We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hollie Hauptly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hollie below.

Hollie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Being a business owner isn’t for the faint of heart, but I absolutely love it! I love the freedom and flexibility to create and build a business that works for me and the life I want to live. I love having the ability to schedule mine and my family’s life as I see fit. Sure, there have been hard days and times where I question everything and want to quit, but I always stick with it and we always figure things out. I always go back to my why. Why do I do this? Why is the work I do so important? What impact do I want to have on the world? As a business owner, it’s important to be anchored by these beliefs that will keep me going when the times get tough.

About a year and half ago I was ready to throw the towel in and be done with it all. I felt like I was working around the clock to grow and build my business, but absolutely nothing was working. I was sacrificing too much time with family, my health was suffering, and I had no time for anything else. I felt like I was throwing spaghetti noodles at a wall waiting to find something that would stick. I didn’t really know what I should be doing next. Luckily, I have a team of people that all support me and my business. Having the support of family and friends, the best employees, business coaches, and more is so important for any business owner. Their patience and sticktoitiveness (thank you Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance for that word) have always helped me when times were hard. I’m not saying that everything is all sunshine and rainbows now, but I’ve built the tools that I need to keep me going when times are tough.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My story begins 15 years ago when I gave birth to my first child. His birth was amazing! It was one of the most exhilarating events of my life. That experience completely changed the trajectory of my life. At the time, I was teaching 5th grade and finishing my Master’s degree in education, but after his birth, I never stepped foot back in a classroom. Just a few months later, I was in training to become a doula.

Over the next few years, I became the person everyone turned to with their pregnancy and birth-related questions. With encouragement from my family and friends, I took the next step and became a childbirth educator. I combined my love for teaching with my passion for pregnancy and birth and began teaching birth classes. I created a six-week class that I taught in a small town in Idaho. For a couple of years, I taught classes and worked as a doula before my family moved to Texas, where my husband began attending Parker University to become a chiropractor.

This is where Birth Boot Camp enters the picture. When we moved to Texas, I discovered an amazing company called Birth Boot Camp that trained childbirth educators and provided a childbirth education curriculum with everything I had been wanting to add to my classes. They had prewritten outlines and beautiful workbooks for my clients. I quickly joined their ranks in 2013 and have been teaching Birth Boot Camp classes ever since.

Over the next five years, I remained active in the Birth Boot Camp community. I was a successful childbirth educator and continued working as a doula throughout our time in Texas. In 2017, we moved to Utah, and I began to build my business here. Shortly after, the owner of Birth Boot Camp approached me to ask if I’d be interested in teaching their doula trainings. This was not something I ever thought I’d do, but I dove right in and began teaching and mentoring new doulas. I quickly discovered that teaching and mentoring new doulas was one of my favorite things to do.

Over the next couple of years, my roles with Birth Boot Camp continued to grow. I began training new childbirth educators, helped with social media marketing and graphic design, and was invited to join the leadership team. After a few years, the owner approached me about buying the company, and I have been the owner and CEO of Birth Boot Camp since January 2021.

Our mission at Birth Boot Camp is simple: to help couples have an amazing birth! Yes, we believe that birth can be amazing. Today’s society fills new, expecting parents with fear, doubt, and uncertainty surrounding birth and parenting. Movies often depict birth as a painful emergency, and society treats it as a dangerous medical event. But contrary to popular belief, giving birth doesn’t have to be a scary experience. It can be positive, empowering, and even transformational.

Education, preparation, and support are at the heart of what we do at Birth Boot Camp. If you want to have an amazing, empowering birth experience, preparation is key! Yet so many parents head into labor feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, and unsure of what to expect. Between books, blogs, social media, and advice from friends and family, it can feel impossible to know what’s truly evidence-based and reliable. That’s where Birth Boot Camp comes in.

We take the guesswork out of birth preparation by providing clear, structured, and practical education. Our online and in-person classes cover everything from the physiology of birth to comfort measures, coping techniques, partner support, and newborn care. When parents understand how birth works, they can make informed decisions, confidently advocate for themselves, and approach labor feeling excited instead of anxious.

But education alone isn’t enough—support is just as essential. Having a knowledgeable birth team makes a tremendous difference in how a birth unfolds. That’s why Birth Boot Camp encourages couples to hire a doula—a trained professional who provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support during labor. Additionally, the choice of care provider and birth location plays a significant role in shaping the birth experience. When parents are surrounded by a supportive team that respects their choices and trusts the birth process, they are far more likely to have a positive experience.

Since its founding in 2012, Birth Boot Camp has helped tens of thousands of couples feel confident and prepared as they welcome their babies into the world. Our classes have empowered families in hospitals, birth centers, and home births alike, ensuring that no matter where or how they give birth, they are informed and equipped to make the best decisions for their unique experience. Birth Boot Camp covers it all. We believe that every family deserves comprehensive education, no matter their birth plan or how their labor unfolds.

Birth is unpredictable, and while no one can control exactly how it will go, parents can control how they prepare. Our goal is to help families navigate their birth experience, no matter what happens, from start to finish. With the right knowledge and support, they can make informed choices at every step, ensuring that even unexpected turns don’t leave them feeling powerless. Whether parents are planning an unmedicated birth, a hospital induction, a cesarean, or anything in between, Birth Boot Camp gives them the tools they need to approach birth without fear, and walk away feeling empowered.

At Birth Boot Camp, we believe that birth matters. It is one of the most important and transformative days in a family’s life, and it deserves thoughtful preparation. We are honored to be part of that journey for so many families, equipping them with the knowledge, support, and confidence they need to have an amazing birth.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Our reputation is built on results—consistent, proven, and trusted results. Birth Boot Camp has helped thousands of families prepare for birth, and the impact of our classes speaks for itself. We have dozens and dozens of five-star reviews from parents who felt empowered by our education, as well as from the doulas and educators we’ve trained.

Beyond client testimonials, care providers regularly recommend our classes to their patients, trusting that our curriculum will give them the knowledge and tools they need for a positive birth experience. This level of trust from both families and birth professionals is a testament to the quality and effectiveness of our program.

At Birth Boot Camp, we don’t settle for “good enough.” We are committed to providing the best, most up-to-date childbirth education available. Our curriculum and materials are continuously updated to reflect the latest evidence-based research and best practices. We ensure that every class we offer—whether online or in person—meets the highest standards, giving families, doulas, and educators the confidence that they are receiving the best information available.

By delivering reliable education and proven results, Birth Boot Camp has established itself as a leader in the childbirth education space. Parents, professionals, and care providers alike trust us to deliver exceptional training that truly makes a difference.

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

Word-of-mouth referrals have been the driving force behind Birth Boot Camp’s growth. The majority of families who take our online or in-person classes hear about us from someone they trust—their midwife, OB, doula, or a friend who had a great experience. This kind of organic recommendation speaks volumes about the impact of our classes and the confidence families gain from them. We actively strive to build relationships with a variety of birth professionals who see firsthand the difference our education makes. Because they trust our curriculum and results, they continue to refer their clients to Birth Boot Camp as a trusted resource for childbirth preparation.

While we utilize social media advertising, webinars, SEO, and more to reach a broader audience, referrals remain the heart of our growth. Nothing is more powerful than a personal recommendation from someone who has experienced the value of our classes firsthand. By consistently providing exceptional education and support, we’ve created a ripple effect—one positive birth experience leading to another, and another, as families and professionals continue to spread the word about Birth Boot Camp.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.birthbootcamp.com www.utahbirthdoula.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthbootcamp/ https://www.instagram.com/holliehauptlydoula/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BirthBootCamp https://www.facebook.com/HollieHauptlyUtahDoula/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Birthbootcamp

Image Credits

LiLo Photography