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Babes, let’s talk about if you can be a side hustle doula.
A lot of folks start looking into a doula training because they feel called to the work, but then reality taps them on the shoulder and says, “Cute dream. But how exactly are you planning to pay your bills?” Which is fair. Rude, but fair.
So if you are wondering whether being a doula can be one of your side hustles, the short answer is yes. Absolutely yes.
In fact, for many people, starting as a part time doula is the smartest possible way to enter this field. It lets you build skills, confidence, referrals, and income without lighting your nervous system on fire or picking a fight with your household budget.
You do not need to quit your job, blow up your life, and become a full time birth worker by next Thursday in order to do meaningful work. You are allowed to build slowly and to be strategic. You are allowed to want both purpose and stability because you cannot have the former without the latter!
Yes, doula work can be a side hustle
One of the biggest myths in this industry is that a doula job only “counts” if you are fully on call, fully booked, and elbow deep in birth and babies alllll the time.
We reject that nonsense here at bebo mia.
A doula can absolutely start as a side hustle. Many of our students are parents, professionals, caregivers, students, or people navigating health realities who need work that can grow with them. Starting part time is not a sign you are less committed. It means you are tapped into what can actually work for you and we celebrate the heck out of that.
Doula work can also go in phases. You may have a time where it is occasional and then very full time and back to part time or even less (hello, 2 births a year). How you do your business is your business and that is why we love this important work that you can choose how much of your life you have to give to it.
We go much deeper into this here if you want the full breakdown.
What kind of doula work fits best as a side hustle?
This depends on your schedule, energy, and what kind of work you actually want to do.
If you want something with more predictable hours, postpartum support is often the easiest place to begin. You can schedule shifts in advance, work evenings or weekends, and fit clients around your existing life.
Birth work can also be done part time, but it takes more planning. Because, as you know, babies love to ignore calendars. If you are a birth doula with another job, you need a backup system, clear communication, and realistic expectations about how many clients you can take.
If you are a full spectrum doula, you may have even more flexibility because your doula job description can include a mix of birth support, postpartum support, education, fertility support, or loss support depending on your training and interests.
That flexibility is one of the best things about this career.
If you want to understand the bigger picture of what can come from your doula certification, read this too.
Side hustle does not mean casual
This is important.
A part time doula is still a real doula. A side hustle still requires the same skill, training, boundaries, and ethics. You are supporting people in major life moments. This is not the kind of thing you wing because you watched three birth videos and bought along your linen tote bag. Not to sound cheeky, but there are a lot of short and sub-par doula trainings out there.
A good online doula training should prepare you for the actual logistics of real life. That means contracts, backup systems, scope of practice, communication, and burnout prevention. It should also acknowledge that not everyone is building the exact same kind of business.
This is where a lot of short trainings fall down hard. Like, really hard. They barely get through the overview of skills let alone the business side. They teach the dreamy parts and skip the practical ones (we have taken so many to test this out). Then people leave feeling underprepared and wonder why the work feels chaotic.
If you want our unfiltered thoughts on that mess, read this!
Can you actually make decent money as a doula?
Yes, you can.
Now, will a side hustle doula business make you a millionaire in a month? No. Let’s all calm down. But can it absolutely bring in meaningful extra income while you build experience and referrals? Yes!
A few postpartum shifts a month can add up nicely. One birth client a month can bring in solid supplemental income of $2000+. And if you eventually want to expand your services, your online doula training can become a foundation for classes, digital offers, consulting, or other aligned income streams later.
We talk more about the money side here.
The point is this: being a part time doula can be financially worthwhile, especially when you are thoughtful about your pricing, your capacity, and how you get clients.
We do want to mention that if you are in the US, half the states are now covering doulas and the reimbursement averages around $3000-$4000. If you get on the database for the insurance companies, you can make about $40K – 50K per year with just 1 client per month!
The smartest way to start your doula side hustle
If you are thinking about doula work as one of your side hustles, start smaller than you think. After you do your doula training (highly recommend this one here, wink, wink):
Take one client.
Do a few postpartum shifts.
Build a backup relationship.
Learn what your body and schedule can actually hold.
Excitement is wonderful. Overbooking yourself because you are excited is less wonderful. I once took way too many clients in one month and spent a shocking amount of time crying, so let’s maybe learn from history here.
You do not need to prove yourself by suffering because exhaustion is not a badge of honor or commitment!
So, can doula be a side hustle?
Yes. And for many people, it should be at first.
A part time doula career can be a beautiful entry point into this work. It gives you room to grow your skills, protect your income, and figure out what version of the work actually fits your life.
You can begin as a side hustle and keep it there.
You can begin as a side hustle and grow into something bigger.
You can shape your doula job description around the season of life you are in. I am slowing down significantly and still loving my work and what I have to offer.
That is part of what makes doula work so powerful.
If you are still trying to figure out whether this path is right for you, this one will help too.
And if you are exploring online doula training and want a program that actually prepares you for real life, you can learn more about bebo mia here:
https://bebomia.com/doulatraining
This work matters. And yes, it can fit into a real, busy, complicated life.
If you are thinking about doula work and you have specific questions about your life and situation, we are happy to jump on a call with you. You can ask us anything and we chat it out. Just shoot us an email at [email protected] and Kelly will set that up with you.
xoxo
Bianca
FREE ONLINE MINI-COURSE
BLISS IN BUSINESS RETREAT
Your future is created by what you do today — that's why we created a completely FREE mindset mini-course to help doulas and birth workers find bliss in their business!