The Birth of Bay City Doulas

When telling the story of the beginning of our business, I almost feel guilty. I feel like I should be saying, ” It was so hard, it took us months to figure out all of the logistical things, and we argued about who would do what!” or ” It took us years of hard work to become busy.” This was not the case with the beginning of Bay City Doulas. The birth of Bay City Doulas is one of my favorite stories to tell, read more to find out why!

The meeting

Cosima and I met in a training that we both took to expand our knowledge. We spent many hours together, learning and growing. I could see the passion that Cosima had for her work immediately. The way she sat at the edge of her seat, concentrating and soaking everything in. The questions that she asked with great intent. The amount she participated in role-playing and group projects- she was all in. We laughed and shared during our training, and I knew Cosima was someone I would love to be friends with. A little secret- the birth world can be a bit lonely as an independent Doula. Everyone competes with one another, and it can be hard to make friends that don’t also feel like a competition, so I was delighted to meet Cosima.

The begining

Cosima and I both left that training inspired and ready to go. We both were eager to start up our own agencies and determined as ever. We kept in touch and decided that we would bounce ideas off of each other. After about two days, I think it is safe to say that we talked to one another just about more than anyone else (except our partners). The excitement that we had for one another’s and our own blooming businesses was unprecedented. We had decided that I would start an agency in Santa Cruz, and Cosima in San Jose, and we would bounce clients back and forth to each other. This would allow us to be colleagues and friends without much competition and hopefully benefit one another.

The big question: the birth of Bay City Doulas

As the days went on, the big question began to linger more and more…. should we do this together? Cosima and I knew one thing: we really liked and respected each other as people and businesswomen, BUT time and time again, we have both heard how hard it is to go into business with someone. We would talk about it casually and then agree that maybe down the line we would merge and then……

Calling for backup

Running an agency is A LOT of work, like a ton. We were both in the beginning stages of this separately when one of us ran into a situation, a situation where we realized how nice it would be to have someone else on our team. Someone else to share the workload with, and so we leaped….. we jumped all the way in, and we never looked back. Truly.

Cosima and I hit the ground running that day that we started Bay City Doulas. We shared the same vision from the beginning- to be the BEST. To support families where they were at and find the most hard-working professional team of doulas to join us on our journey. I’ll never forget the first months of our business, excitedly building and creating our soon to be business. Interviewing and meeting amazing doulas. We networked with the best providers in the area and learning more incredible ways to support our community. Fast forward sometime later, and we still have the same (if not more) excitement and passion for this work that we do. We still expect the best, and we have the most amazing clients that we feel so fortunate to know, support, and grow with!

Gratitude

When people ask about the process of starting a new business, I feel guilty when my answer is AMAZING. Sure, there were hard parts, long days, things to figure out, but the passion that Cosima and I both hold for our work makes it all worth it. The fantastic business partnership that we have flows almost effortlessly feels almost like a dream. The amazing team that we have built and hand-picked of passionate and hard-working birth workers throughout the Bay Area makes us feel like the luckiest business owners alive. The wonderful clients that we have worked with make us feel fulfilled. When I look back at the beginning of this journey and see how far we have come, I know that Bay City Doulas is here to stay, and we are here to make a difference. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey thus far. We look forward to supporting many more of you in the future.

Thank you for reading this week’s blog “The birth of Bay City Doulas”. For more amazing blogs on all things pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenthood be sure to check out our other weekly blogs on our website.