Setting SMART goals for your business—December 2019 Newsletter

December 20, 2019|Patty Brennan|Newsletters

You’ll be doing headstands too when you …

doula business builder See our New Year’s Winter Special on comprehensive DONA International birth and postpartum doula training and business development. SALE runs from January 1st through January 10th. Save $100 off package price of $1147 (enter coupon code NY2020 in the shopping cart). You must pay in full at the time of registration; sale does not apply to payment plans and cannot be applied retroactively.

What’s included in this training package?

DONA Birth Doula Workshop & pre-requisite class (Introduction to Childbirth for Doulas)
DONA Postpartum Doula Workshop & pre-requisite class (Breastfeeding Basics for Doulas)
Doula Business Development Workshop
Access to 8 online business classes
A copy of Patty Brennan’s The Doula Business Guide & Doula Business Guide Workbook
Two enhanced listings in our Birth and Postpartum Doula Directories (when you are ready; good for one year to jumpstart your doula business)

You will complete five steps towards DONA birth and postpartum doula certification and be prepared to launch your own doula business. GREAT VALUE!

Setting SMART goals for your business

Let’s harness that New Year’s energy and set some goals for the new year! Goals should be:

Specific. Precisely, what do you want to accomplish?
Measurable. How will you know you have succeeded?
Attainable. Do you have the basic things you need to get it done, e.g., money for training, reliable transportation to get to clients?
Realistic. Consider all the demands on your time and how much time you can put into developing your business.
Timely. Ponder this: The difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline.

Make 2020 your turning point year! Avoid THIS (see cartoon). Check out Patty Brennan’s The Doula Business Guide Workbook for more guidance on the goal setting process. You are the captain of your own ship. Steer it where you want to end up. And Happy New Year!
Become a doula… Complete the certification process… Launch a website… Get hired by a doula agency… What’s your goal?

Does Medicaid reimbursement for doula services sound like a good idea?

New York legislators recently pushed a birth doula certification bill through the state government without input from doulas. Now the doulas are urging Governor Cuomo not to sign the bill. The goal of Bill A364B is to help address New York’s high infant and maternal mortality rates and disparities by providing Medicaid reimbursement for doula services. Sounds good, BUT lawmakers didn’t realize their actions would reverberate through the doula community with such force. Read more.

Moral of the Story: Doulas need to ensure that we have a voice at the legislative table (duh). Efforts are underway in a number of states right now, including Michigan. Leadership is needed to move this ball forward. Here’s a way to connect with others:

Here’s a helpful resource for new parents …

Enjoy this free gift (PDF) from author Elizabeth Pantley, best known for her “No Cry Solution” to common parenting issues. This particular resource is about newborns and sleep–the importance of daily naps, setting your baby’s biological clock, recognizing the newborn happily awake span, how to tell when baby is tired and a “roadmap” to inspire peaceful newborn sleep. Lots of great practical AND gentle solutions that doulas can share with new parents.

What do the statistics say about the safety of homebirth?

Often, reported homebirth statistics conflate unplanned (unattended) homebirths with planned (attended by a qualified midwife) homebirths, thereby significantly skewing the results. Here is a systematic review and meta-analysis of neonatal mortality rates among women who intend, at the onset of labor, to give birth at home compared to low-risk women who intend to give birth in the hospital.

Posted in Newsletters

Patty Brennan

Patty is the owner and visionary force behind Lifespan Doulas. For 40 years, she has been a doula, midwife, educator, author, nonprofit executive, and entrepreneur. Patty has personally trained over 2,000 people to become doulas. She is the author of The Doula Business Guide: How to Succeed as a Birth, Postpartum or End-of-Life Doula, 3rd Edition.