Blog / Doula Business
Becoming a professional doula means taking care of business. We are focused exclusively on the doula profession and have been for over 25 years.
DONA International doulas build successful doula businesses based on integrity, commitment and respect. Every doula’s goals and dreams for her practice are different. Read on to gain tips, insight and resources to take your practice to the next level.
How to Get your First Doula Clients
Once you complete your DONA International doula training you’ll have all of the knowledge and skills you need to get out there and start serving pregnant people and new families. Then It’s time to find those first three certifying families to support! It can be...
Becoming a Doula: Tips for a Career Switch
This past year has been a tumultuous one for most people. The emergence of COVID-19 turned our world upside down as our loved ones fell ill, our children schooled from home and our employment changed in major ways. It was, and still is, a time of drastic adjustment,...
DONA Certified Doulas Earn Higher Fees and Attract More Clients: A Doula Fee and Referral Comparison from DoulaMatch.net
May is International Doula Month, and 2019 is the 21st year that DONA International, perinatal organizations and consumers around the globe all take time during the month of May to recognize the contributions that birth and postpartum doulas make to support families...
Series: Doula Me This #6 – I Have No Backup Doula!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today is the sixth post in the occasional series, “Doula Me This!” Each post in the series provides a common scenario that a birth or postpartum (or both) doula may face. The “correct” answer (if there is one)...
Parting Gift to Your Clients? Yay or Nay?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Many doulas have a practice of gifting their clients something as they end their time together. Others don't do this at all. Over the years as a practicing doula, I have oscillated from providing a little...
The Doula and the Thank You Note
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE I recently read a great article in The New York Times: "You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You've Been Meaning to Write" and immediately thought about how this information is relevant to doulas and...
Five Things You Can Be Doing Now for Business Success in 2019
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE The end of the year and the start of a fresh one is a great time to assess what has worked for your business and what services and products need to be tweaked, changed or discontinued for 2019. Here are some...
There’s an App for That! – Creative Solutions for Running Your Doula Business: Full Term Contraction Timer
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE It is time for another post in the occasional series called "There's an App for That!" This series allows me to share an app that helps us run our birth and postpartum businesses and make our lives easier....
The Sweet Relief of Being Off Call
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE I have been a birth doula for 15 years. Like many of you, I jumped right in after training and soon found myself fairly busy. At my prime, I would regularly attend as many as 45 plus births a year for my own...
There’s an App for That! – Creative Solutions for Running Your Doula Business: MileIQ
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today I start a new occasional series called "There's an App for That!" From time to time, I will share an app that helps us to run our birth and postpartum businesses and make our lives easier. Today I tackle...
Is Attending an Unassisted Birth within DONA International’s Scope of Practice?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Last week's Doula Me This! post asked birth doulas to consider what they would do if a contracted client shared that they were now planning an unassisted birth. Many doulas responded on social media and/or the...
Expert Tips for a Smooth Recertification Process
By Uta Mattox, AdvCD(DONA), CD(DONA) Today's post is the third and final post in a short series focusing on tips from the experts on birth and postpartum certification and recertification. Today, longtime doula Uta Mattox, former Director of Certification and current...
Launch Your Doula Career by Becoming Involved in Your Community! It’s a Win-Win Situation!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, LCE Your birth or postpartum workshop has been completed and you are ready to dip your toe in your birth/postpartum community in order to make connections, find backups, locate clients and start to gain experience...
Pro Tips for Submitting an Amazing Postpartum Certification Packet
By Tracy McPhillips, CCE(GS), LCCE, PCD/PDT(DONA) Today's post is written by my friend and colleague Tracy McPhillips. Tracy is a postpartum doula and a DONA Approved Postpartum Doula Trainer. Additionally, Tracy reviews and approves postpartum doula certification...
Secrets to Summit Success – Tips for Making the Most Out of a DONA Conference
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE The DONA International 2018 Summit is T minus less than 24 hours 'til the start and doulas and other birth professionals are arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from all around the world. The line up of...
Five Tips for Enjoying Your Summer While Being an On-Call Doula
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Here I sit in the real summer heat of Seattle. In general, Seattle has beautiful summers consisting of blue skies, a lot of sun, no humidity, long periods of daylight and no bugs. Temps run in the mid-70s and...
Meet DONA Summit Keynote Speakers – A Simply Amazing Lineup!
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE The 2018 DONA International Summit (the annual conference) is just shy of eight weeks away and the keynote lineup has been announced and it is simply spectacular. This year there are options for both in-person...
Doula Me This #3 – Should I Stay or Should I Go?
By Sharon Muza, BS, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE Today is the third post in the occasional series, “Doula Me This!” Each post in the series provides a common scenario that a birth or postpartum (or both) doula may face. The “correct” answer (if there is one)...