409 Debra Silverman: Ask For Help

Women Innovating Networking Growing Scaling – that’s WINGS … I’m Melinda Wittstock, my mission is to help women take flight to soar to the success of our dreams in business and in life– and create and grow businesses in alignment with our passion and purpose.

On this special Mentoring Minisode of Wings of Inspired Business … we talk about why mentors are everything in business, and how to succeed, we must all be willing to ask for help. Often women get pulled in many directions, thinking we have to “do it all” to “have it all”. So today we also talk about how to stay in balance and never feel “spent” or burned out.

Here with us today to provide her insights and inspiration is …

Debra Silverman.

Debra is a gifted astrologer with more than 40 years of professional experience helping thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personalities.

She works with families, individuals, couples and business owners – to give them clarity and direction that saves a lot of time and trouble. Through her online school and YouTube Channel, now with 8 million views, Debra shares a unique psychological-spiritual model, combining her expertise in Esoteric (soul-centered) Astrology with her extensive education in Psychology to help those going through major life changes, especially crisis and the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

Debra will be here with her advice in just a moment on our Mentoring Minisode and speaking of mentoring …

And now to the inspiring Debra Silverman.

When Debra was just 20 years old, she met an astrologer who changed her world forever. It was then that she realized the stars in her own world had aligned just right, and she had found her life’s purpose.

Debra went on to study the mind and body, and in more than 40 years of professional experience, academic study, and private practice, she’s helped thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personality and the four elements: water, air earth, and fire. Her work with entrepreneurs, families, individuals, and couples has her standing out in a sea of therapists and coaches.

Today she’s going to share her advice beyond astrology, leveraging it of course, for how women can show up their very best as leaders and in business.

Debra Silverman

Debra Silverman is on a mission to help business owners and entrepreneurs leverage astrology and their unique personalities for balanced and sustaining success. Today on our Mentoring Minisode, Debra shares the power of mentoring and why asking for help is always the key to success.

Melinda Wittstock:         Debra, welcome to Wings.

Debra Silverman:             Thank you. I’m so glad to be here.

Melinda Wittstock:         Yeah, me too. I’m really intrigued by how to apply things like astrology to business and we’re going to dig into that a little bit. But first I want to know what’s inspiring you right now?

Debra Silverman:             I’m inspired, believe it or not, by the sensual world of the elements. So I am someone who finds herself outside a lot and actually embodied all of the theories in the spiritual materials that we learn. So I am inspired at the moment I’ve been doing a European tour, going through different towns, going through different cities and presenting and teaching. And it’s just been an inspirational experience of yummy food, alive, embodied and making sure this life is being eaten alive. Because I am all about letting life feed me.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh, how lovely. I mean, if you’re in that kind of mode, it means you’re in the present where the power is. Yeah?

Debra Silverman:             Exactly. Yes. Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:         Exactly. So everybody has a challenge in their business. And I think in entrepreneurship, the ups and downs are kind of part of the way because there’s so many things beyond our control, and we all have challenges as we grow and scale our businesses, and just run them day to day, and make sure that our businesses don’t take over our lives. We have nice full lives. I like to de-stigmatize those challenges, and what are some of yours?

Debra Silverman:             Okay. I think the best way I just overcame one of my biggest challenges is I brought in a structural coach that is bringing the business really hard stabilized ways of running the business with protocols and everything’s getting nailed down. So where one side was more of a freewheeling and spontaneous, the business has gotten so big and so successful that I had to structure it and it’s really been an asset. Luckily, it’s run by a woman. So that’s really helping kids keep the spirit of it because I think for me, as a woman business person, I love being so much family and having my whole company so family-oriented that I can neglect what’s required as far as keeping it really tight. So it just recently, we’re having this wonderful experience with company that’s really helping us put all, nail it all down.

Melinda Wittstock:         Mm. That’s so important to have the structure in place. I mean when you grow beyond, you know, like a tiny team, you have to have those processes in place and preparing for success is a good thing. I find a lot of the most dangerous part of a business is when you suddenly have so much demand, you’re so successful, but you don’t have that in place. And then it’s very, very difficult to even survive in those moments.

Debra Silverman:             We have to review right people, right seat. We had to make sure that everybody was in the right skill set. We had to make sure the cycles were all sitting for them as far as where they were in their life. We just did a huge review and it was very fulfilling and really productive.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh, that’s wonderful. What would be your top three go-to pieces of advice for female founders, women business owners, perhaps you can draw on like what you might’ve told your younger self? What are the top three?

Debra Silverman:             I think the first was which really helped me is I have three mentors that I lean in on, and to not be afraid to ask, and to always say … Yeah, so that was, and I’m good at that now. I didn’t start that way, but now I realize their input and their experience has fed me, and I really leave myself open to get their point of view. So I’d say the first one is knowing how to ask for help and having people in your back pocket that you know you can trust. The second one-

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh, that’s such good advice. Yes. [crosstalk 00:03:44]

Debra Silverman:             That’s just really helped me. The second one is it’s going to sound strange, but because I’m an astrologer, I hire people according to their charts. So hiring the right person is really important. Where somebody thinks they’re good at something, they get into the business and you can see they’re getting bored because it’s not… They’re good at it, but it’s not really their calling. And so I’ve figured out how to make sure before I hire that they, I mean it’s just particular to our gift because I know astrology so well. Let me look at your chart. Uh oh this is not a good time for you, for me to be hiring you, and I’ve had too many bad experiences now to not pay attention. So the second one is really paying attention to the employees, the time cycle they’re in, and their skill sets so I’ve got everyone in the right seat.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh that’s profound. I mean I just think if you’re armed with that kind of knowledge, Gosh, it would save you so much time. I mean not only do you have happy employees, but you have, you avoid problems. You avoid that kind of having to fire somebody or oh my gosh, what a wonderful way to go about it.

Debra Silverman:             [crosstalk 00:04:43] There’s someone on our team who is a little bit grumpy, it’s her personality type. So we know that about her. She’s so good at details, she’s just not really funny. But then there’s the other person who’s really good at socializing and she’s not so good at details, but she’s so good at PR. So yeah, it’s been so helpful to be able to accept people for who they are and their quirks.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh, I love that. What about advice number three?

Debra Silverman:             And I think the third and probably the most important is that I am not someone who overly achieves at the expense of my balance. So nothing comes above my balance, which means exercising, being outside, making sure I’m in the water, swimming, biking. I have a schedule, my person that my assistant knows this, that nothing takes me away from my being able to stay balanced. And if I can stay balanced, the rest of the game goes smoothly. So that took a while to learn too, to how to put myself in the front.

Melinda Wittstock:         That is such an important advice for women because all too often we think about ourselves last and that’s a disaster all around. We think we’re being heroines or something, but no.

Debra Silverman:             And now I really… Work does not steal my energy anymore. I’ve never spent, I’ve never at that expense of stressful, oh my God, I’m losing it. I won’t let that happen. And so it’s created a really good balance for me in so many ways because I keep my priorities straight.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh Gosh. I love it. So Deborah, I mean every business owner could obviously use your services for hiring and firing and much more besides. How can people find you and work with you?

Debra Silverman:             I have a website at three words, Debra, D-E-B-R-A DebraSilvermanAstrology.Com. We actually have someone on our team who specifically works with entrepreneurs. She specializes in companies. So there is someone that’s been working in that arena for a few years now and that’s a definite skillset. How do you hire, how do you fire and what’s the personality types that will work best in your business?

Melinda Wittstock:         Mm, I love it. Well thank you so much for putting on your wings and flying with us.

Debra Silverman:             Wee.