7 Benefits of Working for a Doula Agency (and 1 Con)
/1. Supportive community
Doula work can be lonely. If you’ve worked as a solo doula at all, you know that you are a one-person show. Even in Sioux Falls, which has a vibrant birth community, being a solo doula can feel like being on an island when you have wins to celebrate or feel defeated.
Doula agencies offer the comradery of being part of a team. Our agency has monthly meetings where we get together in person to discuss our work, and an active text thread where we work together to take care of our clients. Everyone cheers for each other in our wins and surrounds each other with support.
2. Built in backup
Very few other careers require a person to commit to putting their life on hold for a month at a time, 10 months into the future. That’s what solo doula work is like… someone will contact you in October to ask if you have availability in May or June of the next year!
When clients hire a doula from a doula agency, they understand that teamwork is a perk for the doula AND the client. If something comes up during the time that you are on call for someone, you simply ask someone from the team to cover you. Clients have the peace of mind of knowing the back up doula is already vetted by the agency, and can get to know the back up ahead of time. You can take the time off that you deserve, knowing your client will be well-cared for in your absence.
3. Room for growth
Our agency is very excited about growing doulas! Part of our mission is to make our community the best place to be a doula. We support our doulas in their interests and help them pursue growth in whatever way that looks for them. Burned out doulas don’t last long… we want to help our doulas make this a career, not just a blip in their work history. We aim to nurture our doulas in furthering their experience, helping them through obstacles, and cheering them on! This should be a goal of all agencies, not just ours.
4. IC’s can take their own clients
Did you know that an independent contractor can run their own business as well as work for an agency? If you’ve got your own clients, you are welcome to bring them to the agency in order to utilize all the perks of the agency, or you can take them on 100% independently.
5. No backend work
Marketing, tax IDs, nurturing local resource relationships, maintaining a social media presence, building a website, SEO, taking inquiries, courting potential clients, onboarding, handling contracts, payments, taxes, offboarding…. if this sounds overwhelming to you, you are a good candidate to be an agency doula.
Solo doulas are a one-person show. You wear all the hats! As an agency doula, you get to show up for the client and do the work.. The agency handles the rest.
6 Clients come to you
Building off of the previous reason… as an agency doula, the clients come to you. A big hurdle as a solo doula is finding clients, especially if they are a newer doula. The agency has a steady flow of clients looking for support.
7. The value of agency
Clients get excited about the prospect of working with an agency. It makes it so easy for them. They can get all of their needs met in one place, rather than seeking out all of the roles separately. It’s a smooth experience, from start to finish. There is value to this! And agencies are just as valuable to the clients as they are to the doula.
… And 1 con…
By working with an agency, you pay for what you get. Running a business costs money (even if you’re doing it solo), so most agencies take a portion of what the client pays. This is called the agency fee.
Agency fees vary from business to business. The range is usually between 25% and 40% of the client fee. This money goes to all pay for all of those benefits listed. To doulas who see the value of all of those benefits, it’s a no brainer. But if you are very business-minded and enjoy the challenge of wearing all the hats, agency doula life might not be for you.
Renee is co-owner of Transitions: Doula & Life Services in Sioux Falls, SD. Renee’s goal is that every person has their very best birth and postpartum. Renee helps birthing persons and their partners accomplish this goal by connecting them with Transitions Doulas who provide loving physical and emotional support throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond. In addition to running the agency, Renee also provides postpartum doula support, lactation support, and childbirth education.