Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angie Taylor, Founder of Land Bountiful Ministry, located in Maysville, OK, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is currently shifting into the gap between birthing women and their choice of midwife. As more and more women seek freedom of choice regarding where and with whom they birth, many of their midwifery options are seeking permission from the state to serve birthing women in general. This essentially means that midwives are asking - and sometimes forcing - their state to remove from them the rights they already have simply because they do not understand those rights.
In other words, birthing women and many midwives are currently heading in opposite directions. Birthing women are seeking full autonomy while, at the same time, many of the current midwives are giving up their autonomy.
As a home birth midwife who's been actively engaged in this area of womanhood for 20 years, I am sought out by women who are claiming their right to birth freely with a complete understanding of what it means to take full responsibility for the outcome. These women express their frustration with the process of searching for midwives who are free to practice according to the direction of the women they serve.
My business is now offering coaching to midwives who are ready to claim and secure the rights they already have. This will give them the foundation they need to stand with the women they serve in securing and protecting their right to give birth where and with whomever she chooses.
Tell us about yourself
My journey to this point started with becoming a La Leche League Leader so I could offer mother-to-mother breastfeeding support. It was in this arena that I learned most of the breastfeeding challenges being experienced by women have roots in their birthing experience. This gave me the desire to do more, which led me to become a Bradley Method Childbirth Instructor.
As a childbirth instructor, I discovered how traumatic giving birth had become both in and out of the hospital. I served more than 40 couples who came through my class as their birth doula. I witnessed firsthand the uphill battle most couples fight. Bringing a tiny human into the world isn't about fighting. It's about surrendering. I also discovered that I couldn't tell couples to "just get a midwife and have a beautiful home birth." This gave me the desire to do more.
I enrolled in a midwifery program and began an apprenticeship. Being a home birth midwife meant I could at least attempt to ensure that the couples I served would learn the truth about birth...and they have. Along the way, I've discovered that licensed, certified, and/or registered midwives seem to be between a rock and a hard place. They desire to serve couples and honor what is physiologic birth while being confined to regulations created by those who believe that what happens in the hospital is the "safest" way and should, therefore, also happen in the home. Sadly, often times this means doing things that are contrary to "the evidence" as well as the internal knowing of the birthing woman. Why do they do it? Because they believe it's the only way they will be able to serve women.
I believe the answer lies in understanding the Constitution of the United States as well as the Constitution that is the Supreme Law of the Land for each individual state. These constitutions lay out the inalienable rights of all humankind as well as the rights the sovereign citizens give to the government. A midwife's inalienable right to earn a living lies within the pages of these two documents. I stand ready to support any midwife who is ready to learn about and secure her rights under the Supreme Law of the Land.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is that I'm still a business owner. LOL, my husband and I chose a long time ago to homeschool our children so that he could take any job anywhere within his industry. This was so that the kids and I could pick up and move whenever necessary. Needless to say, I've started my business in a variety of locations over the past 20 years.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Bookkeeping is a vital part of the bigger picture. Not tracking income and expenses keeps you from knowing the real level of your success (or failure). If you're borrowing from your household to pay your business expenses, it's time to choose to make changes or to close your doors.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Write out a business plan. Yes! Even if you're not going to use it to obtain funding from anyone. Writing out a business plan is very eye-opening.
- Re-visit your business plan annually. See what's fallen through the cracks and discover what you've accomplished.
- Know how to do the bookkeeping or hire someone to do it for you. Stay on top of this.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.landbountifulministry.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angietaylorfairygodmentor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angietaylorfairygodmentor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/angietaylorlbm
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angietaylorfairygodmentor/
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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