Voyage Austin feature of Vine Collective, Steph Silver

Hidden Gems: Meet Steph Silver of Vine Collective

Original Article January 23, 2024

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steph Silver.

Hi Steph, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been in marketing for almost 20 years and love it. After helping build an Austin agency for 12 years, I started my own business in 2018. I did this for many reasons. One was that I wanted to spend more time with my kids and family than in traffic. Thank goodness I made that choice! The other reasons had more to do with feeling like I was serving the right clients and serving them holistically. My mission is to help humans thrive. With branding and marketing as one set of skills, that’s where I began with my business, Vine Collective. It’s become clear to me over the years that I have a greater mission and set of skills to share that helps to achieve that mission. In addition to branding and brand advisory, we now coach people and businesses to thrive and move toward their missions. We also host or plan workshops and retreats that heal, restore, and move people and organizations forward. Whether working with individuals or companies, the goal is always to overcome any blocks and move forward with clarity and ease. Transformation is usually the result.

I’m also the host of the MVP Business podcast. I interview leaders who live through their Mission, Vision, and Passion to learn from the challenges and successes of business owners who continually bring themselves back to their mission and work hard to serve their customers and employees with kindness. The podcast is international, but I enjoyed learning and showcasing Wimberley Valley businesses in 2023 through a partnership with Ozona Bank and Wimberley Valley Radio.

In 2023, I wrote and published my memoir, Anywhere, USA. It’s a story of truth and magic that shines a light in some dark places. The purpose and goal of the book is to share the adventure that has been my life while helping others to learn a myriad of lessons like the fact that people always have the option and ability to completely start over as many times as they care to. This book is an extension of the coaching and training I’ve been doing to help people overcome challenges and rise to the next level. As Vine Collective grows, we plan to expand the number of coaches we collaborate with and our service offering, including more retreats and hosted corporate offsite meetings. The big goal we will tackle within the next 5-7 years is to own our retreat location in the Texas Hill Country.

Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hahah. The road is never smooth or straight, at least not for me. I’ve been a run-fast, work-hard, play-hard girl most of my life, but that all changed when one roadblock after another jumped in my way. My mom passed away from cancer just after I decided to start the business. I thought I moved through that incredibly tough transition with grace, but my father passed 8 months later; then COVID hit, and my marriage began to fall apart, resulting in a divorce in 2022. It was 4 years of one tragedy after another. Although my wild and tumultuous childhood provided me with the resilience and strength I needed to get through it, running fast and working hard did not give me the strength I needed. I realized that I needed to dig deep, be honest with myself, and re-learn all the lessons I had learned before (adding a few additional lessons). I’ve done a lot of inner and outer work, and though the business was rocky for a while, we are finally thriving.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I spoke much about my business earlier and only a little about the personal side leading up to it. I was very poor as a child. We were homeless many times and moved more than 30 times before I moved out when I was 17. I wanted a different life, so I began working at 8. I ran fast and worked hard, putting myself through college and rising quickly in my career. It wasn’t until I suffered a series of debilitating panic attacks and then experienced the tragedies I mentioned earlier that I realized that pace and way of working would not provide me with another 40+ years of health and life. I discovered that success doesn’t have to be achieved through brute force. Most truly successful people have a more easeful and holistic way of looking at business and goal achievement. I am now dedicated to harnessing a way of working and living centered in peace (including random dance breaks). In finding time to play in the river with my children, I have more success because my mind can efficiently process challenges. This ever-evolving balance of life now guides my work, business, and family.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
We lived in campgrounds all across the West when I was a child and my favorite memories are of hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Davis Creek or playing in the pond at Kelly’s camp with my brother and sister. I know several professionals who fear being homeless but most of my favorite childhood memories were when we had no home. What we had was adventure and love.

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