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Steps I Took as a New Doula That Built My Business (What to do After Finishing Doula Training)
Updated: Jun 30
When I finished training, I knew how to support laboring mothers in the birth room. I knew comfort measures, I knew active listening, and I felt ready for the part of this work that happens in the birth room.
What I also knew, because I was already running a bookkeeping practice at the time, was that none of that mattered if nobody knew I was open for business. A skill nobody hears about does not become a practice. So I did not wait around hoping clients would find me. I treated this the way I treated my first business: visibility first, one small step at a time.
If you're still wondering what to do after finishing doula training, here is what those steps actually looked like for me.
Step 1: I made a flyer
I sat down in Canva and built a simple flyer. My services, my contact information, nothing fancy. It was not the flyer that mattered. It was the fact that making it forced me to write down, in plain language, what I actually offered. That sounds small, but it was the first time I had to describe my own work outside the language of my training materials.
Step 2: I sent it to people who already trusted me
I did not send the flyer into the void. I sent it to friends and family members and asked them to share it. These were people who already knew and trusted me, which meant they were willing to put my name in front of people I did not know yet. That first ripple of word of mouth came from people who had nothing to gain except wanting to see me do well.
Step 3: I showed up in local Facebook groups
I went into local community groups and simply said I was open and available for doula services. No elaborate pitch, no perfectly worded post I had agonized over for a week. Just a clear, honest announcement that I existed and I was ready. It felt exposing at the time. In hindsight, it was just visibility, and visibility is something you cannot get by staying quiet.
Step 4: I got out into the actual community
I started attending local meetups and reaching out to other doulas for coffee. This step changed more than any of the others. Online visibility brings inquiries, but in-person relationships bring referrals, mentorship, and the kind of trust that takes longer to build but lasts longer too. The doulas I met for coffee in those early months are still part of my circle today.
Step 5: I invested beyond training
Training teaches you the work. It rarely teaches you the practice of running a business around the work. So I kept learning, this time on the business side, and I invested in mentorship instead of trying to fumble my way through pricing, systems, and client care alone.
What I would tell you if you are where I was
If you just finished training, here is the truth nobody says out loud. None of these steps required you to already have testimonials, a polished website, or years of experience. They required visibility and willingness, in that order. You make something simple, you share it with people who already trust you, you say out loud that you are open for business, and you go find your community instead of waiting for it to find you.
The order matters less than the momentum. Each step is small enough to take this week. None of them require permission, and none of them require you to feel fully ready first. You build the readiness by doing them.
What I did not have in those early months was a roadmap. I built my systems and my pricing the slow way, through trial and error and a fair amount of underpricing myself before I understood my own numbers. If you are standing where I once stood, you do not have to do it that slowly.
If you want the roadmap I wish I'd had
I wrote From Training to Clients to be the guide I needed on the day I finished training. It is a 35-page, eight-chapter walkthrough built around seven foundations: clarity, confidence, connection, clients, compensation, community, and continuity, with a final chapter on finding your first clients without the hustle of constant self-promotion.
Inside, you will find a fill-in-the-blank exercise for describing what you do in one clear sentence, sample language for inquiries and rate conversations, and a full step-by-step formula for calculating your true rate by hand, with a worked example. There is a simple three-tier pricing structure, a client journey rhythm from first inquiry through postpartum follow-up, and four alternative working models if private practice is not your only path.
I came into birthwork already running a bookkeeping practice, and that shaped how I think about pricing and sustainability from day one. This guide treats your practice like the real business it is, while still honoring why you started. It is not a course, and it is not coaching. You buy it, you read it, and you return to it as your practice grows.
Written by Kendra of Heart-Centered Birthwork™
I write about the business side of birthwork — pricing, income, and the practical decisions that turn a certification into a real practice. If this post was useful, the tools go deeper. Browse the Tools at Heart-Centered Birthwork™
