I am wrapping up my certification as a birth doula through Birth Arts International. As a student, I am currently volunteering my services as a birth doula at our military hospital in England. (My husband is active-duty with the U.S Air Force.) Once I become certified, I would like to begin charging a small fee ONLY to cover the cost of transportation and supplies. I'm thinking $100 per client. A max of 2 clients per month. Women with deployed, TDY and wounded warrior spouses would be FREE of charge. : )

1. How do I go about establishing a business in this context i.e. with the military, relocating every 2 years, stateside and international etc.?
2. Is it even necessary to become a "registered business" with the amount of varied income I will be making? Red tape of being stateside vs. international?

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I two am a military wife. We just came from Alaska and are now in WA state stationed at Ft. Lewis. I started in AK and it was hard to market there. But here I am seeing lots of opportunity. I have joined two Facebook groups and in less than a week I was meeting with other doulas to get started as a back up doula to get to know the area hospitals and birthing centers. One thing I learned about marketing was to name your business like a google search. So Fort Lewis Birth Support or Services. This way you get yourself out there on search engines. I am listed with Operation Special Delivery and I have had one contact in less than a month. I am going to work on getting out brochures to the GYN clinic. My CAA is paying for my classes. Have you looked into them? $4,000 in funding for active duty spouses.

When you are stationed overseas, you are covered by SOFA I believe. I think this also includes tax related issues. I'm not 100% sure how this works but I would suggest inquiring about it with ACS. They should be able to direct you.

Moving every 2-3 years basically means that you will have to build your business up from the get-go every time you move. At least this is how it works for me. It's really challenging. The first year basically means settling in, marketing, building relationships within the birth community. It takes time to build up a reputation and moving every 2-3 years doesn't help.

I tried to volunteer my services at the local military hospital and was told "we don't need that here". I was jumping though hoops and loops to get women the support and was unsuccessful in the end. Unfortunately.

As far as registering an official business, you need to check what the States/City requirements are. They vary.

Hope this helps.

What classes are you taking if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks everyone! Sorry, I am just now getting these replies.