Doula Business Advisor: Collaborative Business Models

My regular Tuesday blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses and doula programs. Excerpted from my book, The Doula Business Guide-Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business (coming September 2010).

Collaborative Business Models

Many practitioners have discovered the benefits of pooling resources and working in community with others. Cooperative business models may make the desire for an office space separate from your home, for example, a more viable option. There are several variations on the theme. We’ll consider one here …

Doula Collectives

Around the country, some doulas have formed collectives. There are any number of variations on the theme of doula collectives and the manner in which they are organized and managed. One model is Ann Arbor Doulas LLC, a group of independent birth and postpartum doulas who share marketing expenses and provide backup services to each other’s clients while each maintains her own doula practice and sets her own fees. This business was formed in 2005 by two birth doulas as a partnership LLC. Additional doulas were integrated into the collective over time. The founders’ primary motivations were to support one another with backup. Eventually, one of the founders moved out of state, but the collective continued to grow and evolve. Here’s how it works.
The founder, Stephanie Schaldenbrand, maintains administrative control and retains ultimate decision-making authority over the group—a collective with a manager. Clients have the opportunity to meet with all of the doulas. All members agree to: (1) identify themselves with Ann Arbor Doulas, (2) abide by DONA International’s Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics; (3) claim the IRS status of self-employed rather than employee of Ann Arbor Doulas; and (4) pay their own taxes. Prospective members are interviewed by the owner and the group before being welcomed into the collective.
The owner of this business sees herself as a clearinghouse providing a service to both the doulas and the community and believes that the collective model is a very supportive approach to starting a doula practice.

Posted by Patty on August 17, 2010 • Filed under Doula Business Advisor (Tuesdays)
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