Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Leanne Palmerston, Founder of Hamilton Family Doulas, located in Hamilton, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is Hamilton Family Doulas. We are a perinatal services agency providing prenatal education, birth support, postpartum support, and pediatric sleep support to growing families.
Tell us about yourself
After a decade as a writer focusing on entertainment journalism and business communications, I discovered an affinity for perinatal work when I supported two sisters through the births of their first children. I loved the work and felt at home in the birthing room. Helping people feel calmer and more confident about their upcoming births, helping them navigate those births and then have a less stressful and more successful feeling postpartum recovery fills me with incredible satisfaction and inspires me to continue.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
There are a lot of accomplishments that thrill me. Some things, like being featured in major news sites, are conventional career highlights. But, more often than not, it is the smaller achievements that really excite me, like helping a birthing person achieve a vaginal birth after having previously required a c-section, shepherding a new parent through feeding challenges and seeing them achieve their parenting goals, and proving the blueprint and positive support that helps a family achieve the deep and restful sleep they've been craving.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is being responsible for my work but also for anyone else's. If something goes wrong, if someone cannot do their job, I step in and take over until a more permanent solution can be created. That sometimes means frantic fielding calls from clients or workers at odd hours, even in the middle of the night, or during important family gatherings so that I can keep my business moving smoothly.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Think bigger - your vision for what you can accomplish is likely smaller than the place you'll end up, so start off planning for that success, and you'll achieve it sooner.
- Invest in support - you will not be an expert in everything, so hire folks who can do some of your tasks with greater skill and reliability than you could do.
- Make a plan - and then follow that plan, day in and day out, because at least then you will have a defined pathway forward that outlines each step you need to take and predicts the outcome so that you are always acting in your and your company's best interests.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://hamiltonfamilydoulas.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamiltondoulas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamilton_family_doulas/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leanne.the.doula
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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