228 MINISODE – DESTINEE BERMAN: Staying Sane and Serene

Destinee Berman helps spiritual leaders and healers bring their teachings online with her “Launch Your Calling” program so they can turn their dharma into a scalable education business. On today’s Wings minisode, Destinee shares important tips on how to balance your creativity with the business “busy work”, set clear boundaries and put processes in place, so you can release any self-sabotaging patterns and step fully into your light.

Melinda Wittstock:         Destinee welcome to Wings.

Destinee Berman:           I’m so happy to be here, thanks for having me.

Melinda Wittstock:         I’m excited to know what’s inspiring you right now.

Destinee Berman:           Well, I’m working on a bunch of things, but the top of mine is really figuring out how to balance this creativity flow with just the level of production that comes with leading and running a business. For me, it’s really finding the space for me to have the space to create new content and to be in that line of streaming, while in still also feeling good about my day-to-day and just having all the logistics handled. What comes with that is figuring out how to scale my team, who I’m hiring, and it’s really how to set things up in that way.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh gosh. This is a big challenge, I think, for everybody. Because we all have to produce so much content now, no matter what we do. But certainly as founders and entrepreneurs, there’s tremendous pressure to show up as a thought leader to be able to grow your business, and that means content.

Destinee Berman:           Yes, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:         So how do deal with that back and forth, or ebb and flow, between that creative inspiration of creating content on one hand and then all the systems, just the running of the business on the other?

Destinee Berman:           I’ve had to be rigorous, really, about the boundary set I set around my day. One, there’s a team in the systems and really sticking to the systems and process that we roll out. So they need approvals from me, we really had to chunk that out in terms of when and how we’re going about that. So that’s one piece.

And then the second piece is even though I can’t exactly control, on Wednesday is when I’m going to get my creativity flow, I’ve had to block out chunks of my day where I’m turning off Slack, turning off my Messenger. I’m going to my own practice of meditation before I then start to brainstorm on whether I’m creating a new product, working through and outline of an existing or a new course. Or working through social messaging and content that I’m layering in the story.

For me, what I found is really being strict about boundaries and following systems and process. And that’s what really allows that creativity to flow, or at least give it the best shot.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh gosh, that is so true. Because if you’ve got Slack and Messenger and all these things dinging at you, I mean, it’s very, very difficult to get into that zone and really where you’re creating content from a place of inspiration and joy. That con-

Destinee Berman:           Exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:         … that content is going to resonate so much more if it’s coming from that place.

Destinee Berman:           Exactly. I love Slack but my goodness, sometimes all the messages coming at me, it gets to be a lot.

Melinda Wittstock:         I call it infobesity. Really, I do. We have so much of this stuff and no wonder we’re ADD and ADHD. I mean, it’s impossible to focus. And so meditation is so, so critical to that. And so what are the big … I mean, we sort of talked about an inspiration and a challenge, but is there any other specific challenge in terms of growing and scaling your business? Or any other that you find tricky for you or for your clients, or for women generally?

Destinee Berman:           Yes. I would say for me and also in what I see in my clients’ business. It’s really finding that sweet spot in terms of what to invest in next or how much to invest. If I tie to that, that’s going to really give the biggest growth. So is it really bringing on that social media manager and what is the revenue strategy that’s tied to the next big investment, or the next investment that you make? Whether it’s team or spending more money on advertising or investing in update a copy in messaging, which can also get expensive.

It’s really finding that sweet spot between what brigs you joy, because a lot of the times, branding and design, it may or may not really impact conversion. But that’s what makes you happy and that’s what has you feel good. And also tied to that revenue growth and strategy and stream that is related and is going to pay off five, ten x fold.

So that’s always been the ongoing challenge because no matter where we’re at, we’re always wanting to look to go to the next level. With my client launches, if you’ve done a really strong successful launch, then it’s about, “Well, how can we grow that?” And so it’s always finding that next move in terms of investment and return.

Melinda Wittstock:         Oh gosh. Wouldn’t it be great if we had crystal balls on that?

Destinee Berman:           Yes. Yes, yes.

Melinda Wittstock:         And so but you’s got to go. You got to focus, you got to do one and just, I guess, hope. But a little bit more than hope. But sometimes you just use this information on things you don’t really know. But I love that you’re talking about leverage because that’s one of things where a lot of women get in their own way in business. That they struggle to scale because they’re too slow to ask for help or hire or create these kind of systems around them. It sounds like you got that nailed. You’re going in the right direction, which is awesome.

Melinda Wittstock:         What are your top three go-to pieces of advice for female founders who at various stages of the journey. Maybe they’re just taking the leap now or they’re stuck on the startup sticky floor or they’re just trying … They’ve got revenue, they’ve got traction or whatever, but they’re trying to get funded, they’re trying to get to that next milestone. What would be the top three things for any of those women that you would suggest?

Destinee Berman:           One, I would say it’s around having a clear, not only a revenue stream and a revenue model, but where’s the next level growth going to be at? Is it really about expanding your existing business model or is it about adding new products or you’re doing an upsell or you’re doing a cross-sell of your existing programs or schools of training?

I personally haven’t had direct experience with getting funding per se, and I would look at your current business and really identify, and do your best because some of this is also trial and error, around what’s the growth area and how are you going to achieve that? And usually, sometimes it’s really adding a new product or really redoing an existing product or expanding the price point like that. So that’s one.

And two, I would say that we have to be aware of not going back into our self-sabotaging patterns, and I deal with this and I see this with many of my clients as well, around being willing to be comfortable. And sometimes that looks like planting ourselves in the environment of other entrepreneurs that might push and challenge us to take the next step. Or sometimes it’s really pushing our comfort zone with spending more on ads. And even if our instincts tell us, “Okay, it’s going to be fine.” But we just get on our way or we slow things down or we just put that block on because it’s nerve-racking.

And the third thing is really cultivate our inner state so that we can be with this rollercoaster. I’m in the business of online course launches. And no matter how many launches that I’ve done, it’s always a rollercoaster ride because whenever you open doors and sales are slow or even if sales are fast and it’s like, “Oh my goodness, what if we stop here, or what if no one signs up, or what if not more people sign up?” And so really having that inner space to deal with the rollercoaster ride that comes with being an entrepreneur. And I think that with our inner states, it’s just never been so important as entrepreneurs.

Melinda Wittstock:         Gosh. It’s true. My listeners have had me say this so many times. If you want therapy, become an entrepreneur.

Destinee Berman:           Oh my goodness, I love that. I’d love that.

Melinda Wittstock:         Because the ups and downs will test you. Certainly character building. So that’s awesome. Those are three great go-to pieces of advice and thank you. So Destinee, how can people find you and work with you? There are so many people in the spiritual growth and the self-care space, more and more and more. Who are doing amazing things and have so many amazing insights, but don’t have the knowledge of how to get into that module and how to scale and how to get their messages out. So how can people find you and work with you?

Destinee Berman:           There are two places. One is to go to my website at destineeberman.com. You’ll get access to a free launch guide if you’re interested. And that’s specifically to scaling your online education portal. I’m also doing a free master class that you’ll find access there as well.

Destinee Berman:           And then secondly, I have really been putting a big focus on my Instagram and so if you follow me there, that’s one of the best way to send a direct message or there’s any questions, any comments, any shares. And that’s at desberman.

Melinda Wittstock:         Wonderful. Thank you so much for putting on your wings.

Destinee Berman:           Thank you so much for having me.