Rising Star Systems

Coaching for Creative Professionalsand the Professionally Creative

When I started out as a coach back in 2001, no one really knew that “coaching” wasn’t just something athletes needed. Today, the world has certainly changed! More and more everyday people understand what coaching is (and isn’t) and may even be considering this type of support for themselves.

If you’re still not exactly sure what coaching is, you can read the Coaching FAQs.

Hey Debra…..you are a very wonderful, kind, smart and generous gal. Thank you for all your time and help. Thinking of you tonight. Your pal, Sloan

Still, the first question a lot of people ask me is, “How does this work?” Well, you start by filling out the Coaching questionnaire (just click the button to start). I will evaluate the answers and come back to you with the option that I believe best fits your needs and your budget. If that option is indeed private one-to-one coaching, then we will schedule a free, no obligation discovery session to talk about the issues you’re facing, establish your goals, and evaluate whether or not I am the right coach to help you achieve them. Coaching is an intimate relationship, and if the chemistry doesn’t work and we aren’t a good “fit,” the coaching will be less effective for you — and much less fun for me! Once we’ve decided that, yes, we both want to move forward with this coaching partnership, we work together to establish a plan and get you into action going after your goals.

I accomplished my goal of signing with a top literary agent the first month I was working with Debra. The lessons I’m learning about goal-setting, my mind-set, and my willingness to take responsibility for my life will continue to propel my career forward. My self-confidence is at an all-time high! And hey, I’m just getting started!

If you’ve had trouble setting goals in the past, don’t worry. I have 15+ years of experience helping people identify and language their goals in a way that is inspiring, exciting and clear. And once those goals are set, I’ll hold you accountable to taking clear, specific action each and every week to make them happen! If that sounds like the kind of help you need and you are ready to commit your time, energy and financial resources to working with a coach to achieve your goals, Click the button below today to start the process and discover if I am the right coach for you. 

Before I worked with Debra Russell, I longed for more time to create my art. I was drowning in administrative overwhelm. I had products and processes in place but I lacked some significant time management and business skills. Debra gave me a wealth of tools to see how my days were actually spent, identify where systems were needed and release more time to paint. With clear insight, patience, and humor she taught me to streamline tasks, save time and money, relieve stress and raise the level of my art career. At all times she was my advocate and cheerleader who kept me focused on my best and most productive self. She showed me, by example, how to use my strengths, keep moving forward and celebrate my progress along the way. Thanks to Debra, I gained the confidence to exhibit my work in a way that felt authentic and unique, with professional and efficient systems to support me.
When I began working with Debra, I was in the dark with regard to our finances. I had dreams of going to France, but never thought we could afford it. All I knew was that our credit card debt was growing and I didn’t know what to do about it! Debra enabled me to gain solid control over my finances. With systems in place, we’re paying off our debt and saving for the things we want. And no more money drama! Gone is my anxiety over money. I thought a budget meant deprivation! Instead I discovered tremendous relief, power and freedom. And I’m going to France without creating more debt! A big thanks to Debra for helping me to replace my head-in-the-sand money habits with easy, practical and sensible routines. And I’m teaching my children healthy money management so they grow up with the same power and freedom.

Coaching Packages

I offer a variety of Coaching Packages designed to give you the right amount of support and intensity to suit your goals, lifestyle and resources. Keep reading for more details. Prices will be discussed in advance of your initial session.  I accept Visa/MC/Discover and PayPal. If you are thinking, “Boy, I’d love to work with Debra – but she’s probably too expensive,” please don’t hesitate to start the process.  You may find that the cost is less than you expect. And I will help you find the right level of support to fit your budget, your available time and your needs. Speaking of time, please note that in addition to the time in coaching sessions, you should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours each week between sessions taking significant action to realize your goals. But isn’t that the point? For you to take the right action at the right time to get you to your goals? Plus, if you need additional help, support is available by e-mail and telephone for all of my private coaching clients. 

At the time I met Debra, I was working 12-14 hours a day on music production, writing, engineering, producing, going to conferences, designing websites, writing newsletters, etc. I worked until I felt sick, but nothing really changed. I was getting nowhere fast. I began coaching with Debra. We started very structured. I created excel sheets and tracked every bit of time I spent on activities. We began breaking activities out, was it marketing? was it creative? was it production? was it budget? Debra also had me work intensively on goals, internalizing goals and breaking them into doable chunks. What became obvious over time is that I was spending 90% of my time on the least important aspects of my business. I had no balance. Through work and feedback with Debra I was able to work less, accomplish more and most importantly to set up systems that I didn’t have to reinvent over and over the way I was doing before. Problem solved. A second major block presented itself. Feelings of guilt and shame made it difficult to network and build a successful business. I was unassertive, apologetic and unwilling to really pitch my skills or my work. Debra did one NLP/hypnosis session using some fairly modern psychological techniques (I’ve since researched them) and it was like someone turning a switch. I ceased to feel guilty, I no longer felt the need to be apologetic about my craft. To make a long story short. As of this moment, I have 20 songs signed to publishers and libraries. I have produced other artists and I facilitate a monthly songwriters group at a local studio where I give feedback and encouragement to other artists and songwriters. I’m also now a practicing therapist and treat addiction, trauma, depression and anxiety as well as occasionally facilitating addiction groups. I continue to use Debra’s techniques, I continue to manage our finances with the tools she gave me. Essentially she helped change my relationship to business, money, success and other people.

I offer the following packages for coaching:

Mastery Lab

A group coaching program that is part of the Artists Marketing & Business Academy, the Mastery Lab provides expert coaching as well as a dynamic community of people just like you, working to expand their Mastery in their business and their lives. The Mastery Lab is a one-year program that can be renewed annually.

Private Coaching

This package includes two 55-minute coaching sessions (by phone or video), scheduled monthly, for a minimum of six months. It is best suited to someone who is working on 2 to 3 projects or goals and wants time between sessions to take action to achieve a high level of results. After the initial six-month coaching period is complete, your coaching will continue for as long as you like, until you give 30 days notice. Also Included in Your Private Coaching Package: You will have full access to the Artists Marketing & Business Academy AND the Mastery Lab! The Academy includes over 100 hours of curriculum, with new content being added all the time. The Lab adds coaching to the curriculum and a Mastermind group made up of like-minded creative entrepreneurs just like you. 

While I can and occasionally do set up individual “one-off” sessions, I don’t recommend them. I feel much of the value of coaching is lost without the consistency of support over time. If, on the other hand, you would like more support than two sessions per month, please contact me directly and we can design a package that is more suited to your needs.