The Secret of Success

Transcript

Please note this transcript was automated using an AI service. There may be some errors.

[00:00:00] Mel: Hello again, it's Melanie Jackson here with you, Melanie the Midwife, and we're continuing our series on exploring privately practicing midwifery here in Australia, and what you need to know in order to become a privately practicing midwife. And how good were those videos from yesterday when we spoke to Ashley and Georgina?

[00:00:17] Mel: They just... I'm so excited by the work they're doing, and I hope they helped you realize that there's things that are possible for you that you didn't realize as well. A few short years ago, they were exactly where you are, working in the hospital, plugging away, feeling dissatisfied. And now their whole career is just blossoming and they're loving it.

[00:00:38] Mel: Now in this video today, I promise to tell you the number one thing that you need if you are planning to go into private practice midwifery. The thing that if you don't have. We'll, we'll surely cripple your journey towards a successful midwifery practice. And I'm going to share that with you as we go on in this video.

[00:00:56] Mel: Now this is what's happening to you this week. If you've been here for the whole week and you've started to see the conditioning that we've been given as midwives, that we've been, that's, it's been making us think small and pushing us down to, uh, into a work that, into work that we just have to comply with, you know, they want us to work in hospitals and hold up the system and keep going with something that they've established.

[00:01:20] Mel: We haven't been encouraged to explore other options in career, but now, you know, because hopefully you've been here all week, you know that you can do other things in your midwifery career to control your own time and your own career activities. We do not have to be slaves to a system that is not serving you, it's not serving midwives, it's not serving women.

[00:01:40] Mel: And I want to encourage you to do better and do different in your career because this is absolutely possible. Now you know you have other options, you can't unsee this stuff. In the first video we talked through three steps you needed to satisfy the legislative requirements of endorsement and I encouraged you to plan your private practice along that path and to plot where you were on that journey.

[00:02:02] Mel: You know, sometimes we have to do some little hard things to get through. And then we also learned about the three main pillars of what it will be for you if you enter into private practice. The clinical midwifery work, the business side of things, and the legal side of things. And this can feel really big for people in business and in life.

[00:02:23] Mel: Sometimes we have to do hard things to get to the place that we want to be. And that's okay. We can do that. We do hard things. All the time. In fact, if you're showing up to a job that you don't really like every day, you're doing a hard thing, but it's wearing you down, not building you up. Now, if you're not willing to do hard work and show up every day in order to get a private practice up on the ground, then you're up off the ground, I should say.

[00:02:52] Mel: Um, I just think you don't want it enough. If you do want it, if you're here and you're at the end of this week's content and you're soaking this week's stuff up, I'm guessing that you are the type of person who could do hard things to make important things happen for you in your career. And I think if you've gotten this far, you're inspired and interested enough to keep exploring and take the necessary steps to make it happen for you.

[00:03:19] Mel: You know, like, um, Georgina spoke to us yesterday about doing one small thing. every day to get her closer to her goal. And that's what I've been talking to you about the whole time. Speaking to you about eating the elephant one bite at a time. And you get the IDEA. That's how she got things started, is one little bite at a time.

[00:03:38] Mel: Now, we're also talking about business through this week. You know, business is just one little step at a time. We talked about the basics, and no one is a business person until they are a business person. So I was encouraging you, don't let your lack of business experience or knowledge hold you back. We can work this stuff out.

[00:04:00] Mel: If you want it enough, we can work it out. You know, when you first caught a baby and you were training as a midwife, or you took a blood pressure, you didn't know how to do that exactly, but over time, every time you did it, repetition, You got good at it. It's the same with business. You just have to keep going.

[00:04:16] Mel: You just have to decide that that's what you're learning and keep going at it. And when I started out in private practice and midwifery, I was only 24 years old. I hadn't had kids yet. I'd only been to a handful of births. I hadn't even completed a new grad year. I just left being a student and was straight into private practice.

[00:04:35] Mel: And you know, I just graduated. I just threw myself into it, into the unknown and started a business and started providing midwifery care. I mean of course the whole beginning was clunky and confusing and I was unprepared and boy did I learn a lot of things about how to do things properly because I learnt how not to do them well.

[00:04:56] Mel: And over time there were lots of mistakes, wrong turns, but here I am now 15 years later. I'm in it, thriving, the business is overflowing and abundant. And I want to pass on to you what I know, and I want to make it happen for you as well. Don't get me wrong, you'll probably make your own business, business mistakes, and that's important learning opportunities.

[00:05:20] Mel: But if I can pass my learning on to you and save you some of that pain and confusion, then that's good for everyone. You don't need to make the same simple mistakes I did. You could start 10 steps ahead. Now when I share my story of how I started private, in private practice, you know, that I was young and inexperienced and not really a midwife yet.

[00:05:41] Mel: I was just so determined to succeed in private practice that I spent all these years pushing myself to create a sustainable working model. But it not only made private practice easier to manage, and made it also very financially feasible for me. It's a great working option. But the big thing, the big win is that it allowed me to fully engage with my family and the lifestyle that we've created.

[00:06:07] Mel: So it's one thing to be really satisfied in your work, but if that satisfying work doesn't match the lifestyle you want to lead or your family situation, And the way you want to live your life, there's no point in having a successful business. So, my husband and I, we live here in the Blue Mountains. We homeschool our two children and we also maintain a five acre hobby farm.

[00:06:29] Mel: My husband works for himself in his own business, he's self employed. Uh, you know, we're heavily involved in, in the community and we have a lot of friends and there's always people at our house. And being in private practice has allowed me so much flexibility to accommodate my other life commitments while still earning the money that we need to live as a family.

[00:06:50] Mel: But I don't have to work the hours that I don't want to. I mean, of course, midwives, uh, women go into labor. But the rest of this. can fit into the hours in your day that you want to commit to midwifery and you can leave available the other hours of your day for your family, for your lifestyle, for your hobbies, for whatever other things are needed in your life.

[00:07:12] Mel: You've got so much control over your time when you're in private practice. You know, like you guys, everyone, we have to earn an income. Living is expensive, but I also want to fully enjoy this life and build, that, that I want to build and give my children the best of me and the best life. And I can tell you that over a decade of working this way, since I've had children, my oldest is 10.

[00:07:37] Mel: I've worked it out. I just, I don't feel tired of working this way. I don't feel burnt out by my work. I feel free and autonomous. If I want to take a holiday, I can plan to do that whenever I'm ready, not whenever my workplace is ready. And I feel like I've worked out an effective and efficient way to work as a private midwife.

[00:07:57] Mel: And that's what I want to share. For years, I've been mentoring other midwives to enter into private practice. And every year I tell them the same thing. And I watch it work for them. I mean, we heard from Ashley yesterday about how she structures her work days around her kids. And Georgina is managing to create time for her grandchildren and her five grown children who are also thriving.

[00:08:19] Mel: She's employing her kids now in her business. She's only been in business for two years and she's got staff and she's acquired other businesses. Like, this is the power of private practice and breaking out of our conditioning. And so, um, in this video, I want to give you the secret to making a career in private practice midwifery work for you, for all those reasons I listed above.

[00:08:40] Mel: And here's the secret. If you take no other steps towards private practice, do not consider skipping this one. This one is 100 percent essential. Honestly, without this, I do not believe that here in Australia, in our political circumstance, where things are leveled against us moving into private practice, I do not believe that we could success without, have success without this.

[00:09:04] Mel: This is the secret to succeeding in private practice. And I'll tell you how I did it. Because 24

[00:09:13] Mel: year old with no midwifery experience should have a successful midwifery. practice, but this is a secret. I found a mentor who was already successfully working as a private midwife and who agreed to commit to me and I committed to her. And I actively linked myself into the community of other private midwives.

[00:09:33] Mel: Now, in those early years, I ruthlessly spent time and just unashamedly chased midwives. I went to networking events. I imposed my questions on poor people. I mean, we didn't have Facebook groups that are out now. If you wanted to learn something from someone, Or you knew that someone knew something that you needed, you had to go ask.

[00:09:55] Mel: You had to email, you had to call, you had to investigate, you had to ask questions. And that's what I did. I went to so many midwifery lunches and meetings and just really injected myself into the whole community. But the thing that made a big difference and the gateway to that was the mentor that agreed to take me on.

[00:10:14] Mel: Now the important thing is that the mentor that you choose has got to be successful. If you choose a mentor that's not doing that great in business, that doesn't have an excellent reputation in the community, then consider that you might learn some things that are going to lead you down that same path.

[00:10:30] Mel: You want a mentor that you really respect, that you look up to, that's someone who could teach you. So. That's it. If you can successfully do that, along with the things that I discussed in the videos earlier this week, you are on your way to a sustainable and successful midwifery practice. Now, the problem with that is, is that if you live in a place that doesn't have other successful midwives who could mentor you, like Jordina, who was the first midwife in her area in 15 years, um, or, you know, sometimes there's no network of private midwives in the area.

[00:11:08] Mel: They might be scarce, difficult to access, or if some of the midwives in your area are struggling themselves, or you can see problems within their own career. Or, or honestly, most of them are just so busy that they don't have time to mentor you. I mean, you've got yourself a problem because mentorship is the key way to enter into a successful private practice.

[00:11:30] Mel: So, I mean, there are only a few hundred private midwives working in home birth models throughout Australia. It can be really challenging to find somebody who's willing to invest in your learning and your success. And especially someone that you look up to. And, you know, who you can see is doing a good job.

[00:11:47] Mel: And I really acknowledge that my experience in finding a mentor was unique. It was really blessed. And without that midwife, I don't think I would be where I am today. I, I don't think anybody else would've helped me. And the problem is that without a mentor, there's a huge gap that midwives are forced to traverse and navigate if they want to enter into private practice.

[00:12:07] Mel: And I've seen it, I've seen the midwives on, you know, the Facebook forums just kind of asking really basic questions that they're trying to find answers to. And it's obvious that no one's helped explain it to them. And it's really hard to find because, We're not encouraged by any of the political people, you know, none of the legislation is motivating us to go in.

[00:12:26] Mel: So there is a gap between being a registered midwife working in the system, you know, to one who is working in private practice. There's a big gap in the, in the map here. There's no step by step guide. No one's offering a map for how to get from your work in the hospital getting to private practice and that's the big problem.

[00:12:46] Mel: And it's what's stopping midwives from moving into private practice because it's hard to work out. Now, this is the exact problem that led me to creating an actual mentorship program. A mentorship opportunity that fills this gap and gives midwives what they need to thrive in business. It's the gap. It's the map that you need from where you are now.

[00:13:10] Mel: Interprivate practice. That's what I've created and I've been running it for three years now, and this will be the fourth year and to date 120 midwives have been through my mentorship program including Jordina and Ashley who we heard from yesterday. And I remember the day so clearly when this mentorship was born.

[00:13:29] Mel: So I'd spent the whole day responding to emails from midwives who were looking for answers in how to enter into private practice and that's just what happened. I was already working in private practice. Midwives could see the work that I was doing. They wanted to do it and so they reached out and asked me and of course I wanted to make it happen for them as well.

[00:13:48] Mel: But I just said to my husband, Oh man, I've spent all day. you know, responding to these emails, but I feel really bad because I, I can't possibly give them everything they need through these emails. I don't have time to give them all of the information. So I almost feel like I'm setting them up to fail because I haven't filled every single gap for them.

[00:14:08] Mel: You know, I was helping them a little bit, but I really didn't have time to give them everything they needed to start in private practice. I was already busy with my own work as a midwife and I just. I just didn't have the time and energy to give them everything and he said, Oh, well, you know, how many are there?

[00:14:24] Mel: I said, Oh, it's three or four, not many. He's like, why don't you set up something formal that would allow for you to mentor them properly if you put your time into this thing. And, you know, that's how the mentorship started. Literally the next day, I, I sort of put an ad out on Instagram and asked if anyone would be interested in this.

[00:14:43] Mel: And before I knew it, there were 27 midwives in the first mentorship and every year it keeps growing. So, I mean, can you imagine what it'd be like to know that you could set up a business and become a privately practicing midwife? Without the stress and confusion of not knowing what to do next. Knowing that if you had a question, you could just connect with your mentor and get an answer.

[00:15:07] Mel: That you weren't bothering anyone by, you know, reaching out and trying to work out the problems in your business. Like imagine if you just, you were working on it and you hit a block, and you knew that there was just somebody out there that you could ask who knows the answer. It would just take the stress out of getting your business off the ground.

[00:15:24] Mel: Not only would you get an answer, but you'd get an answer that was tested and proven. Something that you knew was right, because I've done it myself, and I've watched other midwives take the information and mentorship that I've given them, and launch their own successful privately practicing business.

[00:15:39] Mel: Midwifery businesses in a really short amount of time. And this is what I'm offering you. The opportunity to be mentored by me for an entire year so that your private practice midwifery business can be as successful as mine has been, as Ashley, as Georgina, and as the people who've been through my mentorships.

[00:15:59] Mel: I've got no plans to slow down. I know I'm onto a good thing and I'm keen to show you how you as well can have a long and sustainable career in midwifery. And it will not, this kind of work will not wear you down as your current work does. Private practice midwifery is not full of moral distress.

[00:16:18] Mel: Tomorrow, uh, I'd love to share more, one more video with you. Uh, and I'll be really honing in on how much it costs to start your private practice business and also speak to you about the earning capacity as a private midwife. So tomorrow we're going to talk all about money in your business. And this is one of the big concerns from midwives.

[00:16:37] Mel: It's. is maybe they won't be able to earn as much as they're currently earning. So I'm really going to go deep into that. Let's talk about how much it costs to start a business, how much you could consider that you're going to earn. So if you are ready to move forward and really take the opportunity to master your journey into private practice.

[00:16:56] Mel: Make fewer mistakes than I made, and get a clear, sure pathway into private practice without being confused, then you are in the right place. This is the opportunity for you. There is no other mentorship like this in Australia. No one else is offering the opportunity like this, to have a completely supported mentorship guide you into private practice.

[00:17:17] Mel: I'll be there to hold your hand, walk you through each individual element of setting up your private practice. And I can't wait to share that with you because working in private practice has given me the life and work circumstance that makes me happy. I feel joy at how I can work autonomously as a midwife and I can show up for my family, for myself, and for the women I'm looking after.

[00:17:42] Mel: This can be exactly the same for you. under my mentorship and guidance and I'm committed to being there for you so that you can do this for yourself as well. And now I open this mentorship only once a year every October and I'll be sharing all of that with you in my next video. All the details will come and I'm sure you'll still have a lot of questions about private practice midwifery and we've covered some of the basics this week and you've seen it can be done and with some support from the right people.

[00:18:11] Mel: You can do it because it has been done before. So please, if you have more questions, just shoot me an email. I'd love to keep engaging with you on this and helping you clear this stuff up in your head. But for now, look out for the email tomorrow where we'll talk about all the financial stuff that goes on with Private Practice Midwifery, how much it costs to get started, how much you can expect to earn.

[00:18:33] Mel: I will share with you more on the opportunity to have me as your personal mentor to successfully launch you into Private Practice Midwifery. So that you can live a life with a job that you love and a job that serves you and your family and the families that you care for. Bye for now, I'll see you in that next video.