When I started my journey into doula work in 2014, I was thinking maybe I would follow my passion as a hobby project; something I would do to fill my summers and not much else. As a mother of two with plans of more littles in the near future, a full-time teaching position, a part time side job and various other time commitments, I didn’t expect to run a doula business too.
By 2016, my hobby had become a fully consuming project which I felt compelled to grow. I was so busy I was turning away work to others. By 2017, the great Randy Patterson, author of The Matriarch Rules, CEO of ProDoula, and all around badass gave me the kick-in-the-pants I needed to launch my agency King of Prussia Doulas.
So, there I found myself- growing from hobby to a legitimate, booming doula business. I started to develop plans and systems to be efficient. I used free programs like Excel, Google Suite and good old paper pencil to keep track of things. It all worked…until it didn’t
The doula business continued to grow.
Eventually, I was feeling stuck, barely able to keep my head above water with all the clerical tasks it took to run a successful business with multiple doulas and hundreds of clients. I was starting to drop the ball. Things lingered longer than they should, I experienced more than one heart pounding 2 am wake up realizing I had something I should have done before end of day the day before. I had doulas and clients counting on me to keep it all together.
That’s when I invested in Dubsado.
Dubsado* is a business management system designed to be flexible and customizable to meet the needs of your particular company.
The customization takes some time to sort out, but if you have streamlined systems in place, it is simply a matter of transitioning from whatever you are doing into an automated system which will help keep things moving along without you.
By organizing a workflow which took almost all of my steps into automation, I was able to focus my attention on my clients, my doulas and my marketing that much more. My energy is now better spent during business hours and I have more time for family and friends.
The best part was, I was able to fully create my system and try it out with three clients (or me pretending to be clients as a test run) before I paid a penny. This full access trial convinced me I was on the right path.
How do I use Dubsado for my doula business?
First, I started by importing my workflow into their system. I identified every step I take, from the moment a client contacts us to the moment they leave our support. I created a step in the system for each touch we make with clients.
I also imported every email I send to clients as part of our process. You’d be surprised how similar your emails become when your steps are organized. Dubsado saves me hours every week by allowing me to have the majority of my emails prewritten with the ability to edit as necessary for individual clients.
It also creates reminders for me to stay on track for things I have to accomplish. I can easily see exactly what needs to be accomplished before my head hits the pillow. This prevents those 2 am wakeups. I promise, this is worth every penny it costs to use the program.
You can send emails, take notes about your projects, have clients sign contracts digitally, send invoices, book appointments and track your workflow process all within your system.
Things are streamlined and intuitive once you get the hang of it. Plus, they have tons of tutorials to guide you along the way and their support team is incredibly responsive and eager to help.
If you are finding yourself doing the same task over and over, sending similar emails to clients as part of your process or dropping the ball, Dubsado may be the very tool you have been looking for.
At the time of writing, they are also having a sale. You can get this amazing program at a discount, and if you use my affiliate link or the code KOPD, you can get an additional 20%. That code is good year-round, so be sure to pop it in if you plan to become part of the Dubsado family.
*contains affiliate link to Dubsado product.
