapest" solutions:
- “Can you guys tell me the fastest, cheapest doula training?”
- “Can you guys tell me a free way to get a website?”
- “Is anyone doing any doula mentoring for free?”
  (01:10)
Role Reversal Exercise: Darcy suggests reframing these questions—imagine if they were about childbirth education, not business needs.
- “What if someone in a mom group posted, ‘What’s the quickest, cheapest way to get childbirth education?’ How would that hit you?” (02:00)

The Issue With Low-Cost Mindsets

You Attract What You Invest:
- "If you're out here looking for the cheapest, fastest way to become trained as a doula, you cannot turn around and complain that no one wants to pay you to be their doula." (02:35)
- "If you don't want to pay to invest in making a good doula website, you can't really expect anyone to pay to work with you. It's all connected." (03:28)
- She expands this to doula trainers: offering training for $37 may devalue the profession.
Value Over Cost:
- The real issue is not money, but value and self-worth.
- "If you don't believe in your own value, you can't be surprised that no one else does either." (05:32)
- Investing in yourself signals to others that your services are worth investing in.

The Power of Self-Investment

Mindset “Karma”:
- Darcy shares that if you’re not willing to invest in yourself, others are unlikely to do so for you.
- She draws a parallel: If a client said, "I'm about to have a baby but I want the cheapest, fastest way to have the best birth," most doulas would caution them against cutting corners.
Personal Story – Upgrading Her Website:
- Darcy started with a simple, inexpensive website but emphasized quickly reinvesting in a more professional site after her first paying clients.
- "A free website like that, low budget website, puts out low budget vibes...you're not going to be able to charge $3,000 for a birth if your website looks DIY like a fifth grader made it." (06:30)
- “Your doula business can only grow to the beauty—or rather, the functionality—of your website...You're not going to sign high ticket clients with a low ticket website.” (07:55)

Reframing Questions & Self-Valuation

Adopting “Perspectacles”:
- Darcy encourages listeners to reframe their own questions about business investment as if they were being asked by a potential client.
- She references Glennon Doyle’s term "perspectacles"—the mental tools to change perspective.
- “Look at the questions you're asking about your doula business and reframe those as though it was a potential client asking about your doula services...See if this helps you reframe what you're willing to invest in yourself.” (09:00)
Self-Value Is Free:
- Building self-value doesn’t always require money—it's also about believing in your own worth.
- "That's the key to getting more clients that pay in full, getting more clients that really value the service you're providing them, and having a doula business that is successful." (09:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Professional Value & Investment:
- “If you don’t believe in your own value, why would someone pay you?” – Darcy, (05:32)
On the Importance of Self-Investment:
- “When you start to invest in yourself, if you are not willing to invest in yourself, no one is going to be willing to invest in you.” – Darcy, (04:31)
On Perceptions and Business Growth:
- “Your doula business can only grow to the...functionality of your website. You're not going to sign high ticket clients with a low ticket website.” – Darcy, (07:55)
Reframing Inquiry:
- “Look at the questions you’re asking about your doula business and reframe those as though it was a potential client asking about your doula services.” – Darcy, (09:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

01:10 – Spotting “cheap and fast” posts in Facebook groups
02:35 – Why you can’t expect high-paying clients if you won't invest yourself
05:32 – Discussion on self-value and client perception
06:30 – 07:55 – Website quality as a metaphor for business value
09:00 – Using “perspectacles” to reframe your own business investment questions
09:40 – The link between self-value and client attraction

Final Thoughts

Darcy challenges doulas to be introspective about where and how they invest in their business, stressing that self-worth and the willingness to invest in one’s own professional growth are fundamentally linked to attracting clients who also value and are willing to invest in your services. The episode invites listeners to reconsider their approach to both tangible investments (websites, trainings) and intangible ones (self-value, mindset) to create a thriving, high-value doula business.

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Transcript7 lines

[00:04]
A
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.
[00:43]
B
Okay. Hey, everybody. So this one's going to be a little spicy, I think. I don't know. Maybe I'll delete it later. Maybe I'll publish it. We'll see. As you know, I spend some time in the doula Facebook groups and. And I have a little game I want you to all play. I want you to go into the doula groups and see all the posts, all the ones that are saying,
[01:10]
A
can
[01:11]
B
you guys tell me the fastest, cheapest doula training? Can you guys tell me the a free way to get a website? Can you guys tell me, is anyone doing any doula mentoring for free? I want you to go back and read all those posts and instead. And I want you to insert childbirth education instead of doula training, doula website, or doula mentoring. So I want you to again, look at these questions through as though they're being asked of, hey, can anyone tell me the quickest, fastest, cheapest way to get childbirth education? Hey, could anybody tell me the cheapest, fastest way to get some free childbirth education? And like, how does that change your feelings about it? And the reason I really want you to look at this is one of my favorite quotes is, and I don't even know who said it, I think it's the name of a book. But how you see anything is how you see everything. So if you're out here looking for the cheapest, fastest way to become trained as a doula, you cannot turn around and complain that no one wants to pay you to be their doula. If you're looking to get free mentoring or a free website, you can't turn around and complain that you're not getting hired. And this is also a message for the people who are offering. I saw someone saying, hey, sign up for my doula training. It's only $37. I'm sorry, but you need I listen and let's not get into I'M all for offering pro bono spots and scholarships and doing all that. That's great. But there's maybe this is a whole other podcast about how there's 7 million training organizations now and you just, you get what you pay for is what I'm going to say about that. But the real issue I want to talk about today is I don't know if you would call it karma or what, but if you're not willing to pay to, to get your training to be a doula, how do you expect people to pay you to be their doula? If you don't want to pay to invest in making a good doula website, you can't really expect anyone to pay to work with you. It's all connected and it's so true. When you start to invest in yourself, if you are not willing to invest in yourself, no one is going to be willing to invest in you. What would you say to someone who came to you and was like, yeah, I'm gonna, I'm having a baby here in a couple months and I'm just looking for the fastest, cheapest way to have the best birth I can. I don't really want to pay anybody and I don't want to put any time or effort into it. You'd look at that mom and be like, you're probably gonna have a crappy traumatic birth. So I'm not saying you need to spend $10,000 on a doula training or a doula website or a mentor or whatever, but start to pay attention to and this, and honestly this doesn't even come down to money. This comes down to the value. And the reason I came up with this whole topic in the first place is that this thing that has been bugging me for a while is the self value or the value of worth that doulas feel about themselves. If you don't believe in your own
[05:30]
A
value,
[05:32]
B
you can't be surprised that no one else does either. If you don't believe in your own value, why would someone pay you? Then? You have to believe in your own value. You have to invest in your own value. So that's my hot take for today. So let's look at, let's talk about websites. If you have a website you paid, I don't know, $25 on some free flat platform to make, that's great. And listen, if you're starting out, I started with a crappy godaddy, I think website 16 years ago. But a free website like that, low budget website puts out low budget vibes and you're not going to be able to charge $3,000 for a birth if your website looks DIY like a 5th grader made it. If you want to start, if you want to start having people value, value you and your services more, your website and the image you're putting out into the world has to reflect that. So yes, I started with a crappy GoDaddy 5 page, very simple website. But you better believe that's the first thing I put some money into. After I had my first few paying clients and earn some money, I put, turned around and invested that right back into my business. And then honestly, that's it. That's all I invested in my business for a really long time was to get a, you know, a good website that looked really polished and professional. And it's kind of like the, you know, the you can only grow to the capacity of the problems you're willing to face or the, whatever that quote is. It's kind of the same thing. Your doula business can only grow to the beauty of your website. Not the beauty, but the functionality of your website. You're not going to sign high ticket clients with a low ticket website. Let's leave it at that. That's a better way of saying it. So that is why I'm so passionate about doulas having a good website. But more than that, it just struck me as I was scrolling through the doula Facebook groups today that none of you would stand for it if these were moms in a mom group asking like, hey, what's the quickest, fastest, cheapest childbirth around? We'd all be like, no, don't take the crappy free hospital course. Come over here and take this really good one because it's going to make your birth better and it's going to save you so much. So I would love to hear if you guys could put on all these little perspectacles, as Glennon Doyle calls them, and look at yourself. Look, look at the questions you're asking about your doula business and reframe those as though it was a potential client asking about your doula services or asking about childbirth ed and see if this helps you reframe what you're willing to invest in yourself. Whether it's a website, whether it's good solid doula training, whether it's a doula mentor or coach or a business coach or a business retreat or whatever you need to take the next step in your doula business. But it also comes down to you don't even have to spend any money to work on valuing yourself more than you already do. And that right there is the key to getting more clients that pay in full, getting more clients that really value the service that they're providing them, and having a doula business that is successful. So I know this was a little bit different than my usual topics, but I'd love to know what you think. Send me a DM if this was a helpful episode.
[10:23]
A
Thank you for tuning in to the Doula 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 Hedula 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.