Naomi Soncag

I attribute my success to the Lord, absolutely. He is at the forefront of everything. Any success that I've had has really come from Him and His grace. When I was working in banking and struggling financially because they kept hiring offshore workers and cutting my bonuses, I kept asking the Lord what He wanted me to do in this season. He led me to the International Doula Institute website on Mother's Day after I had prayed for 4 months about whether to step into this work. He really led me to just step out in faith and take all four courses. The faith has carried me through it and made sure that it came to fruition. It was tough for a while, believing something I wasn't really seeing, not having a client for a while, wondering when the next client was coming or when I'd get the next payout. But you have to keep serving in the midst of it, keep showing up, keep doing something to advance your business regardless of whether you're making anything or not. Those $0 months were really tough, but the Lord keeps bringing clients, and every phone call that I get brings me strength and faith.

The best career advice I've received is that the number one business strategy is love. Another piece of advice that has really shaped me is that you're moving at the speed of your obedience. That really taught me that the quicker we obey God, the quicker we advance. These principles have guided how I run my business and serve my clients.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to journal with God for everything. Ask Him the key questions that you're lacking understanding and wisdom in, because God will guide you in everything, but you have to ask Him the questions. We often ask what He wants us to do, but we typically don't ask how and why, you know, those sorts of questions. All the other W's and H's that we just forget to ask, or don't think that we need to ask, or whatever the case may be. But He's got all the answers. We just have to ask them.

The biggest challenges I've faced have been financial ones, especially starting a business with zero dollars and just going on faith. Having those $0 months has really been tough, not having a client for a while and wondering where the next client is coming from. You have to keep believing and serving even when you're not seeing results. As for opportunities, I'd love to expand my business as financial abilities allow. I currently have a virtual assistant, but I'd love to have somebody over my social media because that can be very daunting. Social media is a full-time job in itself. I'd also love for somebody to be able to do my financial stuff because that can be daunting as well. Having help in those areas would free me up to really focus more on my clients and just be one-on-one with them.

The values most important to me are definitely God first, and loving others the way God loves us. Keeping Jesus at the forefront is essential. Trust is a big one for me, being able to trust others and also being trustworthy myself. Patience is another huge value. Patience is a virtue, and we have to learn patience. We have to be very patient when we're doulas, and that extends into all areas of my life.