Podcast Summary: The Doula Darcy Podcast

Episode: The Real Work Behind a Successful Online Doula Business
Host: Darcy Sauers
Date: November 6, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Darcy Sauers, doula-turned-business coach, delves into the often-unseen work required to create a successful and fulfilling online doula business. Drawing on her personal journey, she debunks quick-fix marketing myths, highlights the importance of community and flexibility, and reframes entrepreneurship as a path of personal growth as much as professional development. The episode is aimed at both aspiring and established doulas, offering actionable advice and honest encouragement to design a business that truly fits their lives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building a Business That Fits Your Life

Timestamp: 02:45–06:50

• Darcy shares a real-time example of how she's adjusting her business—closing membership to her Doula Village temporarily to prioritize her son's recovery and her own winter activities.
• She underscores the power of entrepreneurship’s flexibility:
  • “This is my favorite thing about having an online business and being an entrepreneur: you can just change what you’re doing at any time.” (07:03)
  • Personal responsibilities and business goals can coexist and evolve.
• It's okay not to scale with a big team if it’s not your style. Darcy values managing a lean, solo operation with occasional independent contractors rather than overseeing a large staff.

2. There are No ‘Business Police’

Timestamp: 06:50–09:20

• Darcy debunks rigid business rules, emphasizing entrepreneurs can (and should) adapt their structures:
  • “There’s no doula police, there’s no business police... Don’t be a jerk, don’t break the law, but you’re allowed to change the rules of how you’re structuring your business anytime you want.” (09:08)

3. Bro Marketing Myths & Simplicity of Business

Timestamp: 09:20–13:10

• Darcy warns against seductive “bro marketer” ads promising instant magic solutions.
  • She compares these to the pressure new parents feel for the ‘right way’ to parent: “As soon as someone says, ‘what’s the best way,’ whether they’re a new parent or an entrepreneur—in both cases, there is no best way. There’s the best way for you.” (10:50)
• The basics of business are simple:
  • Create something valuable and tell people about it.
  • Success depends not on secret formulas, but consistent marketing and outreach: “No one can hire you to be their doula if they don’t know you exist... No one can buy your digital course if they don’t know it exists.” (12:10)

4. Real Work: The Inner Game of Entrepreneurship

Timestamp: 13:10–15:50

• Technical strategies are widely available, but inner work—overcoming fear, procrastination, and imposter syndrome—is the crucial differentiator.
  • “Why are some doulas booked solid while others can’t get a single consult? Because along with marketing strategy, it’s all the inner work you need as an entrepreneur, as a person, to get over yourself and get it out in the world.” (14:40)
• Entrepreneurship is framed as “the biggest journey of self-discovery you could ever go on.” (15:00)

5. The Power of Community, Coaching, and Connection

Timestamp: 15:50–19:50

• Darcy shares her experience of leveling up as a doula and an online business owner by seeking out connections and mentorships.
  • “I didn’t become successful until I started to make connections in my community, hang out with the other doulas, and really walk the walk of being a doula. It got so much easier once I had some doula besties around me.” (16:25)
• “It’s so much easier...when you’re surrounded by other people who are doing it versus home alone or home alone with your mom friends...if they are accountants or work at the local insurance company...they are going to think you’re bananas for trying to do this and it’s going to hold you back.” (17:38)
• Business retreats, masterminds, and regular meetups are credited as “the absolute biggest game-changer” for her online business growth (18:35).
• Darcy encourages listeners to create their own support structures—be it coffee dates, virtual accountability groups, or masterminds—prioritizing collaboration over competition.

6. Actionable Takeaway: Designing Your Dream Business

Timestamp: 19:50–20:32

• Listeners are urged to tweak their current business models to align with the life they want, not to squeeze their life around a rigid business.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On business design:
  “The thing I’m doing is actually, for the time being...closing the doors to my Membership program...so that I can focus on a couple of things in my life. One is—family comes first.” (03:35)

• On flexibility:
  “You can build [your business] any way you want and you can change it when you need to change it.” (07:30)

• On myth-busting marketing:
  “No one can hire you to be their doula if they don’t know you exist.” (12:10)

• On getting real about what matters:
  “Business comes down to...You make a good product or service...then you tell people about it and give them the way to go purchase it. That’s really it.” (11:38)

• On support systems:
  “Set up a weekly, monthly coffee date with...the cool doulas, the abundance mindset doulas, the ones who want to collaborate and not compete. Get together with them regularly...These are the things that move the needle on your life.” (19:02)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Building a business to fit your life: 02:45–06:50
• No business police—permission to pivot: 06:50–09:20
• Bro marketing and simplifying business: 09:20–13:10
• Inner work and mindset: 13:10–15:50
• Importance of community and mentorship: 15:50–19:50
• Action step and sign-off: 19:50–20:32

Tone and Style

Darcy’s approach throughout the episode is warm, candid, slightly irreverent, and deeply encouraging. She dispels intimidation and perfectionism with humor and realism, drawing frequent analogies to parenting and sports. Her style is nurturing (“family comes first”), practical, and community-focused, making business concepts feel relatable and actionable.

In Summary

This episode pulls back the curtain on what really drives successful online doula businesses—not magic marketing hacks, but authentic connection, inner work, and the freedom to mold a business that supports the life you want. Darcy’s wisdom is a blend of marketing know-how, mindfulness, and community-building, giving listeners permission to adapt, connect, and grow at their own pace.