Lactation Business Coaching With Annie And Leah

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Stocking Your Consult Bag." The episode was recorded prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, and things have changed since then, but as home visits will always be a part of the lactation private practice landscape this episode was deemed worth running. Annie and Leah talk about their own home visit consult bags and how they have greatly shifted throughout the years to what they have now. They talk about how each of their vastly different commutes impacts the style of bag they can really have. They each share with us their systems for how they keep important items restocked and ready so they don’t have to go without.Annie shares with us some helpful resources for IBCLC’s, about the legal and ethical side of accepting free samples from companies that we might end up giving away to our clients. Annie and Leah also share motivational and tech tips with us about how we can better care for ourselves throughout the day."Then the other thing is lik

In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Annie & Leah interview lactation consultant, doula, and educator Bryna Sampey IBCLC about her policies and safety procedures for in-person consults. Bryna shares with us how she protects her clients and team, as well as the role telehealth plays in caring for families and working with lactation interns. We cover sanitization, personal protective equipment (PPE), and managing all of the complicated emotions that come up when thinking about in-person services when the world feels so scary.Bryna Sampey is an educator, mentor, lactation consultant, and doula. She has been working with families since 2006, becoming IBCLC certified in 2010, and organizing professional education opportunities since 2012. She has undertaken additional training and continuing education in the areas of oral restriction management, Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT), Primitive Reflexes in infants, TummyTime™, cultural congruency and competency, and counseling strategies. Bryna is also certified

In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Annie & Leah interview Rachel O’Brien, IBCLC about blogging, and how she uses it to complement her private practice. Rachel shares her process of creating blog posts and how that has changed over the years. We learn how we can make blogging work for us and our businesses, and why it’s not as intimidating as we might think.Rachel O’Brien is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) who earned her Master of Arts degree in human lactation in 2015. Rachel prides herself on providing real-life, guilt-free breastfeeding help and specializes in low milk supply, latch difficulty, tongue tie and lip tie, and LGBTQIA+ lactation. When she isn’t doing in-home visits for breastfeeding help or working as a lactation consultant at UMASS Memorial Hospital in Worcester, Rachel is often blogging about lactation or contributing as a breastfeeding expert on multiple websites. She uses her expertise, warmth, and sense of humor to help families to meet their breastfe

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Prenatal Visits". Annie and Leah dive into what prenatal visits mean to them and if either of them offers it as a service. Leah shares her motivation tip for us today around not feeling the pressure and guilt of offering every service under the sun as lactation consultants. They talk about how offering prenatal classes in your community could be a great way to market your business and develop rapport with clients before the baby even arrives. We learn some of the ways that getting that time and connection with the client before the baby arrives, could set the stage for a better experience overall.We also find out why prenatals aren’t Annie’s favorite but recognize that we don’t need to feel the pressure to offer every service in our business."And I'm way more excited by troubleshooting someone's actual situation than by educating them on a potential situation.” In this episode, we will cover: Motivation tip: Don’t feel like you need

In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Annie & Leah interview Rob Scheerbarth of Podcast Rocket about his journey of starting a podcast agency with his wife, and how they help brands share their stories and expand their marketing efforts to a world where your ideal clients are already listening.  Rob Scheerbarth is the Creative Director at Podcast Rocket, the podcasting agency he started with his wife. He’s always loved telling stories and that’s why he originally got involved with video games, because the idea of being able to tell an interactive story was really appealing to him.Rob first was attempting to create his own video game company, but he then realized that the biggest challenges these brands of businesses were facing, came down to awareness and marketing. So he and his wife ended up as the owners of Podcast Rocket, and they're helping brands tell their stories and reach out to their audience. As Rob is a storyteller at heart, he simplifies it for us and asks: What kind of story do you want t

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Our Favorite Books for Business, Entrepreneurship & Private Practice". Annie and Leah uncover some of the top books they have been loving related to having a private practice, and other business and entrepreneurial style topics. They talk about which books they go back to time and time again, and which ones have been on their “to-read” list for a while. They also talk about the best and easiest ways to realistically bring more reading into our everyday lives and how to get the most out of them even when reading might be a challenge for us.Some of these titles are well-known lactation books, but a few of their picks might just surprise you!“So organize your books, they sit around too long, read them and then when you're done, pass them on and get those great messages out into the world.” In this episode, we will cover: The book you might always refer back to (08:32) Books that are better consumed post exams (09:18) A book you can

Today Annie’s talking with breastfeeding medicine specialist Dr. Amy Schecter, MD, IBCLC about how we can be coordinating care for in-person services such as frenotomy while working with families virtually. She inspires us to remember that families are the decision makers, and that even virtually we can offer support and information that empowers them to meet their own goals.Dr. Amy Schecter graduated from Brown University with a BS in psychology and MS and medical science and an MD. She began her training in general surgery, but after having her first child 13 years ago and navigating her own breastfeeding difficulties, she developed a passion for breastfeeding support. Dr Schecter then shifted her career path to breastfeeding medicine in 2013. She started her lactation practice as an IB CLC doing home visits, then transitioned to working full time doing breastfeeding medicine. Dr Schecter has a private practice in Northern New Jersey where she specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of tethered oral tiss

You started out with one business model, but for one reason or another, you’ve had to make a shift. Maybe you’re adding a new service, or maybe you’re pivoting in an entirely different direction. Either way, transition is a challenge, and you need to make sure you’re giving yourself extra love to get it all done.In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Leah interviews Brandie Mitchell, RN about her experience of pursuing a career and field she never thought she would see herself in - nurse coaching. She talks about what it has been like with pivoting her business to support her clients better in a more of a coaching capacity, as what was once a majority of her business with massage therapy has been put on hold. She breaks down for us some of the simplest ways to get back to the basics with our self-care. We almost couldn’t even believe how accessible she makes it feel for all of us! "It takes time and it takes support and accountability and really uncovering deeper roots of limiting beliefs and things that ge

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "10 Tips for Virtual Visits.” From prepping yourself to get into the right headspace to setting up your space and having the right tools ready to tech tips and best practices, Annie and Leah have ideas for every aspect of your consult workflow to best maximize every second for the benefit of the family on the other end.“You know, where you're adapting to a new situation, they're really hampered right now because of the conditions and maybe even what they've been through in the hospital and their own fears about being a new parent during this time.” In this episode, we will cover: Shifting gears before online consults (02:45) Handling payments for maximized consult time (07:07) Setting up our space with resources (11:03) Building in time buffers for virtual calls (18:02) Creating a strong internet connection (22:46)  Links and Resources https://paperlesslactation.com/blog/virtual-consult-best-practices-for-lactation-consultants https:

In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Annie & Leah interview Nichelle Clark, Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, about her amazing story of relactation during the pandemic. Nichelle offers valuable insights on how lactation consultants can support families who are providing their babies with expressed milk. As Nichelle puts it, “Pumping is breastfeeding” and Annie & Leah are here for it!Nichelle Clark, CBS is the owner of Sunshine and Rainbows Lactation Services. Nichelle’s journey is unique in that not only did she solely pump for 17 months, but she has started relactation during the pandemic.Nichelle focuses on normalizing exclusive pumping because it is not something that is usually talked about. Nichelle struggled a bit to find a place where she felt connected to the breastfeeding community. By sharing her store, she helps other families feel less alone and inspires other lactation professionals to push themselves to be better able to support these families.“And that's why like being told you'r

In this bonus episode of Ask the Expert, Annie & Leah interview Chanelle Andrews CBS about her experience working with a dream team of non-local lactation colleagues to sponsor a virtual screening of Death by Delivery as an advocacy event for Black Maternal Health Week. Spoiler alert: it was a big success. Chanelle Andrews owns and operates her own practice, Hey Mama Lactation and Perinatal Care, while also interning as a breastfeeding peer counselor at WIC. During her experience as a new mother, while struggling to figure out all the things including breastfeeding, Chanelle longed for a community of women who were dealing with the same things.Throughout her own journey, she realized she didn’t look like or share the same experiences as most of the other women around her. Chanelle is a strong advocate for bringing to light the black maternal mortality crisis in the US. While her plans to run a community event around this topic had to be changed, that didn’t stop her and other lactation professionals from

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Why We’re Falling in Love with Virtual Visits." They talk about some ideas for moving forward with your private practice, continuing to help families, even if you're doing something you've never done before if this is your first time doing virtual visits.Annie and Leah also talk about how these virtual visits don’t have to be the reaction to what’s going on and something we're forced into doing. We can take this opportunity to start to seek out our strong points and see the benefits that virtual visits keep families and ourselves safe during this time.“If we just changed our perspective of ourselves, it helps you the way you're going to come to your client, but it also helps how you're going to come to those that you want to promote your services to as well.” In this episode, we will cover: Changing from reacting to an opportunity Spreading our reach virtually Better utilizing visits and schedules Developing more offerings Clients o

We're stepping outside the lactation world to talk with Amber McCue, owner of Three Boudoir, an in-person photography business that recently went virtual.Amber is the founder of Amber McCue.com where she consults with small business owners on their growth. She is also the co-founder of threeboudoir.com and thevirtualphotoshoot.com. Amber has a talent for overcoming obstacles and helping others do the same.We talked with Amber about her thought process in creating and marketing these new offers and got insights that we could easily translate into our private practice service offerings.“ There are great things about virtual. It's quick, it's easy, you hop on the phone, there's not a lot of prep time. You can be a little bit more casual or you can be ...there's a lot of flexibility with it.” In this episode, we will cover: The beauty of having a business partner The importance of giving yourself time to pause and rest Benefits of taking your business virtual Being creative when taking your business online  You c

We feel like we're updating our websites every other day as we add new services in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since so many of you may be doing the same, we thought we'd rebroadcast our episode all about website creation.As a private practice IBCLC your website is usually the first contact your prospective clients will have with you and your business. Making your website easy to navigate and quickly get the necessary information is essential for a new and tired parent. In this episode, Leah and Annie share their resources for online scheduling, HIPAA compliance, website design, and more.“Website - it’s the new business card” In this episode, we will cover: How to make an impression - Your website is the first source of contact with your clients. The importance of mobile compatibility - New moms are tired! Help them by making your website navigable during 3AM feedings. What do I include on my website? Annie and Leah share tips on what you should and shouldn’t include on your website. The Final Step

We're all taking a second look at our charting and documentation strategies as we pivot to virtual to meet the needs of families at a time when home and office visits have to be limited. Documenting what happens at a lactation consult is super important for so many reasons, but figuring out just want to say and how to say it can be challenging. In this episode, Annie and Leah will explain their approaches to charting and offer you tips and strategies for making this critical task less overwhelming. Whether you’re paperless or love your clipboard and folders, this episode will help you streamline your charting workflow and feel confident in your documentation.“It didn’t happen unless you write it down”In this episode, we will cover: What is lactation charting? Get a clear, concise idea of what charting should be Why do we have to chart our lactation consults? There are important medical and legal reasons for charting What are the biggest challenges and time sucks when it comes to charting? Charting can get i

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Policies and Procedures for Lactation Private Practice". They talk about its importance, from training new hires to ensuring your own well-being to render the best service possible.Annie and Leah also talk about the most efficient tools they use to share procedures and organize: Loom videos and Annie's Workbook. If you are feeling stress or anxiety about your private practice, this might be the best time to review which of your policies actually work for you."Really try to find processes and procedures and policies that bring peace of mind. I know this kind of brings me back to a lot of people have very firm boundaries around follow up care or around how you're going to do your intakes." In this episode, we will cover: Policies and procedures explained Creating policies and procedures: Using Loom, Spruce & Annie's Workbook Annie’s Tech Tips: Use headings to create a table of contents Leah’s Marketing Tips: Be mindful of your pol

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Working with Referral Sources." Having referrals works both ways: it is a priority to service your clients when you are not available and it is also important to cultivate a relationship with others to become a trusted referral for their own business.Annie and Leah share their own personal strategies to gain referral sources, as well as help colleagues to position themselves to become the go-to referral of their area. They also discuss the ethics of a referral relationship and how easy it is to become unethical because of the freebies that some people give you."When we go and meet with referral sources or we're putting ourselves out there, I know sometimes it's intimidating so we might just kind of tense up and not really be ourselves and kind of be very stiff and maybe just give the answers you that you think the other person might want to hear. And there really is a lot of drawbacks to that because one, I think people read that. Y

This episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Is an Office Right for Your Lactation Practice?" There are several options to move into an office setting as an IBCLC, from setting up in a physician's office to sharing an office space to building your own home office.Of course, there are pros and cons to each office setting. It would be wise to evaluate on a quarterly basis to see which option is best for you or if an office setting is even the best fit for your business."So I think there's a lot of possibilities. It would be something, if you were going to look into having your own office, maybe finding your own space to take over to really sit down and do an official business plan and sit down maybe with your accountant or hire an accountant if you don't have one or get a business coach to really run the numbers and see what are the possibilities here?"In this episode, we will cover: Office setting 1: Working in a physician office Office setting 2: Shared office setting Office sett

Today's episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called "Why IBCLCs Need Therapy." There are so many layers of challenges, from staying ahead at the clinical level to compassion fatigue to conflict with third parties, that self-care has become a primary concern.The good news is that there are many healthy coping mechanisms and strategies, such as leaning on a trusted support team to seeking therapy from mental health professionals. Getting the help we need improves our stress levels and, by default, makes us more effective in providing help to our clients too. "If you feel like you might want therapy, just get therapy. There's no harm in getting it. And even having the feeling that it might be helpful to you is probably a sign that it will be." In this episode, we will cover: The various layers of challenges of an IBCLC Coping strategies Getting therapy and recommending it to families too Annie’s Tech Tip: Use a camera not your phone to take photos Leah’s Marketing Tip: List down 5 people

In this episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah talk about all those moments when things do not go as planned and how to work around them. From minor issues like calling a baby by the wrong name to more major problems like wrecking your scale during a consult, Annie and Leah share some real life disasters that they had to deal with and, by the end of it, the solutions they came up with right at that moment. They also explore another important life lesson in all this which is learning to give a genuine apology when you find yourself at fault. "I just have to overcome that feeling that I have to be perfect and that's something that is an ongoing process. I mean, I do know that when I'm the one who makes the mistake that there's a lot of shame involved for me. I get embarrassed. I don't want to admit it. I want to pretend like it never happened. And recognizing when I take the step to just apologize if I'm in the wrong, and I say I'm sorry, and then usually that leads to someplace good."In thi