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Patty’s Blog: “Doula Business Advisor” posts
Doula Business Advisor: Retainer Fees
Postpartum doulas will also want to get a retainer fee to hold time in their schedules for clients who hire them prior to the baby’s birth. Some postpartum doulas ask for a nonrefundable payment in full for the first week of services upon signing the contract. In the case of twins or multiples, where relatively prolonged care is anticipated, the retainer fee can be figured on a percentage of the anticipated overall service package. Once the retainer has been worked off, the balance of fees are billed and collected at the end of each week of services.
em>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.
Doula Business Advisor: Getting Paid
Doulas should not allow a payment decision to be based on the birth outcome, for example, in the case of a woman whose intention was to have a VBAC birth that ended in cesarean. Does she still have to pay her doula? You bet! You are not responsible for her birth outcome. She is! Everything you do in the course of building your relationship with her should communicate this simple fact—she is central to her own experience. You cannot protect her from the big, bad medical profession or save her from a repeat cesarean. You can support her in her strengths. Teach her how you will support her and help her set up a plan to succeed. Do your best, but, in the end, it’s all on her, and you need to get paid regardless.
At a minimum, doulas should be paid something to reserve time in their schedule and at least 50 percent (if not 100 percent) of the full fee paid prior to the birth. Exceptions can be made on occasion; however, if you are using credit cards to buy groceries so that your client doesn’t have to use her credit card to buy groceries, then your business is not viable.
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.
Doula Business Advisor: Establishing a Payment Timeframe
Once you have set your rates for birth doula or postpartum doula services, the next step is to become proficient at collecting your fees. It will help considerably if you have set a fee that you believe is reasonable and feel, in your heart, that you are worth every penny. Commit to writing a payment policy. It is an essential piece of your client contract or “letter of agreement.” When must payment be made? How much is due each payment? At what point must the client pay in full? Communicate your fees and payment policy, without hesitation or apology, to the client.
I recommend that birth doulas collect their full fee prior to the start of the
“on-call” period, as defined by the contract. I ask for 50 percent of the total as a retainer fee at the time that the client hires me and signs the contract. If you can only accept two clients per month, then you may be turning down other work. You are being asked to make a commitment and you need the client to reciprocate. Commitment is a two-way street.
The balance is due at the final prenatal visit, scheduled at 36 weeks. That way, I am not in the position of asking for payment at a postnatal visit—a time when I want to continue my focused, caring support. If I have a tearful postpartum mom who is struggling with breastfeeding, it can be very difficult to bring myself to ask for payment if she doesn’t remember to pay without prompting. And, frankly, it is not likely to be the top thing on new parents’ minds. If the situation drags out, it is
amazing how quickly the doula will fall down on the list of priorities for who gets paid after the birth has concluded.
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.
The Doula Business Advisor: Sliding Scales
Some doulas choose to offer a sliding scale for fees for doula services. Let’s consider how to implement a sliding scale for your doula practice.
Sliding scales can be a bit tricky. I have experienced mixed results with them. For several years I offered a sliding scale for my doula services. When presenting the option of a sliding scale, state the value of the service up front. “I charge $800 for my birth doula package of services.” Then you can say something to the effect of “In consideration of folks for whom this fee presents a hardship, I will waive a portion of the fee, as follows . . .” This language is important because it allows you to state your worth, and it is a more accurate description of what you are willing to do—waive a portion of your fee.
When devising your scale, play with the numbers a bit and come up with something that seems reasonable to you. Be really clear about your bottom line, and keep it simple. You don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of their finances and hear all about their college loans, overall debt load, mortgage payment, tax problems, and so on. Clients need to be presented with guidelines during the initial interview. Once hired, I ask them to self-identify their birth-fee amount, and I draw up the contract accordingly.
In my experience, I found that most clients put themselves at the top of my scale. On occasion some took advantage. Since I was committed to making my services available to as many families as possible, and the honest and caring folks significantly outnumbered the dishonest manipulators, I was able to continue to offer the sliding scale. To play devil’s advocate for a moment, however, I will say that I’m guessing your mortgage payment doesn’t “slide” from month to month, nor does the price your local grocer charges for milk. You are not required to offer a sliding scale.
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.
The Doula Business Advisor: Bartering
When doulas are approached by clients who cannot afford fees for doula services, there are several options available to them. Today, we continue a series of blogs on how to address this challenge with clients.
Bartering for services may be one option to consider. I have bartered my services for car repair, massage therapy, graphic design, haircuts, and cleaning services. On the other hand, I turned down the offer to exchange palm reading for doula services, as palm reading is not something that I value. The barter should be equal in value.
The one downside to bartering is that it can contribute to sticky or murky relationship boundaries with your clients. Once bartering enters the picture, your client is in your life in a new way. The relationship is no longer just about you meeting their needs; they are meeting your needs too. Money is cleaner, less personal, and the boundaries are clearer. Be prepared to have a harder time bringing closure to a professional relationship that has crossed this line. If the barter/payment is extending into the future, by definition you do not have “closure.”
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.
The Doula Business Advisor: What If They Can’t Afford You?
In my last Doula Advisor blog (March 8), I discussed the problem of couples who desire doula services, but are challenged by the doula’s fees. I want to urge doulas not to engage or support an entitlement mentality. There should be an exchange of energy. Here are some options for handling this situation.
Typically, I ask for something in return. For example, currently, if someone wants to take my childbirth classes and can’t afford the fee, I might offer the option of bringing a healthy snack to class to share with the other couples, or helping me at the office with some copying and assembly of course materials, or providing a deposit up front to hold a spot for them and then writing me postdated checks on the first night of class. The payment plan is proposed by them, according to what they can manage, and then I hold onto the checks for deposit until the date they are written for. Perhaps doula business owners have tasks that they need help completing?
Be sure also to explore insurance reimbursement options and strategies with your clients. Some clients may have Health Savings Accounts, Medical Reimbursement Accounts, or Flex Accounts available; doula services may qualify for reimbursement under these pretax medical savings accounts.
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.
Doula Business Advisor: What If They Can’t Afford You?
Undoubtedly doulas will cross paths with folks who cannot afford to pay for doula services. There are several different ways to approach this issue. While your heart may want to say “yes,” your pocketbook or your partner may not be down with the sacrifices entailed in saying “yes.” Possible approaches include working out a payment plan, bartering, referral to a doula program providing free services to low-income women and their families (if available in your area), or offering a sliding scale.
I want to encourage every professional doula to provide all clients with the opportunity to give back something in return for her services. It has been my experience that people generally do not value services provided at no charge. If they are invested, if they are giving something in return, then they value the service. For your part, you are setting an expectation that they take responsibility for their birth, their family, their situation. You are not trying to rescue them from it; you’re asking that they step up. It’s better all round for everyone’s self-esteem.
Consider also that there is an amazing continuum on the theme of “I don’t have the money.” In some cases, such a statement is more perception than reality. One woman’s “I don’t have the money” might best be translated as “I would have to dip into my savings” or “I’m cash poor because I just bought the $30,000 vehicle parked in your driveway,” while another woman’s “I don’t have money” means she is having trouble buying groceries. You will have to decide if you have the capacity, in terms of available time and need to earn income, to take on clients who cannot afford your services. This may not necessarily be an all-or-nothing decision or one that can’t be revisited as your own circumstances change over time. I decide, on a case-by-case basis, who I can cut a break to and who my gut tells me I should cut a break to.
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.
Doula Business Advisor: How to Set Your Rates
For doulas opening a birth or postpartum doula business, an important early decision in setting up your 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 February 15 blog)
2. What are similar businesses charging? (see last week’s blog)
3. What are clients willing and able to pay?
You should get a sense about the answer to this question in your conversations with other doulas in your community. However, some of it will be trial and error. If you set your fee too high, you may find that you are losing potential customers to doulas who are charging significantly less. On the other hand, if you purposely underbid all the other local doulas, consider the message you are sending. Being the cheapest doula (or electrician, hair stylist, massage therapist, etc.) in town does not necessarily inspire confidence in the consumer. Perhaps there is some ambivalence on your part regarding your value? Are you sending a message that the service itself is not worthy of more? The psychology of price setting is such that you want to try to hit it just right—professional fees for a professional service, with the potential for raising fees as you grow in experience and reputation.
If you live in an area where there are no other doulas practicing, then it may be advisable to start nearer the lower end of the pay scale as you build up your business and local word of mouth about the value of your services. Focus your efforts on education and marketing to get the word out. How much money do you need to make per client, as a bottom line? This final question will lead you to settle on a fee.
Remember that building a practice takes time, and it will always be a work in process. You can change your mind and your fees at any point in time. At a minimum, be sure that you are covering your out-of-pocket expenses. If you are at a break-even point, then the work you are doing is volunteer work. If you are working at a loss, then you are making a charitable donation. If your intent is to be in business, to earn an income,
then you must make enough money per client both to cover your expenses and to pay yourself. Only you can decide how much this needs to be, as it will likely be dictated by overall family income and needs.
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.
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.
Doula Business Advisor: How to Set Your Rates
For doulas opening a 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.
What are your expenses? Typically, expenses are minimal for service-oriented businesses. Rarely is it necessary to rent office space, invest in inventory, or buy expensive supplies. But that is not to say that there are no expenses. At a minimum, there is the cost of professional affiliations, continuing education expenses, mileage, marketing, some supplies, and, for some, child care.
Think of the ratio of expenses-to-income for self-employment in the same way that you might perform a calculation for choosing to work outside of the home. In order to work outside the home, one needs to factor in the cost of a suitable wardrobe, transportation to and from work, increased cost of eating more meals out and grabbing food on the go, and, last but not least, child care. Tax implications for the additional family income also need to be taken into consideration. If, after doing these calculations, you discover that the job will net $3 per hour for your efforts, you might just decide that the benefits of the income versus the downside of paying others to raise your children is not a ratio you can live with. Those of us who are self-employed also have a cost of doing business and must make similar calculations when setting our fees. Start by making a list of your anticipated expenses.
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.