The Doula Darcy Podcast - Details, episodes & analysis

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The Doula Darcy Podcast

Darcy Sauers

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/11d. Total Eps: 69

The Doula Darcy is a Business Coach for Doulas who LOVEs helping doulas master the art of marketing so that they can grow their businesses and help more families. On the podcast, Darcy combines her decade of experience in advertising with 14 years as a doula to empower other doulas with the marketing strategies and mindset shifts they need to attract more clients and create successful, fulfilling doula careers. Whether you're just starting out as a doula or looking to take your doula business to the next level, you're in the right place!

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https://douladarcy.com/my-doula-village
14 shares
https://www.thedouladarcy.com
12 shares
https://douladarcy.com/doula-website-template
8 shares

https://www.instagram.com/thedouladarcy
37 shares

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Score global : 42%

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Maine Doula Retreat Recap - And Getting Off the Hamster Wheel of your Doula Business

Season 2 · Episode 26

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 • Duration 17:14

Maine Doula Retreat Recap - And Getting Off the Hamster Wheel of your Doula Business
The Doula Business That Got You Here Won't Get You There

What happens when you take a group of busy, successful doulas out of their everyday lives, put them in a gorgeous oceanfront house in Maine, and give them permission to do absolutely nothing for a little while?

Something pretty magical.

I'm back from hosting two back-to-back Maine Doula Retreats for members of My Doula Village, and in this episode, I'm sharing what happened when these incredible women finally had the time and space to think about something they rarely get to prioritize:

THEMSELVES.

Not their clients.

Not their kids.

Not their never-ending to-do lists.

But what THEY want their lives and businesses to look like in the next five or ten years.

Because here's something I've been thinking about a lot lately:

The doula business that got you here might not be the business that takes you where you want to go next.

Maybe you've built a thriving birth doula business, but you can't imagine continuing to attend five births a month for another decade.

Maybe you've spent years doing overnights, but your body is telling you it's time for something different.

Maybe you still absolutely LOVE doula work, but you need a way to keep doing it without sacrificing your health, your family, or your sleep.

In this episode, I'm talking about:

The magic of slowing down and why some of our best business ideas happen when we're NOT working
What makes the Maine Doula Retreat such a powerful experience for established doulas
Why successful doulas often struggle to see what's possible beyond their current business model
How to use the expertise, reputation, and resources you've already built to create more income with fewer client hours
Why the next chapter of your doula business needs to reflect your current season of life
How I'm helping experienced doulas design that next chapter inside SUSTAIN

I also share a little about the first SUSTAIN cohort, including how we identified more than $16,000 in potential additional revenue for one doula by looking at opportunities already inside her business.

And I'm inviting you to join the next round.

Introducing SUSTAIN: Design the Next Version of Your Doula Business

Starting October 26th, I'm working closely with a small group of experienced doulas for 30 days to help them step back, look at what they've already built, and create a personalized roadmap for more income, flexibility, and freedom.

This is NOT a 30-day hustle challenge.

We're not trying to implement 47 new things.

We're dreaming, brainstorming, simplifying, and designing a plan for what comes next.

Because you don't have to build it all in 30 days.

You just need to know where you're going.

Learn more about SUSTAIN: https://thedouladarcy.com/sustain

And if you'd love to experience the Maine Doula Retreat for yourself, the next retreats are planned for May and October. Retreat participation is available to members of My Doula Village.

Join My Doula Village: https://www.mydoulavillage.com

Your experience is too valuable to lose to burnout. Let's design a business that allows you to keep doing the work you love.

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Do Doulas Need Liability Insurance? Alternative Balance Answers Your Questions

Season 2 · Episode 25

Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 43:01

Do doulas really need liability insurance? What does it actually cover? And do you need professional liability insurance, general liability insurance…or both?

These are questions that come up ALL THE TIME in doula groups and instead of relying on what someone heard from another doula who heard it from someone else, I decided to go directly to the source.

In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm talking with Miriam Ball and Karissa Norton from Alternative Balance to get answers to some of the biggest questions doulas have about liability insurance.

And I asked them some pretty specific questions.

We talk about:

Why birth and postpartum doulas should consider carrying liability insurance
What can happen even if you didn't actually do anything wrong
The difference between professional liability and general liability insurance
Why having one doesn't necessarily mean you have the other
What happens if a client is injured because of something you did—or something you recommended
Whether your doula insurance covers YOU if you get hurt in a client's home
Why doulas who wear multiple hats need to pay attention to exactly which services their policy covers
What doula agency owners should know when working with independent contractors
Whether independent contractors should name the agency as an additional insured
The current situation between Alternative Balance and Carrot as of September 28, 2026
Whether a postpartum doula is covered when the parents leave the house and the doula stays with the baby
Where postpartum doula care ends and babysitting or childcare may begin
What Alternative Balance does and does not cover when it comes to scope of practice

We even get into specific scenarios like: What if a dad trips over your doula bag? What if you're alone with a newborn while Mom runs out for coffee? What if you're also a yoga teacher or massage therapist?

You Can't Get Oxytocin From ChatGPT

Monday, September 28, 2026 • Duration 13:16

Why real-life connection might be one of the most underrated ways to build a sustainable doula business.

What if one of the best things you could do for your doula business had nothing to do with marketing, strategy, social media or even AI?

I recorded this quickie episode in real time as I was getting ready for one of my favorite weeks of the entire year: the Maine Doula Business Retreat.

And while thinking about why I love bringing a small group of doulas together in a big house on the coast of Maine for five days, I realized something:

There are some things you simply cannot replicate on Zoom. And you definitely can't get them from ChatGPT.

Yes, I love a good business strategy. And yes, I think AI can be an incredible tool for your business.

But there is something powerful that happens when you spend real, uninterrupted time with people who get it.

It's the conversation over coffee in the morning.

It's the business idea that comes up while you're walking to the lighthouse.

It's sitting on the rocks with another doula and realizing she understands exactly what you're going through.

It's laughing around the dinner table, talking around the campfire, and having the kinds of conversations you could never schedule into a 60-minute Zoom call.

And I think part of what we're really experiencing in those moments is oxytocin.

Doulas give so much of themselves to other people. But we need to intentionally create lives and businesses that replenish us, too.

In this quick, unpolished episode, I'm talking about:

Why I intentionally make the Maine Doula Business Retreat FIVE days long
What happens when doulas spend multiple days together instead of an hour on Zoom

She Left Her "Real Job" to Become a Full-Time Doula: Rachel's Story

Season 2 · Episode 23

Thursday, September 10, 2026 • Duration 50:14

What does it actually take to go from doing doula work "on the side" to making it your full-time career?

In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm talking with My Doula Village member Rachel Bailey about exactly that.

When Rachel joined My Doula Village in June 2025, she was a college professor teaching Public Health while also trying to build her doula business on the side. She loved doula work and knew she wanted to do more of it, but walking away from a steady paycheck, health insurance, and a career she'd spent nearly 20 years building was really scary.

And trying to do BOTH was exhausting.

Rachel shares how she went from juggling classes, births, clients, and marketing her business to finally leaving her university job and becoming a full-time doula.

And the best part?

Since making the leap, Rachel has been fully booked every single month.

In this conversation, we talk about:

How Rachel discovered doula work after a career in public health and academia
Why she spent several years treating doula work as a side hustle
The moment she realized she couldn't keep doing two demanding jobs well
What finally gave her the confidence to leave her professor job
How she figured out how much she actually needed to earn as a full-time doula
Why she had to raise her rates—and what happened when she did
How being surrounded by other working doulas helped her see that this really could be a sustainable career
The marketing strategies she implemented to start bringing in consistent clients
How she went from barely using Instagram to actually getting clients from it
Why Rachel says the advice and support she found inside My Doula Village helped her make the transition

Is Your Subconscious Sabotaging Your Doula Business?

Season 2 · Episode 22

Thursday, September 3, 2026 • Duration 48:52

As doulas, we already know that words matter.

We help clients change the way they think and talk about birth. We use affirmations. We pay attention to the language being used in the birth room. We know that one seemingly innocent comment from a provider can completely change how someone experiences their labor.

But have you ever stopped to think about the language (via self-talk) and the deeply held beliefs you're bringing into your business?

In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Megan Blacksmith, NLP practitioner, business owner, and host of the Becoming Zesty podcast, for a fascinating conversation about the subconscious beliefs that may be influencing everything from how much you charge to how big you allow your business to become.

Because you can put "six-figure doula business" on your vision board and repeat the mantra, "I deserve to make more money."

But if somewhere underneath all of that you still believe that helpers & healers shouldn't make a lot of money, successful people are greedy, it isn't safe to be seen, or being bigger means hurting the people you love...

Your conscious goals and your subconscious beliefs are fighting each other.

Megan explains Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and how experiences from very early in our lives can create beliefs that continue influencing our decisions decades later.

We also talk about the other side of this conversation: how incredibly powerful this work can be for the families that doulas support.

Megan shares her own birth experience and how a single sentence from a provider changed what she believed about her ability to cope with labor. We talk about why women can carry words spoken during birth for decades, the importance of processing birth experiences afterward, and how those experiences can affect seemingly unrelated areas of our lives.

In this episode, we talk about:

What NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) actually is

Only Have 3 Hours to Market Your Doula Business? Do This

Season 2 · Episode 21

Thursday, August 27, 2026 • Duration 14:01

Only Have 3 Hours to Market Your Doula Business? Do This

If you only had three hours a week to market your doula business, what should you do with them?

Should you batch 50 Instagram Reels? Post three times a day? Try to educate every pregnant person in your community about why they need a doula?

My answer is easy: work on your SEO.

In this episode, I'm explaining why search engine optimization, and now AI search optimization, is the number-one marketing strategy I recommend for doulas who are short on time and energy.

When your website ranks well on Google and your business appears in recommendations from ChatGPT and other AI tools, you can get your services in front of families who are already searching for a doula.

That means you don't have to work as hard to educate, convince or persuade them. You simply need to show up, look professional and help them decide whether you're the right doula for their family.

In this episode, I'm talking about:

Why SEO is the best use of your limited marketing time
What I would prioritize if I had only three hours a week
Why attracting people already searching for a doula requires less energy
How strong SEO can reduce your dependence on social media
Why your website can keep bringing you inquiries long after an Instagram post disappears
How Google SEO and AI search optimization work together
Why your website platform matters
How SEO can help you build a more sustainable doula business

Inside My Doula Village, I provide personalized website audits, doula-specific SEO guidance and training to help you become more visible on Google, ChatGPT and beyond.

6 Ways to Build a Sustainable Doula Business

Season 2 · Episode 20

Thursday, August 20, 2026 • Duration 13:05

If working harder were the secret to making more money, the busiest doulas would also be the wealthiest.

But that's not what we're seeing.

Too many talented doulas are working 6 nights/week, attending birth after birth, squeezing in more clients, putting their own needs last and still struggling to make the numbers work.

And eventually, something has to give.

In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm challenging the idea that earning more has to mean working more.

I'm sharing six things that can help you build a doula business that supports your LIFE, not just earns you a living.

And most importantly, I'm talking about breaking out of the time-for-money trap.

Because maybe you don't want to attend eight births a month anymore.

Maybe seven overnights a week isn't something your body can, or should, keep doing.

Maybe you want to keep serving families for another 10 or 20 years, but you need your business to look very different in order to do it.

That doesn't mean you're done being a doula.

It means it's time to build the next version of your doula business.

I also share more about SUSTAIN: The Sustainable Doula Intensive, where I work closely with experienced doulas to look at what they've already built, identify the most profitable opportunities that don't require significantly more of their time, and create a clear plan for what to focus on next.

The next SUSTAIN cohort begins September 16th.

If you're listening to this thinking, "THIS is what I need," reach out to me. Let's talk about whether SUSTAIN is the right next step for you.

Check it out here:

Exactly What I Say to Get Doula Clients to Hire Me Without Feeling Sales-y

Season 2 · Episode 19

Thursday, August 6, 2026 • Duration 17:06

Exactly What I Say to Get Doula Clients to Hire Me Without Feeling Sales-y

You don't need to become "better at sales" to book more doula clients.

In fact, the harder you try to sell yourself during a doula interview, the more awkward it can feel for you and the potential client.

In this episode of The Doula Darcy Podcast, I'm sharing 6 simple phrases I use during doula interviews to help potential clients feel comfortable, confident, and ready to hire me, without ever feeling pushy or salesy.

These are phrases I've used again and again in my sixteen years of conducting doula interviews and they work because they reflect what great doulas already know how to do: listen, create safety, communicate clearly, and confidently guide someone through an unfamiliar experience.

Inside this episode, we'll talk about:

How to end an interview without awkwardly asking, "So…do you want to hire me?"
The simple question that helps clients decide whether you're the right fit
How to create urgency when your calendar is filling up without using sleazy sales tactics
Why explaining exactly "what happens next" makes clients more likely to move forward
How to communicate that you genuinely WANT to work with a potential client
Why confidently sending the contract can be more effective than waiting for permission
How to uncover the questions or concerns that might be keeping someone from booking
Why the energy you bring to the interview matters just as much as what you say

Remember: how you show up during the interview gives your potential client a preview of how you'll show up as their doula.

🎧 Listen now and choose one or two of these phrases to try during your next doula interview.

PLUS: Join me at the Birthworker Retreat!

The Pricing Mistake that's Driving Doulas Out of Business

Season 2 · Episode 18

Monday, July 13, 2026 • Duration 18:24

If You're Charging $600 for a Birth, We Need to Talk

In this episode, I dive into one of the biggest mistakes I see doulas making: setting rates without considering the real costs of running a business. From liability insurance and continuing education to website costs, self-care, and recovery after births, your pricing needs to cover far more than the hours you're physically attending a birth.

If you've ever felt guilty charging your full fee for a short birth, struggled to invest in your business, or wondered whether it's time to raise your rates, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What "cost of doing business" actually means
The hidden expenses every doula should be budgeting for
Why your rates should include recovery time after births
The difference between business expenses and business investments
How investing in yourself can dramatically increase your income
A simple exercise to calculate whether your current rates are truly profitable
Why raising your rates isn't about greed, it's about longevity

The world needs experienced doulas. Pricing your services sustainably helps ensure you'll still be serving families years from now.

Connect with me:

Instagram: @thedouladarcy

https://www.instagram.com/thedouladarcy

Facebook: The Doula Marketing Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedoulamktggroup

Doulas, We Need to Talk About Self-Mothering with Dr. Gertrude Lyons

Season 2 · Episode 17

Monday, July 6, 2026 • Duration 44:14

As doulas, we spend our days nurturing, supporting, and caring for everyone else.

But how can we also teach mothers how to care for themselves?

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Gertrude Lyons, author of Rewrite the Mother Code: From Sacrifice to Stardust, for a conversation that completely reframes what it means to support women through motherhood.

We dive into the concept of self-mothering, the practice of offering yourself the same compassion, grace, encouragement, and care that you so freely give to everyone else. And then modeling that for our doula clients.

For many women, becoming a mother comes with an invisible set of rules: Put everyone else's needs first. Don't ask for help. Keep giving, even when you're running on empty.

As doulas, we have a unique opportunity to model something different. We can help our clients understand that caring for themselves isn't selfish, it's one of the greatest gifts they can give to themselves, their babies, and their families.

In this episode, we discuss:

What "self-mothering" really means
The hidden messages women receive about motherhood and self-sacrifice
How doulas can help clients build self-compassion during postpartum
The importance of receiving support instead of trying to do it all alone
How this conversation applies to doulas, too

Whether you're a birth doula, postpartum doula, childbirth educator, or simply passionate about supporting mothers, this episode offers a beautiful reminder:

The way we care for ourselves teaches the next generation how to care for themselves.

I hope this conversation encourages you to not only support your clients differently, but to offer yourself that same compassion as well.

About Dr. Gertrude Lyons: In her coaching, retreats, workshops and book Rewrite the Mother Code: From Sacrifice to Stardust – A Cosmic Approach to Motherhood, Dr. Gertrude Lyons challenges the limiting beliefs and expands the concepts around what it is to be a mother. Lyons blurs the lines that pigeonhole women into limited roles that ultimately disempower them. Rather than operating within a narrow conception of what mothering is, she invites people to open themselves up to what is possible and see the truth: that all women mother, and that mother energy is accessible to all of us-including men. Rewrite the Mother Code is a celebration of motherhood, bringing spirituality and community back into the experience and empowering women to be what they truly are, the ultimate creators.