Making a career about of something I'm passionate about - Hannah shares her story
Taking a passion and making it a career.
Hannah built a Hypnobirthing business whilst on maternity leave.
Hannah trained with us to become a hypnobirthing teacher in May 2022 due to the lack of flexibility she was experiencing in her full-time job. In this blog post, she shares her story with us about creating a business on maternity leave.
I’m Hannah and I’m the founder of The Contemporary Birth Company. I have two little girls, 2.5yrs and 8 months old at the time of writing. I’ve always been terrified of anything medical. I (used to!) have a major phobia of needles and would pass out having blood taken so when I got pregnant with my first daughter, I was obviously terrified of giving birth!
I am a Behaviour Analyst in my employed work and everything I do has to be rooted in science, backed up by evidence and data so when someone suggested I read a Hypnobirthing book I was quite skeptical. My work trains me to be skeptical, but when I researched it I could see that actually, Hypnobirthing is actually science based!
I completed a Hypnobirthing course and felt like a different person going into my birth.
Family would comment on how I was going to be ‘shocking’ in labour, questioning how I was going to cope, but I felt so smug knowing how confident I felt about it!
I could make a career out of doing something I am super passionate about
When I returned to work after maternity leave I struggled with the lack of flexibility, having to drop my daughter at day care at 7:30am and not being able to pick her up until 6pm. I told everyone I could about Hypnobirthing and when I came across Love Your Birth Training, something clicked for me and I thought, wow, I can actually make a career out of doing something I'm super passionate about?! A few weeks after I signed up to the training I found out I was pregnant again so this really spurred me on to make a go of this new venture and I knew I would have the perfect opportunity to do so whilst on maternity leave!
What have you done so far to build your business? How do you balance this with your life?
I started creating a social media presence on both Instagram and Facebook as soon as I started my training which was May 2022. I knew it was important to build a following before I wanted to begin advertising courses and I took note of Abby’s advice to start shouting about it as soon as possible. I qualified in October 2022 and had my first one to one client in the November and another two by the end of the year!
My daughter was born in January 2023 so I took a bit of time out and have since had to adapt how I’m working. Finding pockets of time wherever I can (I’m currently writing this whilst breastfeeding her to sleep!) which is easier than you’d think!
Since qualifying I’ve taught 1:1 full and hypnobirthing essentials courses, choosing to teach them online so that I could stay close to my little breastfed baby, which is the beauty of having your own business like this - you have the flexibility to make things work to suit you!
I’ve ran online taster sessions this year and set myself a goal of starting in person Pregnancy Relaxation groups in July 2023 which so far have been successful and I absolutely love doing them. I’ve also started making connections with local businesses to help get my own business known in the area and have a had a few enquiries through word of mouth as a result.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
I’m almost a year in to my business, post-qualifying and I’ve been part of 15 women’s pregnancy journeys which is amazing and such an honour. I’ve also given birth in that time and I’m so proud of myself for continuing to build my business around my baby and my toddler. It’s easy to fall in to a trap of feeling like you’re not doing enough or could be doing better but when I actually sit down and think about what I’ve achieved in under a year whilst on maternity leave, I can can see that I’ve actually done a pretty good job!
What top tip would you share with someone who is thinking about becoming a hypnobirthing teacher?
Having your own business takes commitment and things (don’t often) happen over night. Pay attention to all your small wins and keep chipping away! Remember that you don’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. Your business is yours and it has to work for you - nobody else 🖤
What is next for your business?
I really plan to invest in myself over the next few months. I’m focusing on enhancing my website and have some training lined up to support with developing my business and marketing skills which I’m super excited about! I’m also planning to expand my services to in-person group Hypnobirthing courses following the uptake I’ve had for my pregnancy relaxation groups so watch this space.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Hannah, it's amazing to see your dedication and watch your business grow.
If you would like to train to become a Hypnobirthing teacher like Hannah, then why not take our quiz here to see if it's for you.
Abby x
