We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Mans recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

In 2017, I started as a birth doula. I took an online training, created my social media page, & found my first clients. It took 6 months to a year, but my business took off!

However, having kids at home made it hard to be on-call 24/7 for my clients. I had taken lots of additional trainings during my first 2 years as a doula, & I felt I had a really well-rounded understanding of birth. So my next step was childbirth education, because I could schedule those classes!

I knew I didn’t want to use a pre-made curriculum, though. So I set out to create my own during my 2nd year of business.

During that time, I found out I was pregnant again. Creating my very own natural childbirth curriculum while combatting 14 weeks of morning sickness & still taking on doula clients was HARD, to say the least.

But I finally finished it and started teaching classes. I got great feed back; pregnant couples were loving it!

But I couldn’t stop there! I kept taking more trainings, this time related directly to childbirth education. I became certified as a child birth educator AND a Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator.

I absolutely love helping moms & families any way I can during the perinatal period.

One day, during my 4th year of business & several months after my daughter was born, I was driving home from a prenatal visit and my head was flooded with God-given ideas.

I arrived home, walked in the door, started nursing my daughter, handed my husband a pen & paper, and instructed him to write down all of my crazy thoughts.

Hence, The NaturalBirth Site was born.

I had pages of chicken-scratch ideas for podcast topics & plans for recording my NaturalBirth Education course to sell on my website. And my husband was totally on-board!

Only problem? I had NO idea how to produce a podcast or make a website…

I reached out to a previous client who owned her own branding business, and she gave me some great tips.

I listened to podcasts, YouTube videos, online trainings, read books, and more to figure out how to do this.

I found a friend to record my class videos for me.

And I found a web designer who was also a doula, because I knew I couldn’t do the site on my own.

We set a 3-6 timeline, which quickly came and went. I recorded 8 hours of videos, which ended up being horrible quality and all had to be re-recorded & edited.

I had to re-do another video because I used too much Spinning Babies® info in it (it can only be taught live, I can’t use it in my online class, understandably so). I also had to create the content for that new video.

My web designer had a baby, which delayed her. Then a family emergency & quit (for good reason). 2 weeks later, she decided she could finish my site after all (thank God)!

The podcast, The NaturalBirth Talk, & our YouTube channel, The NaturalBirth Show, were finally ready in Nov of 2021, 4 months behind schedule. The podcast launched and is growing every month! The YouTube channel, on the other hand, is too much work right now & I struggle to keep up. But that’s ok; life with kids! LOL

The website took 5 more months, and finally launched in March of 2022. So we just hit our 1 year mark! My web designer did a great job, in my opinion. And the women who have taken the online, at-your-own-pace NaturalBirth Education course have agreed!

And now, I look back on all the mishaps, obstacles, & mistakes and I thank God that my family has supported every step and it is all finally done. The act of scaling up was HARD, but the end result is definitely worth it!

Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an overly enthusiastic homeschooling mom of 5 who LOVES all things birth. I have 3 naturally-birthed-bio-babies and 2 beautiful, brave, adopted daughters. More importantly for you, though, I love helping and I feel God has really called me to this work. In fact, The NaturalBirth Site & The NaturalBirth Talk are what I do in my “free time;” it’s FUN for me!

I have been learning about birth for over 10 years now, since I was pregnant with my first in 2010/11. His birth story (basically, rude & controlling hospital staff) is why I do what I do!

I am certified as a birth doula and childbirth educator, I have completed trainings in Spinning Babies®, the pelvic floor, trauma, essential oils specifically for birth, Breech Without Borders (vaginal breech birth), “free” birth, herbs & homeopathy, and more, and have read countless books about numerous birth, pregnancy, and postpartum subjects. I also spent over a year creating my own natural childbirth education curriculum that I proudly teach in person and through my site.

Of course, I like other things, too. The mountains are my happy place; I find peace in nature and hiking through miles of gorgeous greenery with my family and friends. I also enjoy (very light) yoga, family game/movie nights, and SUNSHINE! I love summer and hate being cold. I also hate finding out that a care provider caused a mama to feel helpless and fearful.

That’s why I’ve made this business; I WANT ALL WOMEN TO FEEL EMPOWERED AND LEARN TO TRUST THEIR BODY, BABY, AND INNATE INSTINCTS. I want to use the wisdom of our ancestors, traditional practices, and evidence-based information to help you make the best choices for YOU and YOUR family. You know your body and your baby better than anyone else and you alone are the prime authority.

Services provided include:

-A free podcast, The NaturalBirth Talk
-A natural birth stories blog
-In-person services if you are local to St. Louis, MO
-AND an online, at-your-own-pace NaturalBirth Education class

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Making connections was key!

When I started my business, I took a leap of faith and joined Doulas of Greater St. Louis. It was a group I had only read about online, but their site looked good & I needed a place to advertise my services.

It was a great choice! I went to a Meet the Doula Night when I was still new, and met tons of other doulas. I also snagged one of my first clients at that event!

I kept going to the monthly meetings they hosted, and I connected with lots of other doulas that I still work with today. We all refer to each other as backup doulas or when we are unavailable for a potential client’s estimated due date.

I also connected with lots of other birth workers (pregnancy chiropractors, midwives, and more), simply by reaching out on Facebook. That way, I was building a reputation with other providers, too.

And then the biggest key was client referrals & testimonials! Simply requesting that happy clients write a testimonial and/or comment my name on any local post that is asking for a birth doula made a HUGE difference. Potential clients started commenting on how often they saw my name recommended.

So really, word of mouth from fellow birth workers & happy clients was vital to building my reputation.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My business had to pivot twice so far!

I finally had my doula business where I wanted it. I was regularly getting 3-4 clients/month, making plenty of money, and still able to be home with my kids most of the week.

Then, my husband and I found out I was pregnant with a little surprise.

I know this sounds horrible for people who really want a baby, but we were actively preventing pregnancy, and it happened any way. I cried for weeks.

I felt like my business was going to fall apart. And I LOVED my business. But I also trusted that God had a plan.

I kept working hard. Taking doula clients, although fewer than I wanted because I was so tired and nauseous all the time, and working on my natural birth curriculum when I was had the tiniest bit of energy and my other kids didn’t need me.

It was a big change & bigger challenge.

But then, just months after the baby was born, God changed it again by flooding my head with the ideas for The NaturalBirth Site & The NaturalBirth Talk. Another big pivot!

But, as you can see, they all worked out!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thenaturalbirthsite.com/
• Instagram: @TheNaturalBirthSite
• Facebook: @TheNaturalBirthSite @RachelMansDoula
• Youtube: @TheNaturalBirthShow
• Other: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thenaturalbirthsite

Image Credits
Kamaren Joelle Photography Faithiecake Photography Fresh Pine Photography