We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle , appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My official business name is Kingdom Business Daily LLC, and I do business as Shiloah Doula. KBD’s mission is to provide Christian services for Kingdom Building disciples and to encourage sustained faith in Christ for all who are seeking His Love. We believe that walking through life has its moments of peace and moments of challenge. Therefore, we are committed to bringing peace to the clients we serve. I am a Christian who is also a Registered Nurse and new entrepreneur. Because of my beliefs and faith in God, I was forced to resign from my 10-year career during Covid-19. When I was seeking out what to do next in my life, I knew that it had to be God ordained. So, I walked in faith as I prayed about what my next steps were. I was guided into starting a Christian Doula business where I serve families who are seeking out support through pregnancy, labor, and childbirth from someone who is a believer of Jesus as they are. This mission is meaningful for me because there have been many times where I had to lean on my faith in God to guide me through tough, impactful decisions or just life events. I want to share the principles I use to navigate through life to help my clients endure this particular life changing journey. These principles can literally be applied to everything.

Michelle , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been a Registered Nurse since 2011! I worked on the labor and delivery unit caring for pregnant and laboring families. It was my passion. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, but when I took the Maternal-Fetal course in school and saw my first delivery, my focus was on working on that unit. I cared for patients with high-risk and low risk pregnancies. I helped countless families and babies over the years, I’ve gotten awards for my work ethic. I thought that I would be an L&D RN until I retired. Well, those plans all changed during Covid-19. When there was news floating around that a vaccine was being created and that we would have to take it to continue working, I began to pray about it. In my prayer, I asked for guidance on what to do because faith in God has blessed my life all my life. In 2021, my employer gave three options, get the vaccine, turn in a religious exemption or turn in a medical exemption. Naturally, I knew that I was going to turn in a religious exemption because God moved me in this direction. I turned it in before the deadline in August of 2021, and it was approved! Praise God, right?! I was taking 2 covid tests per week, and they all came back negative. I never stopped working. About 6 weeks later, I received an email from HR that asked me for additional information. The initial approval did not say preliminary, it just said approved, so the email shocked me, but I wasn’t worried. I complied. I answered the additional questions. About 2 weeks later, I received another email that stated they were declining my religious exemption because they did not believe I had sincere religious beliefs that prevented me from getting the vaccine. I was given an ultimatum to go against my faith and comply to their demand or be terminated because of my beliefs. I never got a chance to speak to anyone. This was all determined over a computer. I immediately began to seek what I was going to do next. I didn’t lose the passion to care for pregnant women and families. However, this time, I knew it had to be different. I had to make more of an impact in people’s lives. I was guided to start my own Doula business as a Christian Doula for those who also sought Jesus’ guidance through their pregnancy, birth and postpartum journeys. As soon as He blessed me with the name Shiloah Doula, I knew that I had heard Him right! Shiloah means to conduct and to be sent. I know now that it is my purpose to be sent to conduct those I serve back to Jesus through faith. Is this service for everyone? No, but those who it is for, it resonates deeply with them. I say this because just about every client I had the honor to serve said they prayed about finding a Christian Doula, and I popped up in searches! So, what do I provide? I am a Birth and Postpartum Doula. I help prep women and families for labor, childbirth, postpartum, and breastfeeding, I do this spiritually, informationally, emotionally, and physically. I am also there with families through one of the most transformational times in their lives. It’s a very intimate space, and I don’t take it for granted. As Doulas are becoming more known, people are realizing that when you have education and preparation for birth with the help of a professional Doula, the rates of cesarean sections and traumatic births drastically decrease. We help to increase successful, peaceful vaginal births. We are needed in times where unnecessary inductions of labor and c-sections are steadily rising. Hospitals are run like a business instead of a healing space. We are here to remind people that most pregnancies, labors and childbirths are normal and generally safe. One of the things our bodies were created to do was give birth! We also teach clients to educate themselves so they can advocate for themselves. There are so many ways in which a Doula can serve families. It is customizable. What sets me apart from others is the fact that I have experience in L&D as a nurse, I am adamant about providing great service, I can adapt to any situation in the birth world, and I can explain to my clients what is happening when things don’t go exactly as planned. Above all, I can provide spiritual guidance by the Holy Spirit of God. I thrive in peaceful environments even when there is turbulence, and I know that is ushered in by God. I share this with my clients in any way He moves me to. I am most proud of the fact that I have taken this jump of faith to leave where I was comfortable and dive into a world of entrepreneurship. My plans didn’t go the way I thought they would as far as my career goes, but I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I love that I can use my testimony to help others in their faith! I and my services are needed.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Believe it or not, prayer is the first strategy! Something happens when I pray to God and give everything to Him. He listens, and He guides me to those who are seeking. I am still new in business, so to hear that someone google searched Christian Doulas in the Chicagoland area, and I pop up is still mind-blowing. However, it lets me know that people are looking for this type of service. Second is marketing whether in person or on the internet. I have a website. I’ve built social media pages. I’m on multiple directories that showcase my business. I place cards in neighborhood businesses.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first created Kingdom Business Daily LLC dba Shiloah Doula, I was living in Southern California. I started the business in December 2021. In 2022, there were many spiritual, personal and business-related challenges. I stopped working abruptly, so I didn’t have finances. My savings account lasted maybe 2 months. I only charged my first client (who I am still really close to today) $500 to provide birth and postpartum services. Truth be told, I had no clue how to run a business, how to set pricing, how to advocate and promote myself. Everything was learn-as-you-go. I had never taken any business classes. I was afraid, I was challenged. I prayed a lot. I cried a lot. I experienced negative talk from those close to me. No one understood this path I had taken, but I knew I was supposed to be there! I didn’t know where money would come from especially living in California. However, God provided. As soon as I was finishing up with my first client, I had another client reach out, and I cared for them for 3 months. Slowly but surely, I began to take on more clients and became more comfortable with consultations and explaining the services I provide. Just as I was getting my momentum in California, I ran out of money again. This time, when I prayed, I was guided to move back home to Chicago and continue my journey there. I had to dissolve my first business and restart it in Illinois. It took a lot for me to build up the confidence to start over in a new space. What kept me going was the fact that it was all God-led. I went through my bouts of doubt and worry again because at this time, business was still very new. I learned that California was training ground for me to keep going in Chicago. Moving showed me the power of God, but also what happens when you lean on Him. He gives you strength and courage to do things you would never think to try or do. Life happens, things shift, and you have to learn to roll with the hills and valleys. It’s so important to grow comfortable in stepping out of your comfort zone. People have asked me since things have changed with the Covid-19 vaccine, would I return back to the hospital setting. I always answer, no way! I love where I am. I still have learning to do. I am still growing. I am making more of an impact in people’s lives now than I was confined to the hospital. I have been present in home births, birth center births and hospital births. I have bounced back from leaving a career I went to school for, starting a business in one state, moving it to another state, enduring financial hardship, enduring mental/emotional hardship, and dropping negative talk. I did it to be where I am today, and I still have more to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kingdombusinessdaily.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/Shiloah_Doula
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ShiloahDoula
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ShiloahDoula?si=fvAY8YpnDpL7Djvh
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@kingdombusinessdaily

Image Credits
803 Life (professional photos)