“Fix You” by Coldplay – a song that means a lot to Shirin Valentine. “Sometimes you have to fix things, whether in your soul or in your business,” she says in the interview. Shirin has managed to be successful both creatively and entrepreneurially in the German music and film industry. How does she balance these two worlds?
A star overnight
It was at the beginning of the 90s when Shirin became famous throughout Germany overnight. As a presenter on the music channel VIVA, she suddenly became the face of an entire generation. “I was still at school when people recognized me on the street. That was a crazy time. People were standing outside my front door, so I couldn’t just go and buy underpants,” she recalls with a laugh. But the spotlight was not her main motivation: “My real passion has always been music.”
Shirin and her band toured Germany and beyond. She was on tour as Michael Jackson’s opening act and performed in front of huge audiences in India. “It was surreal to go on tour with a megastar like Michael Jackson,” she says. The music business opened many doors for her – including a major record deal. But even here, Shirin’s pragmatism is evident: “It was a great time, but I knew that the music business wouldn’t last forever.”
Creativity and entrepreneurship - how do they go together?
Today, Shirin organizes the largest band competition in North Rhine-Westphalia, she is still a presenter, runs a music production company and the film production company SUPERKID Film. “I love being creative, whether in music or film,” she says. But she admits that entrepreneurship requires structure. “No matter how many ideas you have, nothing works without structure. You also have to deal with Excel spreadsheets and taxes.”
Shirin is convinced that as a businesswoman, you have to be good at both creativity and business. “If you say A, you also have to say B,” she explains.
There are good guys and bad guys at every party
One point Shirin makes in the interview is the difference between male and female leadership. “Many men lead through control and power. Women, on the other hand, often rely more on trust and cooperation,” she explains.
For Shirin, it is important that her employees feel seen and heard. “There is nothing stronger than the will of a volunteer,” she says. She believes that motivation and a positive working environment are the key to successful projects. It is also important to have a vision that you can see or touch in reality afterwards. “That can also be a freshly plastered house wall when building a house, that makes me happy.”
However, Shirin emphasizes that she generally avoids pigeonholing people based on their gender. “There are good and bad types everywhere, at every party,” she says, “there are men who are wonderfully empathetic leaders and women who are assertive and confident.”
Women in business
The step into self-employment was not easy for Shirin, but it was inevitable. “I didn’t want to be dependent. I wanted to realize my own projects.” For her, entrepreneurship means constantly facing new challenges, but that’s exactly what she likes. “Being self-employed means that you are always working for yourself,” she says with a laugh, “but it also gives you a lot of freedom.”
She advises women in particular not to be afraid of entrepreneurship: “A lot of people respect the responsibility or the uncertainty. But if you take a careful and structured approach, you can achieve great things.” Her secret to success: “Start small, test the market and always have partners who complement you. That keeps the risk manageable.”
Always on the move
Shirin is breaking new ground again this year. Her current project? A book about her life with type 1 diabetes, out at the end of the year. “I’ve been living with this disease for over 20 years, and it’s quite stressful. I have sensors on my body and a catheter in my leg, 24 hours a day, every day. When I was really desperate with this diagnosis and complaining about why I had this disease, a friend of mine said quite succinctly, ‘Because you can do it. You can deal with it.’ That’s why my book is called ‘Because you can’.” As Shirin initially couldn’t find any literature on how to live well with this diagnosis, she has now simply tackled it herself, having already hosted events on the subject of diabetes for many years.
Women, take heart!
What is Shirin’s message to other women dreaming of self-employment? “Don’t be afraid! With a clear structure, a good team and the courage to try things out, you can achieve anything.” Shirin herself is the best proof that with passion and courage you can make your dreams come true – no matter how big the challenge. “If I feel like starting a new business tomorrow, I’ll do it,” she says with a laugh. “Everyone else is just cooking with water.”
About Shirin Valentine
Shirin is a German presenter, musician, and producer who gained recognition as a host on the German music channel VIVA. During this time, she completed a journalism program at the Adolf Grimme Institute and a VIVA editorial training. In 1997, she founded SUPERKID MUSIC, producing tracks for artists like Enie van de Meiklokjes, Cosmo Klein, and Oliver Pocher. With her band Noble Savages, she toured Germany and India, performing as opening act for Michael Jackson and Shaggy. Today, she leads music and film ventures, including Das Musiknetzwerk GmbH and SUPERKID FILMS, and organizes Toys2Masters, one of North Rhine-Westphalia’s largest band competitions.
