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.

Posted by Patty Brennan on March 29, 2011 • Filed under
Comments (3)

Comments

3 Responses to “The Doula Business Advisor: Sliding Scales”

  1. Jen Henderson on March 30th, 2011 at 4:34 pm:

    This article was very timely for me, coming a day before I was approached to offer my services at a lesser rate than I normally ask. You validated many of the points I came up with.

    Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

  2. Patty Brennan on March 31st, 2011 at 1:18 am:

    Hi Jen, I’m glad to hear that the post was helpful to you. You bring up an interesting point. I think that most of the time, we do know the “right” answers ourselves, but then we second guess ourselves. Learning to trust your gut instincts is an important part of the doula’s skill set. Good luck! Patty

  3. Jen Henderson on April 3rd, 2011 at 7:42 pm:

    It’s true. I was very honest with the woman who called, and said I could not lower my rates to the range she was expecting, but suggested that she see if there were student doulas (in this case, postpartum) who would be willing to help at that price range.

    Part of me was kicking myself because I know it would have been much-needed money in my pocket, but I know that slashing prices that drastically for one person is liable to set a precedent for other clients to come via word of mouth.

    Thanks again, Patty.