Doula Business Advisor: Money Matters!

If you are charging a fee for doula services, then you are, by definition, a professional doula. Indeed, money does matter. Just because you love the work does not mean that you should not get paid for it. Just because you would do it for free does not mean that you can do it for free.

If you begin to think of yourself as a professional doula, then you will begin to present yourself as one to potential clients. When you present yourself as a professional, you have every expectation of being paid your fee. That is simply how it works. It doesn’t work well when we have doubts about ourselves, our worth, our qualifications, our clients’ ability to pay, or the value of the work itself. If we harbor a belief that true work must be boring and painful, then we will not feel comfortable accepting money for work we simply love to do. And we will find a way to undermine ourselves, to give a mixed message to clients, to present our expectation of being paid as flexible, negotiable, and so on. We may even undermine the prospective client’s confidence in our capacity and professionalism—because they will read between the lines. They will hear every “but,” explicit or implied. (“I charge $20 per hour for postpartum doula services, but . . .”) And then, like water running through cracks, the customer finds the opening—and the doula finds herself negotiating her fee down to $12 per hour.

My question is—Does this work for you? Are you okay with negotiating your fee? How low will you go? Do you not believe that you are worthy of the fee that you set in the first place? I cannot overemphasize the importance of examining your own beliefs about your value and worth as you set up your business. Every single time you sell yourself short, you absolutely must observe yourself consciously and admit that you just did it again. Then, I encourage you to consider the reasons for that behavior and change it. Otherwise, you will not be in business long, because I promise that you will keep attracting people to you who are going to be difficult about money.

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 8, 2011 • Filed under Doula Business Advisor
Comments (0)

Comments