This week, business partners Kristin Revere and Alyssa Veneklase of Gold Coast Doulas join us to talk about how they run their female-centered business. In addition to overcoming many of the same hurdles as many female business owners, Kristin and Alyssa have also faced an added layer of running a business in a field that hasn’t always been taken seriously. They have worked hard to legitimize their business and support other women who are also building their own businesses.
What they have built is truly inspiring. Listen throughout their interview about how they intentionally support other women in building their own businesses. They also discuss how they’ve built systems to make it easy to support as many women as they can with this work.
About Gold Coast Doulas
Kristin and Alyssa are partners in Gold Coast Doulas, a premier birth and postpartum doula agency in Grand Rapids and the Lakeshore communities of West Michigan. The firm was established in 2015 and has been recognized as a Local First Local Motion Nominee and a Top Women Owned Business by the Grand Rapids Business Journal in 2017. In addition to doula services, they also offer bedrest support, lactation consultations, placenta encapsulation and more.
Kristin Revere
Kristin Revere, CD, has always loved supporting women both professionally and personally. She served on the Executive Committee of her sorority in college and organized events on campus related to breast cancer. Kristin facilitated nonpartisan political trainings for female candidates and volunteered for many nonprofits focused on women’s issues. She also mentors students through the Cook Leadership Program at Grand Valley State University. She has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Central Michigan University and a Masters of Management in Marketing from Aquinas College.
Kristin became passionate about childbirth after having her daughter in 2011. She and her husband took Lamaze classes and she read every book on pregnancy and birth she could get her hands on. She had an empowering unmedicated birth with a nurse midwife despite developing pre-eclampsia at 37-weeks. During her postpartum time she joined the Healthy Kent Breastfeeding Coalition and helped coordinate events with them. She had her second child in 2012 and hired doulas. Kristin was so impressed with the level of care and support she received she started on the path to become a doula herself. Kristin began teaching Sacred Pregnancy classes in 2013, became a Certified Sacred Doula in 2014 and a Certified ProDoula in 2015. She is also a certified belly binder through Sacred Pregnancy and serves on their national leadership team. She is a certified postpartum and infant care doula through ProDoula and is Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED certified. Kristin was selected as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan by the Grand Rapids Business Journal in 2016. She was also voted #1 doula by Grkids.com in 2016 in their annual guide.
Kristin’s main passion as a birth and postpartum doula is to offer women and families resources, unbiased support and understanding.
She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, Patrick, her step-daughter and her two children. The Revere clan can be found at art galleries, parks, music concerts and community events. They love all that the city of Grand Rapids has to offer families. The Reveres live in a walkable neighborhood in Midtown and take many family adventures to the Farmers Market.
Alyssa Veneklase
Alyssa is a patient person with a gift for listening. Honesty, reliability, and trust are top priority. She has the ability to meet people where they are, truly understanding them, and providing the exact support they need.
She is driven by a strong work ethic; a desire to achieve to her highest potential, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. With an education in management and photography, Alyssa started her own professional photography business in Grand Rapids at the age of 19. Since then, she has continued to work with people, and has an understanding of all walks of life with experience as a sales person, manager, executive assistant, human resource assistant, and marketing coordinator. She also owned her own postpartum doula business before joining Gold Coast Doulas. You could say she’s a go-getter.
She’s also a problem solver and loves helping new parents figure out solutions, set goals, and make plans to reach those goals.
Alyssa was born a nurturer. This shows in her care and support for families during the postpartum period. She provides nonjudgmental support knowing that the needs of every family are different from day to day. Her work as a doula is fluid, ever changing based on the individual needs of each baby, mother, partner, and family unit. Each family will receive exactly the care they need.
Alyssa is passionate about the health and wellness of Mom before, during, and after pregnancy. Not just physical health, but emotional as well. If Mom is happy, there is a trickling down affect…Dad is happy and baby is happy too. She believes that it’s so important to keep your mind and body healthy so you can truly be in tune with your baby’s needs, your own needs, the needs of your spouse or partner, and the needs of your family as a whole.
Alyssa knows that safety is a priority. She holds a current First Aid/CPR/AED certification, has completed an OSHA 10-Hour Training and ProDoula Postpartum Doula Training, and holds a current ProDoula Postpartum Doula Certification.
Alyssa lives in East Grand Rapids with her husband and daughter. They enjoy traveling and working on their home.
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