Doula's-Office Or No Office

[trimestersdoula]

The reason I am wondering is because around here people consider you to be more professional if you have an office, so I got myself an office. Then I was asked why by other doulas. Do you have an office?

[tlcdoula]

I have an office, but I am also a massage therapist, so I really needed one for that. In my area I know of only one other doula who has an office, and she also has another business out of that space.

I did get my office first - meaning before I became a massage therapist, but I had a plan. I got my office when I was offering hypnosis, doula work and childbirth education. Then I moved into a larger office when I added massage to my business.

[VaDoula]

I don't have an office but I also don't have very many clients. If I had a booming business, I would definitly like to have an office. Right now, I meet with my clients for pre and postnatal visits at their home. It is very personal that way and it makes a lot of sense in a homebirth situation. Setting up a home office would be more my speed.

[Amydoula]

No. I mean we have an office in our home where I store all my client files, books, etc. but I always go to people's homes for visits (both pre-natal and obviously postpartum, I'm a postpartum doula) so have no need for a real office. I couldn't afford one anyway. I barely make enough to contribute to our family income.

[MindfulBirth]

I don't have an office outside of the home. I don't think it would be worth the money as there are not a lot of "drop in" clients in the doula world. I think it would be wonderful to have my own space for group childbirth classes, but again, I don't think the overhead would be worth it. One of the things I like about being a doula is that it gives me the opportunity to be at home with my girls as much as possible. But I can see where having an office would give you a more professional look and let you get a lot more done with your time. I would seriously consider it if I had a group of doulas where we could share the space and overhead costs.

[trimestersdoula]

Thanks girls. The reason I am getting the office is because it is a nice building with friendly people for $200 a month. That is really cheap IMO, especially for this area. The company that I will be in with has the only massage therapist in the city that is equipt for pregnant ladies. I will also be doing Henna for pregnant and non pregnant people. Also I have no room for a home office in my house and I have quite a few animals, some of which most people I know aren't so enthusiastic about lol. So having women come to my house is out of the question. As for going to their house for home visits, I would LOVE it, but for right now, not much of an option. We only have one vehicle at the moment and my husband needs it for his construction company. , here office=professionalism apparently. Also, like I said before, around here office=professionalism. I hope my reasonings for getting an office is are decent ones lol.

[Shell_Ell]

No office here. I have never had a client come to me, I always go to the client's home. I do most of my work at the kitchen table, and I tend to make phone calls in the evenings when my husband is around to watch the kids. It would be really nice to have a home office set up, as sometimes I feel sort of disorganized. But I couldn't justify the cost of an office out of the home. I don't make much of a profit anyway after paying a babysitter and putting gas in my car, so it wouldn't make financial sense for me.

Now that you mention it, I don't know that I know of any doulas here who have office space. Most operate out of their homes.