How I work it - Natalie Bouscarle

Name: Natalie Bouscarle  
Business name: Your Doula  

1. What services do you offer?
Birth doula support, Postnatal doula support, Overnight support and Mindful Birth Hypnobirthing  

2. Where do your clients come from?
I tend to find a lot of my clients come from Instagram, in my DMs, or through my contact page on my website.  

3. What works for you and what has been less successful?
Putting my prices up to a fee that I feel proud to work for has been a big success for me. I found that offering packages at discounted prices did not benefit me or my business, and I definitely learned that the hard way.  

4. Has the way your run your business changed since we went into lockdown last year?
During the first lockdown I moved all my support to virtual support. I was very fortunate that the clients I had at the time were happy to accommodate this new way of working together. As the lockdown eased, I did move in to in person support again which was so nice to be able to do. During lockdown 3 when my children were then off school, I had to make the decision to move all postnatal clients to evening hours. My new working hours for January through to March were 5:00-10:00pm. I was really surprised at how well this worked and my clients seemed to really benefit from some evening support.  

5. What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That clients are not phased or worried about you being “coached”. I soon gained confidence in the knowledge that it's far more about the connection you can form with potential clients than the previous experience you have. 

6. What’s your biggest tip for new doulas?
Don’t wait until your website and social media is looking spotless before putting yourself out there. And have faith in the universe, the right clients will find you.  

7. And doula-life hacks?
For me it was getting some jumpers with my logo printed on them. Having a “uniform” for my work has made a big difference to ruining less clothes with all the fluids that come from being a doula…. I also find it makes me look professional whilst still looking approachable.  
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8. What is next for you and your business?
I have recently trained with the wonderful Emiliana at The Mindful Birth Group to teach hypnobirthing courses. For me I love the idea of being able to incorporate this into my birth packages.