Balancing your home life while building your birth business takes practice and experimentation. Many birth professionals are also mothers of young children, and much of the work we do managing our businesses is at home while we’re also mothering and running the household. As business owners, how do we make time for it all?

I’ve been exploring a better-defined niche for my doula business. It’s evolved over the two years of my work with women, and it’s about to be transformed again pretty shortly. Today I’ll share with you what a niche is and why you should consider one for your birth business.

For the home business owner, time management is critical for maintaining peace of mind and peace within your family. It’s important that you be as productive as possible in the time you set aside for work so you can enjoy life more when you’re away from it.

When designing your website or marketing materials, what should you be focusing on? What does everyone want to know when looking for a new product or service?

So you’ve worked on your cocktail line and you have a great statement about what you do for your ideal client. How do you know your cocktail line is effective? When the response you receive is “Tell me more”? So, what will you say next?

Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the least expensive and most powerful methods of marketing you can do for your business. When it comes to something as intimate as attending a birth, women want to be able to feel safe and trust her team. If you are recommended by someone she already does business with or otherwise knows and trusts, you are more likely to gain her business than someone she finds on a directory or online through an internet search.

Marketing is telling people what you do and how your services will solve a problem people have. One important factor you must understand about marketing is that it is a continuous process. The “Rule of Seven” in marketing means that it takes an average of seven times before a prospective client will buy from you. That being said, it’s not enough to print up some business cards and brochures to hand out, build a website, and wait for business to come. There is much more to do in order to effectively market your business and attract customers.

We each have 24 hours in a day, in which we have to fit in eating, sleeping, exercise, working in and on our business, taking care of our family, and the other responsibilities we have in our lives. In every moment we have choices – staying present in the moment and working mindfully based on our values and goals, or tending to the fires that have to be put out throughout the day.

For today’s post, I’ll be revisiting an old one I wrote a few months ago regarding business expenses. I thought I’d share a list of deductible expenses today for your business. It’s by no means comprehensive, but maybe there are some items that you haven’t thought of:

There are many ways doulas set their prices and even whether or not to charge. Different doula organizations suggest different methods of whether, when and what to charge. I will go out on a limb (and may be disagreed with vehemently, I know) and discuss some ways that others I’ve spoken to have structured their pricing. Hopefully that will help you to decide what works best for you.