We were lucky to catch up with Rev. Sara Luna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rev. Sara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

I think the defining moment in my career is actually the one I’m in right now!

For the past few years, I’ve been building this work slowly and very intentionally. I invested in my trainings, got licensed, gained experience, and focused on showing up well for the families I served. From the beginning, my goal was to grow organically through word of mouth and trust, not heavy marketing. I think I spent maybe a couple hundred dollars on advertising, if that.

And now I’m at the point I was quietly working toward the whole time. I have a steady and growing client base, referrals come in consistently, and I have the ability to choose who I work with and how I move in my work each day. That level of autonomy and trust feels really meaningful. I didn’t have that in my previous career in restaurant management. I worked very hard there, but this is the first time my work has felt both valued and aligned.

At the same time, it honestly feels like I just hopped on a rocket with no saddle. There isn’t a clear model for the kind of business I’m building, so I’m creating it as I go. It’s exciting, a little wild, and it requires a lot of trust in myself and in my community.

What makes this moment defining is not just the growth, but the confirmation that this approach works. I didn’t rush it, I didn’t force it into a traditional structure, and I didn’t build it in isolation. I built it in relationship with the people around me, and that trust has come back to me in a really tangible way.

If there’s a lesson in it, it’s that you don’t have to follow a rigid blueprint to build something successful. You can move at a pace that is sustainable, stay rooted in your values, and still create a business that supports you and your community at the same time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m a Traditional Health Worker Doula based in Oregon, and my work lives at the intersection of care, community, and real life. I didn’t come into this field through a perfectly mapped out plan. I came into it through lived experience, through becoming a young single mother, and through realizing how much support families actually need and how often they’re expected to navigate it all alone.

Over time, this work became less about a role and more about a way of showing up. I support families through pregnancy and postpartum, often within the Medicaid system, which means I’m working with people who might not otherwise have access to consistent, personalized care. That includes emotional support, postpartum recovery, feeding support, and helping families navigate resources, while also being a steady, grounding presence during a major life transition.

What I’ve built doesn’t follow a traditional business model. I’ve intentionally created something that works within my community, not just for profit. That means I accept Medicaid, I offer flexibility when possible, and I stay open to trade and alternative ways of working when it makes sense. Supporting families who remind me of where I started is deeply important to me.

Alongside client care, I also support other doulas in building their practices and navigating Medicaid systems, and I contribute to broader community work through the Oregon Doula Association. I’m also developing educational offerings to make this kind of support more accessible to families who may not be able to hire a doula at all.

What sets my work apart is that I don’t separate business from humanity. I’m not interested in scaling at the expense of connection or turning care into something transactional. I’m focused on building something sustainable, relational, and rooted in real people’s lives.

I’m most proud that this work has grown through trust and word of mouth. It feels honest. At the end of the day, I want people to know that you can build a business that supports your community and still supports your life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve had to unlearn is the idea that I have to build my business like a corporation in order for it to be successful.

I came from a background where working long hours, staying constantly busy, and proving your worth through productivity was the norm. For a long time, I carried that into my business without even realizing it. I thought if I wasn’t fully booked, slightly overwhelmed, and always saying yes, I wasn’t doing it right.

But this work started asking something different of me.

I began to realize that I didn’t want to build something that consumed my entire life. I wanted to build something that actually supported it. My kids are both in college now, and I’m in a season where I want more space. I want to travel, I want to be present, and I want my work to feel sustainable long term.

So I’ve had to actively retrain myself. That looks like being more intentional with my schedule, not overbooking just because I can, and trusting that I don’t need to operate from scarcity or urgency in order to have a thriving practice.

I’ve also had to unlearn the idea that business has to be separate from heart. The way I work is relational. It’s community based. It doesn’t fit neatly into a corporate model, and that’s actually a strength, not a weakness.

The biggest shift has been understanding that success isn’t about how much I can fit into a week. It’s about building something that feels good to live inside of. And when I do that, the work continues to grow in a way that feels both grounded and sustainable.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been building real relationships and being deeply connected within my community.

I’m very intertwined in the doula world, and that has shaped how I approach growth. I don’t see other doulas as competition. I see them as an extension of care. There are so many incredibly skilled, thoughtful, and intuitive doulas around me, and I genuinely want families to find the right fit, even if that isn’t me.

That mindset has actually strengthened my business. When people know you’re not trying to hold onto every client or operate from scarcity, it creates a different kind of trust. I’m able to refer out, collaborate, and stay in relationship with other providers in a way that feels honest and supportive.

At the same time, I focus on doing my work well and letting that speak for itself. Most of my clients come through word of mouth, referrals, or community connections. I haven’t relied heavily on advertising because the work naturally circulates when people feel well cared for.

I think the biggest shift for me was letting go of the idea that I needed to be everything for everyone. Once I embraced that I’m not the right fit for every family, my work actually became stronger. The clients who do find me tend to be really aligned, and that creates a better experience for everyone involved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Saraluna.org
• Instagram: @revsaraluna
• Other: Find me on DoulaMatch.com
  https://doulamatch.net/profile/39251/sara-luna

Image Credits

Theresa Bear