3 Business Stories You Didn’t Know You Could Tell

How do you start incorporating storytelling into your business if you don’t have a story to tell? 

Hmm. Wrong questions. 

Be kind to yourself and rephrase that question to: which of the many stories related to my business should I select and share? 

You might think, “B what are you talking about? I have no story to tell” or even “My story just isn’t that interesting”. 

For the second statement, check out this post: 5 Ways Your Story Will Surprise People. While for the first assumption of not having a story to tell, keep reading.

I want to show you the three business stories you didn’t know you could tell. 

But first, let’s clear the air. Just because I said I’m going to share the business stories you didn’t know you could tell, does not mean I assume to know more about yourself than you. However, I have been in the corner where you give for granted the wealth of events and experiences linked to having a business. 

Let me tell you, once you allow yourself to get out of that corner for one split second, you realize how much you have to give to others. It’s a beautiful feeling, it makes you more aware, present you as an expert and honestly, makes you happier. 

In business storytelling, your trash is someone else’s treasure Click To Tweet 

Among the reasons why we don’t share our business stories, I can mention at least three I saw over and over again: 

• we underestimate the importance of what has happened to us as entrepreneurs
• we never actually thought about sharing a business story 
• we don’t want to be vulnerable

These reasons block you from even conceiving your first story, which is why the following list can be an inspiration to unblock your fear. 

The 3 business stories you didn’t know you could tell 

1. The time you were giving up 

Do you know the beautiful uphills of San Francisco? Sometimes running a business feels like walking up those hills with a 100kg backpack on your back and high heels on your foot. It’s sweaty, tiring, challenging … and all you want to do is roll down the hill and give up. 

Was that description too dramatic? Of course, having your own business is an explosion of joy and fulfillment. But still, sometimes it can be hard as going on foot on a San Francisco hill. And if you’ve ever felt like that, what have you done? Have you found a way to push through and get to the end of the street? Have you discovered you were walking on the wrong path? What happened? And what have you learned? There, right there in your answer, there’s a story.

2. The time you came up with the idea 

This is one of my favorites in business storytelling because it is often forgotten despite being incredibly romantic. Yes, I said romantic.

There’s beauty in sharing how you came up with a product, a service, a role. Most of the time when I tell people I work as a storytelling coach, the first reaction is “Wow, nice title!” This is then followed by a series of questions to better understand what I actually do and the final question is always “How did you get to be a storytelling coach?”

And that’s when I relax, smile and get in the mood of the narrator from How I Met Your Mother: ready to share the different events that led me to coach purpose-driven entrepreneurs in business storytelling. 

What led you to your idea, product, service, role, career?  That’s a beautiful story to share. 

3. The time you learned something new

As entrepreneurs, many times we don’t realize what we’re learning right at the moment. Looking back we might also refer to those moments as “failures”. First of all, delete that word from your vocabulary if you want to live a happy, fulfilled and positive entrepreneurial life. 

Second of all, those moments are gold! They are valuable for you in retrospective, because they taught you something. But they are also a treasure for the people you want to serve and help. What lessons have you learned from those moments? Your answer will shape your story.  

Did you know you could tell those stories? Now, it’s only a matter of giving them the right shape.

I’d love to see what stories you are going to share, post one in the comment.