Doula Business Advisor: How to Set Your Rates

For doulas opening a birth or postpartum doula business, an important early decision in setting up the business is “how much should I charge?” The answer is based on the composite answer to the following questions.

1. What are your expenses? (see last week’s blog)

2. What are similar businesses charging?

The answer to this question will vary somewhat, depending on where you live. Even within the state of Michigan, for example, rates are fairly divergent in metropolitan areas such as the greater Detroit–Ann Arbor area compared to some of the more severely depressed areas of the state. Make a few calls to your sister doulas, introduce yourself, and ask openly what they are charging. Connect with other doulas. See if there is a local support group you can join.

Not all doulas are comparable. Someone with ten years of experience and a strong local reputation is likely to place herself at the higher end of the pay scale, while someone just starting out and still seeking to fulfill certification requirements may offer her services for free or seek only to get her out-of-pocket expenses covered. Determine what the range is and then see where you fit in. In the end, it’s your call, and if the market will bear your price, then good for you!

To be continued …

The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.

Posted by Patty Brennan on February 22, 2011 • Filed under Doula Business Advisor
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