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.

If you love your birth work, chances are you’ve got books. Lots of them. And what about organizing handouts for clients? Then there are the nifty tools we take to births. Here are a few tips to keep it all straight.

I want to commend anyone who is dedicated to remembering to manually back up your computer files at least once a month. If you’ve ever had a computer die on you and lost important data, you know now how important it is to make regular backups.

Are you going mad because you spend lots of time searching for files on your computer? Here are some steps to getting your business files under control.

There are several ways to keep track of your client’s records. Today I’ll share what I do. It’s not necessarily the “right” way, but it’s a way that I have found works best for me and has evolved over the two years I’ve worked as a doula.

Does your email drive you crazy? Is your inbox overflowing? Do you check it often throughout the day and find yourself getting sidetracked and not getting other stuff done? Yeah, I’ve been there too. Here are five tips that might help:

For the first five years, my doula business finances were a mess! I was getting plenty of births, but I had no idea if I was making a profit, how much, and when it came to the end of the year, figuring out my expenses for tax time was just awful!

And then I stumbled on a product that has solved all most of my accounting problems. It’s called the “File-it!” calendar, and I’ve used it for the last five years with great success.