How to start a hypno birth business: free checklist, tips and doula business plan example
3 simple steps to getting started with your birth business
Fascinated with birth but not exactly sure which direction to go in to get started? Maybe you ultimately want to become a healthcare provider (a nurse, a midwife, a nurse-midwife, or an OB) but would like to train in the non-clinical side first? Or maybe you're more interested in becoming a childbirth educator or even what happens after the baby comes home when they need a postpartum doula! We have a solid doula training recommendation below that's designed to help you explore these possibilities (and more), so read on to explore a few of the options.
Step 1: Personalize the HelloBirth doula business checklist to match your unique goals
If you've already taken a doula or childbirth educator training, and depending on the level of business support the training provided, it can be common for newbies to feel overwhelmed by how to get started. Our simple doula business checklist can help! All you have to do is put in your own information and you'll be primed and ready for your first client hires.
2: Seek out a hypnobirthing doula training
There are two methods for obtaining hypnobirthing doula training. You can either train as a doula and then learn about hypnobirthing as continuing education, or you can sign up for our HelloBirth hypnobirthing instructor training to get the most bang for your buck!
Method 1: Doula training plus continuing education
Decide which doula training to take (we recommend Doula Trainings International). You can also find a short online course that trains you in a specific hypnobirthing method. This method will be educational if you want to quickly add hypno-doula services to your offering, but it doesn't provide a chance to observe a childbirth education class or allow you to teach classes or the method to others.
Method 2: Train as a hypnobirthing instructor first, then add doula clients a little later
After attending our instructor training, you'll instantly have a deep understanding of how to support HelloBirth skills for any future birth doula clients. You'll be primed to start to teach your own classes as soon as you'd like to. It's a smart investment that will catapult you to the top of your field. Then if you decide to train as a doula shortly after, you'll already be a qualified hypnobirthing doula, which is a big plus when you want to attract more clients.
We do recommend training as a birth doula separately, either before or after your HelloBirth hypnobirthing training. Our training will not focus on the basics of the birth doula role itself or how to get hired as one. But we do teach childbirth education, how to teach it to others, and how to teach and apply hypnosis skills in the birth room.
Attending our teacher training is a wonderful companion to a labor doula workshop or course. You can consider it a hypnobirthing doula training too, especially if you are already a doula. Existing doulas will gain an in-depth knowledge of one of the most effective comfort techniques we can offer, while future or new doulas will be getting a leg up on this skill.
Once you've finished our simple certification process post-training, the HelloBirth annual membership provides community support and resources, such as a list of deductible birth business expenses, doula business checklists and content like Top 10 Tips to Market Your Hypnobirthing Business and Gain Your First Clients, and doula business plan examples (see step #3 below for our starter plan)!
3: Write a doula business plan
To start out, your plan doesn't need to be super formal or technical. But it is essential that you find a way to get very clear about your goals, and more importantly, the strategy and effort it will take to get there. Is your goal to keep your practice relatively small (i.e. manageable as a solo doula)? Even practices with a lower client load need solid back-up support from other doulas, to safeguard you against any troubles you may run up against preventing you from attending your client's birth.
Your back-ups should have a similar experience level and skillset to your own. (Grab a doula pal to attend the hypnobirthing training and receive an additional 10% off your total! Just mention the code: DOULABIZ and we'll know you read this post!) If you train together you can cover easily for each other (for classes and as back-up)! Your clients should know all about your back-up support and feel comfortable because you are comfortable. They should understand up front a couple of the circumstances that would make a back-up doula necessary.
Or maybe your goal is to form a doula collective or agency where doula partnerships abound, and you are hiring independent contractors. Whether you want a solo birth business or a group practice, you'll need to work hard at setting up a structure to support both the practical/administrative side of running a birth business and the hands-on work itself.
So once you've done your soul searching, talked with friends, family and other doulas to solidify your goals for the next year and even the next 5 years, start breaking it down into easier steps. What tools and support do you need for each of these stepping stones to become a reality? This becomes your doula business plan! Last but not least, don't forget to have fun along the ride. Building a doula business really can be enjoyable with a goal-oriented mindset.