Questions... starting on LLC?

The very first thing you need to do is determine whether childbirth classes and lactation assistance is provided by local hospitals already. I considered doing this many moons ago and realized that in my rural area, there isn't a market for it. These services are offered through the hospital. The lactation consultant is paid by the hospital and not billed to the patient, so that's free. The childbirth classes cost less than I could afford to charge. It was a dissappointing realization. I'd already put together my lesson plans and everything. I'd designed classes specific to teens, non-traditional parenting situations, newborn care, lactation, the works.

All that aside, are you already certified in childbirth education or lactation consulting? If you do decide to go forward, these are steps to take to legitimize yourself. Doing the business end of things is fairly easy. You can likely Google your state's requirements for filing to create a business. Its the creation of classes, the designing of the classroom, the recruiting of business that is a lot of work. Depending on how in depth with visual aids and props you want to get, it can be very expensive as well. Then again, you could go bare bones and get started rather cheaply. The world is your oyster!

Our local hospital does provide a class but it is the normal hospital class. I would focus on a natural birthing class such as a bradley method, hypo babies etc... I wouldn't take that specific class but I would make it one of the 10-12 week natural birthing classes. those are just examples of what I mean :-)

There are no IBCLCs in the area. I am not certified currently but I would become a breastfeeding counselor which isn't a long course and work up to IBCLC. The technicality is as a Nurse I can independently do weight checks, assessments etc.. but an IBCLC is the person who can diagnose lip/tongue ties... as a nurse I can do that but as a breastfeeding counselor I can suggest someone see a pediatric dentist or a IBCLC to have them further diagnose.. I officially can't diagnose that as a breastfeeding counselor.

I just have no idea how to actually get something going?

First, you need to research. Ask l&d nurses and the hospital educators how much interest there has been in natural methods of childbirth. I know it will feel awkward asking potential competition about their observations with the intentions of competing against them, but this really is he best way to do it. Troll Facebook for parenting groups, see what the parents are saying. See if there are pregnancy groups, see what they are saying. I can't say this strongly enough - before you invest the time and money, you need to know if you'll actually be able to book your classes.

How long would each class be? Remember, many of these parents also work, some may have children at home. If you want to cater to multiple audiences (boost income to make your time invested worth it to you), consider also having a 6-8 week variety.

Now, if you determine that the market is there and worth it, create a business plan. It doesn't have to be as detailed as it would be for someone getting a loan or going into a partnership. But it does need to be detailed enough that you have a realistic idea of time, materials and money required. In it, you need to account for all props and costs, number of couples/mamas included (optimal is 6-8 couples if you want it small enough to give individualized attention when needed, but large enough that if a particular couple is more introverted, they won't feel awkward), location of classes and costs for that, what you will charge each couple (look up the local hospital classes before you decide this - your costs should be competitive to them or people will pass you over), costs for texts, if you plan to use them, etc.

I'm not sure if hypnobirthing or Bradley require certification before advertising that you use the and using them as a guideline for teaching. I will say using a name that is easily recognizable by anyone is a good idea because people will already know and trust it. (I chose Lamaze for that reason.) You might need to do some research on that, maybe even get legal counsel on it. Being a nurse certainly helps give you the credentials you need to be taken seriously, but that may be the only thing you're allowed to use.

The next step, which you may want to do concurrently with your business plan so that you know you are including all expenses, would be to devise a teaching plan. To make a successful one, you'll want to go back to what you've learned about adult learning styles and how to be both dynamic and effective. And - this was a hard part for me - remember to share information, not opinions. If you are a believer and advocate for natural birth, you might include ideas for intervention-free laboring, but it is important to also include information about interventions without being scary. Remember, birth can take unexpected paths, and if the laboring woman is afraid of that, she might look back on her birth feeling like she failed somehow, or she may even have feelings of PTSD. (I believe it was Penny Simkin who did research on PTSD after birth. I got to sit in on a lecture she did about it in Florida and she left me in tears. She actually put feelings I had been having about the birth of my daughter into words. Even completely healthy, flawless births can leave women feeling badly.) As an educator, your lesson plans can help women prepare for unexpected events and outcomes. You also want to be sure to be dynamic and engaging. After all, you want them to come back 9-11 more times.

After designing your lesson plans, you want to consider how you will market your classes. How do you effectively reach your audience? As you are doing this, start investing in the place and materials you will use for your classes. Also create your schedule, being sure to schedule ahead of time by at least 8 months ahead. Some people like to plan early! You'll probably want a new class to begin every 4-6 weeks, so that your classes will be overlapping. This way people can plan to come at the appropriate point in their pregnancy. It helps to have mamas around similar weeks of pregnancy, that way they can bond with each other through this experience.

Somewhere in all of this, you can do the legal part of setting up your business. You'll probably want a lawyer for this part, unless you're rather savvy at legalities. My state made filing incorporation papers so easy, I skipped the lawyer. Your state may not be so easy. Once you have a legal business, you can open your bank account. At this point, you can keep your business money separate from personal money except, of course, your pay checks. :)

I'd be careful with the word diagnose. I'm not sure that anyone less than a doctor or mid level provider can diagnose, but you can assess and report what you've assessed, of course. Some babies also are able to feed with a "tongue tie", as well, but as you know, not all can. You'll be able to add lactation services as part of your offerings as your classroom mamas give birth. If they love what you can do for them, they'll refer you to their friends.

Once you get word of mouth referrals, things will get a little bit easier, but that is going to take awhile. You will do a massive amount of work with very little reward for quite awhile. I don't mean to sound all doom and gloom, but it helps to prepare for that up front. That's why I say do a lot of research and that business plan up front. Know what you're up against before jumping all in. If it turns out you are able to do it and it will likely be a fruitful effort, then that will seriously be awesome! We really do need a lot more of women supporting women through this process. It's like becoming a nurse - you may get the basics down, but it takes having other nurses around you to know how to do it. Ages ago, moms and grand moms and sisters rallied around the pregnant woman in support of this transition. It's sad we don't have that as much anymore. Childbirth classes, when done right, can help fill that gap.

I was also going to offer consulting for creating Blessingways. You should look that up. I have a feeling you will love it!