Dr. Saida Désilets wants to live in a world filled with audacious, sexually sovereign women, living life on their own terms.
As a thought-leader and body-philosopher, she has authored: The Emergence of the Sensual Woman and Desire and has had her innovative method featured in Dr. Christiane Northrup’s bestselling books: Women’s Wisdom, Women’s Bodies & The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, as well as in the books of Dr. Rachel Abrams: Multi-Orgasmic Woman and BodyWise.
Saida is renowned for being the founder of the modern Jade Egg movement and visionary spokesperson for sexual Sovereignty and has created The Daring Project—a growing online membership of women from around the world—assisting women to audaciously move from being a victim to confidently thriving in life.
When she’s not dancing with her husband, you can find Saida leading Wilderness Safaris for women in South Africa or writing deliciously sensual poetry.
Hey Dr. Saida, can you introduce yourself to us?
Love to! I’m French-Canadian born and grew up in the midst of some of the roughest First Nation reservations in the heart of Canada. After living in Maui, Hawaii for ten years, I’ve been traveling the world with my husband, exploring the greater mysteries that life has to offer.
Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?
I need to take us all the way back to being five years old: I had discovered a wonderful ‘spot’ on my body that would send thrills through my entire being. It was so fantastic that I had to share it with my five-year-old girlfriends. I managed to get into a lot of trouble for doing so and remember thinking that the person who was so angry with me probably didn’t know about the spot herself, otherwise she’d not be so angry!
Needless to say, my biggest turning point was later, when I was told that I had two weeks to live upon waking up from an emergency surgery (post a traumatic rape experience). Suddenly life seemed profoundly precious, and I knew then that I would live as fully as I could from that moment forward. That was 2.5 decades ago and as the birth point of my life’s work, which is centered on the sexual sovereignty of women.
Can you talk us through the set process of your business and how you got started?
I come from an entrepreneurial family; my grandfather and his five sisters all ran their own businesses in a time when few did so. Having my own business came naturally to me.
At first, I had a massage and healing business while also being a professional belly dancer and union actor. However, my current business, which began in 2001, launched because women in my community started to ask me to share my ‘secrets’ with them. I started out by running weekly classes out of my home. These expanded to 3 groups per week, in various different locations and morphed eventually into 2.5-day weekend retreats. In the height of this, I was running 20-weekend retreats per year in fifteen different countries!
Then the 2008 crash occurred, and I suddenly started to make a lot more money online than I did in person, so I switched gears and started to focus on sharing my knowledge through creating over 8 online courses to address the growing and refined needs of my global community.
Through the growth of my business, I got a Ph.D., wrote and published two books, and have contributed to the best-selling books of both Dr. Christiane Northrup and Dr. Rachel Abrams. I found myself being invited to speak on many stages, most of which were focused on women in business.
How much research did you do on the market prior to beginning your career in this field what were your findings?
I’m embarrassed to say: none. I started because there was a demand for what I was doing and then developed all my products due to customer requests for them.
How is your business funded? Is it bootstrapped, self-funded, etc.?
I grew it step by step, funded each piece myself. Perhaps it was a slower way to grow, but I never had to borrow money for it.
Can you tell us more about the brand DNA and ethos of the Ambassador Program?
This is a 1-year professional-level training course for any woman business owner who already caters to women and who recognises the need to bring in a modality that handles sensuality and sexuality in a grounded, effective and professional manner.
This program is about embodied leadership, building a professional community (we are global) and belonging to an emerging collective of powerful women who are changing the world. For example, an ob-gyn who took on these principles is now changing female medicine, and a naturopath is also changing how we look at and address eating disorders for women.
Where can you see yourself within the next 3-5 years?
Leading a global collective of professionals who are on the leading edge of women’s issues and providing grounded and effective ways to integrate the whole woman into any field of work.
Speaking on professional stages about the topic of desire, how it gets hijacked and how we can harness this inborn compass to start leading our own lives. Being a visionary in changing female medicine, not just locally, but globally through transforming how women’s clinics are run and experienced. Influencing influencers, especially those in a position to have maximum impact on the lives of women worldwide.
How are you helping us connect to our Erotic Genius?
Our Erotic Genius is the part of us that is aware of what is needed for us to feel the most alive. The fastest way to connect to this part of us is first to connect with our sensuality, which is how we make ‘sense of reality’. Once we turn up the volume on our sensuality, we’ll become more aware of what enlivens us and shuts us down. From this place of deeper connection with our body, we start to notice how our environment lends to feeling more alive (or not). This can be confronting, yet it is a worthy discomfort, as living like we matter (and we do) means taking a stand for ourselves and what we love. And yes, this also translates into the bedroom.
Can you give us highlight 3 ways you are championing female empowerment and how are you using your platform to educate us?
The first is by the introduction of ideas that invite us to contemplate ourselves as psycho-sexual beings. This means that we cannot separate our consciousness from our body and sexuality; they are interwoven. The next is through simple ways to bring us back into our body to build a renewed sense of intimacy and ‘at-home-ness’ with ourselves, our sensuality and our desire. The fastest gateway to this is mastering our breathing.
The third way is encouraging us to admit, accept and cherish the wounded parts of ourselves as part of being a sovereign woman. In this way, we no longer allow our ‘wounds’ to lead. Rather we focus in on what we love (because we understand that it deeply matters) and take a simple action in that direction.
Dare Your Desire is a platform that inspires women to not only know they belong to life and that they matter, it also dares us to live our life on our own terms.
Who does the team involve behind you?
I love my team! I would not be where I am without them. We are an all women team: There’s my COO, who has been with me for 7 years. She has helped me get ‘out of’ my business and move into being the visionary for the business. Then, my epic customer service woman who gives everyone a 6-star experience. Because we handle the intimate subject of women’s sensual and sexual lives, having customer service is non-negotiable. There’s also my project manager who whips us all into shape! She’s newer to the team and brings fresh, clear direction for each team member.
There’s also my VA/social media woman who keeps my schedule, appointments, contract, and social media purring. Then we have my book-keeper who has been with me for 8 years and has helped me go from casual business to professional business. The extended team would be a tech person and our fulfillment team. Every position is crucial to moving forward and serving women with the highest quality products and educational services.
Then I need to mention my coach as well as my mastermind groups, as leading a team and a vision requires on-going growth and support.
What are the key tools that you use for your trade?
- WordPress sites.
- ZoomInfusionsoft Paypal.
- FB Groups.
- FB Live videos.
- Teamwork.
- WhatsApp.
- LinkedIn.
- Instagram.
What outlets do use to market your Wild Women In Africa 90-Day Transformational Leadership Programs?
Due to the nature of this amazing experience, it’s mostly through referral and word of mouth. We do have a sales page for this. A few of the past participants keep coming back!
What or who inspires and motives you?
I love the work of Brené Brown. Every woman I meet inspires me, especially when she says ‘yes’ to herself. What motivates me is knowing that a lot of the suffering women go through could be prevented (especially around sexual health). I want to be the sane, researched, grounded voice for women in the midst of all the snake oil/fluffy/flashy options.
What is the number 1 critical business lesson you have learned so far?
Structure. Without structure, it is difficult to expand and scale. And connections. We cannot do this alone.
A seminal point in your career so far?
So many! I have been blessed with many incredible and influential women who have come into my life ‘just at the right moment’ to support my message through their own platform. Once such moment would be Dr. Christiane Northrup’s invitation to contribute to two of her best-selling books.
What gives you ultimate career satisfaction?
Every time a woman feels more alive and at home with herself, I feel incredibly delighted. Knowing that my work is changing female medicine is also a profoundly satisfying experience.
What challenges have you seen to have been presented during the growth of your business?
One of the toughest one is a bit ironic: I’m in the ‘women’s empowerment industry’ and my ‘competitors’ keep stealing my IP and using it as though it’s their own. I find this tremendously ironic and sad. I’m used to science where we cite each other’s work and build upon the work of others so that the industry can grow as a whole. This is unfortunately not true in my field of work. There are very few standards (I’m attempting to establish some), and it’s truly the ‘wild west’ right now.
Which other leading entrepreneurs and pioneering game changers do you also admire and why?
Marie Forleo has always been a fave because she is so herself and keeps growing. Brené Brown, because her work is profound and also keeps growing.Joe Polish, because of his integrity and willingness to be a connector.Cameron Harold, because he is a multiplier and we need more of those.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
‘Dare to Lead’ by Brené Brown, A Quillette article on Toxic Femininity.
Top 3 go-to Podcast channels?
- ‘Baby Got Booked’ with Geeta, because she’s a bad-ass Canadian who helps people do their own PR.
- ’Uplift’ with Clip, because he’s one of the best interviewers I’ve had, and deeply insightful.
- Jordan B. Peterson with Dr. Peterson because although he’s controversial, he is taking a stand for unique individual vs. the collective.
How do you define your own success?
Waking up with a smile on my face, being surrounded by love, and having an incredible global community of amazing human beings who reflect back to me that I have a positive impact in their lives.
What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?
#BEYOUROWN means to be true to our unique and profound selves, to not only know who we are, but equally take a stand for our sovereign space with benevolence, and to have the free choice to dare into our desires and choose them, even when we have no clue how it will all work out.
Finally, what are you working on throughout 2019?
Currently, I’m leading my year-long ambassador training and am soon opening up the doors to a new group. I’ll be leading two women in the Wilderness Safaris this coming July and am excited to bring women into a profound experience of themselves through nature.
My TEDx talk (hint: it’s about the truth of Desire) And opening up my yearly LIVE Jade Egg Mastery training this spring with this year’s theme being: Femininity Redefined. Plus the promotion of my newest book, ‘Desire.’
Twitter: @SaidaDesilets
Instagram: @SaidaDesilets
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drsaidadesilets/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsaidadesilets
Website: http://saidadesilets.com
