Case Studies

PROBLEM
Turns out that although Lauren was fantastic at identifying what her clients wanted to achieve with their marketing efforts, even when often they weren’t certain themselves, when it came to understanding what she wished to achieve with hers, she struggled.

As the result, together Lauren and I embarked on a six-week journey to identify and develop her unique personal brand. During our exploration, Lauren was not surprised to learn that developing a personal branding is about taking an active role in managing one’s image, showcasing her strengths and talents. She was also not surprised to learn that maintaining a strong, cohesive personal brand is one of the best ways to build a strong reputation. This is the exactly type of thing that day in and day out, she did with her own clients.

What did surprise Lauren was that the reason why she and so many of her client’s struggled to articulate their brand was that for a brand to be successful, it must be authentic, or true to oneself, and this notoriously difficult to achieve. Since ancient Greece, western men and women have been struggling to follow the advice of one of the best-known Delphic maxims ‘Know thyself’ and in turn, this dampens our enthusiasm to develop effective personal branding.

According to recent survey (https://instituteforpr.org/women-leaders-say-personal-brand-is-vital-for-success-but-most-dont-have-a-vision-or-plan/), although 94% of female respondents said that having a personal brand was important or very important, 55% percent did not have a personal brand. This result even though nearly 60% thought that a personal brand was more important for a woman’s business success than it was for that of a man. In short, although most women believe having a personal brand is important, most have not taken the time and effort to develop one.

SOLUTION

Lauren was happy to learn that astrology provides ready-made symbols that would allow her to identity her brand quickly and effectively.

For example, with her Sun in the curious, communicative, and quick-to-make-connections zodiac sign of Gemini,Lauren's (1) Niche, or that which identifies her from the crowd is that of the archetypal ‘idea’s person’. Little wonder she’s so good at her profession! Yet with her Sun making a tight aspect to the planet Pluto, she isn’t afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty. This is great news because her (2) Vision, or natural vocation/calling, is symbolised by Virgo suggesting she’d more attentive to details than she might otherwise care to admit.

Whilst exploring her (3) Mission, or her natural ‘way of being in the world’, Lauren learned that although she’d accepted what as a child she’d been taught about how girls/women ought not to be competitive, she was very competitive. More importantly, it is precisely her competitive spirit that her own clients most loved. This is a perfect expression of her (4) Needs, or that which makes her feel comfortable and safe, as symbolized by the zodiac sign of Aries.

Whilst investigating her (5) Values, or the core principles which give meaning to her life, Lauren concluded that the one thing upon which she’d always prided herself with her truthfulness and that was something she’d never compromise. Finally, Lauren was pleased to learn that her natural style of (6) Communication is symbolised by the zodiac sign of Cancer. This suggests that she would do well to take her brand into the public domain using inventive, romanticised graphics or ‘mind pictures’, something she was keen to do.

RESULT

As the result of our work together, Lauren has finished her website and with good reason, she’s exceedingly proud of her efforts. Can you find any of the themes developed during Personal Branding at work in Lauren’s gorgeous new website: goldilockscreative.co.uk

Lauren says "working with Debra really helped me refine my brand and be accepting of my competitive nature!"

PROBLEM

Although Susie already runs successful networking groups and has a long list of satisfied clients, she wanted to up her game yet was uncertain how to go about it. Well Susie knew, that soft skills like effective communication were essential for the future of her business.

Susie also knew that the research suggests that the spoken word makes up only 7% of that is considered necessary for effective communication; the remainder is 38% tone of voice and 55% body language, both of which are a constant challenge to manage.

As an amateur astrologer, Susie also knew that each of the twelve zodiac signs has a unique and preferred style of communication. She was keen to learn how she might make the most of these astrological complexities in her work. Together, we decided that this could best be accomplished in a specifically tailored 45-minute mini-session.

SOLUTION
First on the agenda, was getting a better handle on her own unique and preferred style of communication, which is symbolised by the zodiac sign of Leo. Susie was interested to learn this suggests that she comes across naturally as self-confident and self-assured. Both traits are important for showcasing to maximum advantage, her qualifications and expertise. Add to this the naturally warm, bright, and encouraging demeanour associated with Leo, and it’s not hard to understand why she’s been so successful.

But, as we all know, communication is a two-way street so in order to up her game, Susie would also need to understand more about the preferred communication styles of other zodiac signs:

• For example, with Taurus, Susie would have to work harder than usual to ensure conversations remained firmly rooted in reality. Taurus is not interested a whole host of great ideas, but instead only in those great ideas that have an honest chance of working in the here and now, today. To keep Taurus happy, Susie should focus on simple, practical solutions. Because Taurus is not keen to move away from her familiar routines, Susie would need to add a couple new communication techniques to her toolbox. The use of ‘yes sets’ could prove invaluable here. The idea is to get Taurus answering a few simple questions with affirmative and chances are good that with future questions, Taurus will continue rolling in the affirmative.

 • By contrast, when communicating with Gemini, Susie’s approach would require constant change and refocus. Unlike Taurus, Gemini is motivated not by how things will actually be done, but in satisfying her curiosity about all the marvellous ways that they might possibly be done. It’s not for nothing that Gemini is known as the butterfly of the zodiac. Unlike with Taurus, holding the attention of Gemini will always be a challenge. In such circumstances, the use of ‘anticipation’ loops might prove useful; deliver only a partial explanation with a promise to explain more fully latter.

 • Cancer provides yet another different challenge. To capture and the attention of Cancer, Susie should imagine that she’s speaking to an old and dear friend. As the result, her body language will work on its own to make Cancer feel comfortable. Unlike Gemini, Cancer doesn’t respond nearly as well to cold, clear logic as she does to a communication style designed to stir her emotions. Here the use of fairy tale and/or mystically inspired examples and stories could work wonders.

RESULT

As the result of that single session, Susie felt that she was in much stronger position not only to get her ideas across to others, but to ensure that others felt heard and understood by her. This supports Susie’s reputation as being caring and considerate. The only thing that could be better, Susie decided, was to gain more understanding how her Leonine communication style works with those of each of the other zodiac signs.

We agreed that would be the subject another 45-minute mini-session or perhaps even a workshop designed to reach a greater audience.

Susie says "Debra's insights really helped me better understand my own chart and give me direction in work and home. Astrology is one of my passions and working with Debra fired that even more!"

networkingwomen.org.uk 

breatheriseshine.co.uk

PROBLEM
Unfortunately sometime those with helping clients achieve their goals are not so great with business plans and finance. Danielle knew that if she was to get her new business up and running, she needed to get a better handle on her own finances. The past few months had been particularly difficult and due to a unfortunate run of ‘bad luck’, she’d lost a good deal of money.

Danielle also knew that she was not alone in this and that there were many tried and true methods for getting to grips with this.

She also knew, that for any of such methods to work for her, they needed to be in sync with her own personal strengths and weaknesses. One size does not fit all, she was always telling her clients. Now it was time to apply this to herself. Together, we decided that, given her current financial predicament, the best way to approach this was with a specifically tailored one-hour, one off-session.

SOLUTION

First on the agenda, was to help Danielle get a better handle on what had gone wrong regarding finances. This, we determined, had much to do with her natal Saturn in Sagittarius. This placement may be super inspirational, but it will always struggle to put anything concrete into working order. That her Saturn was in her 12th house (considered to be the place of hidden enemies and self-undoing) was also important. It was all too easy for her to fear her own success and thus get caught up in negative thought patterns such as ‘I can’t do it’. Such thoughts kept her caught up in every more painful negative spiral.

Luckily, as with everyone, Danielle had some natal planetary energies she could call forth to counteract this. For Danielle, this is a particularly powerful aspect between her Pluto (pure power) and Mars (personal energy). As we explored what this might mean in deeper detail, Danielle began to understand how in the past, she’d intuitively she’d used this energy to help herself out of problems just like the one now. If she had done it before, she could do it again but this time, with full consciousness.

Even better, transiting Saturn would soon be making an enabling aspect with her natal Mars/Pluto and so the opportunity to put this all into place and become the authority figure (Saturn) in her own life, was ripe. 

RESULT
As the result of that single session, Danielle was able to see that whenever she gave into the negative though patterns of ‘I can’t do this’, she had become her own worst enemy. But it didn’t need to be like this. She decided that using whenever such feelings threatened to overtake her, using the simple affirmation - ‘I can feel the fear and do it anyway’ would allow her to stop the negative spiral and get a grip. Affirmations are always helpful but may not be enough for everyone. The good news is that, this is exactly thing with which Danielle works with her own clients and so she is definitely on the case.

We agreed that we would review this as the transit progresses and also that Danielle would undertake professional financial counselling.

Danielle Says "working with Debra has totally changed my life and has opened me up me to things I didn't think possible"