Answer these Questions to Have 11 Business Stories to Share Right Now

“We could ask you about your sweater right now, and that would have a story of its own”, I said as I close a communication workshop for a group of changemakers. They wanted to know where they could find stories to tell. And my (probably) vague answer was: “stories are everywhere, you simply have to look for them.”

Are business stories also everywhere? 

Of course, they are. And the reason I can state that with such certainty is because I fill my social media, blog, newsletter, and journals with them. I am living proof entrepreneurial stories are everywhere. 

Business stories are everywhere, you simply have to look for them Share on X

And before you go on and think: “Well, yeah you are storytelling coach, it’s easy for you!”, hear me out. Me finding stories to tell is not the result of some magic spell or special bliss. I’ve simply done the job and submerged myself into stories, surrounded myself with storytellers. 

But the heaviest job was to actually dig into my own journey to find my true, authentic stories. In a way, I coached myself before coaching anyone else. 

Which is how I know that stories are hidden everywhere. 

Why should you care about telling stories? 

In a scene of The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo di Caprio asks a perspective salesman to sell him a pen. For the longest time, I thought how uncomfortable that might have been in real life: sitting there trying to come up with a way to sell a simple, anonymous pen. Then it hit me! 

You could look at the pen and say: this pen writes in black ink, it is very elegant and has silver lines, it’s easy to use and better than other pens and it only costs five dollars.  

Or, you could look at the pen and say: when I was a little my father brought new pens at home every week. One day dad brought a beautiful pen, I was about eight, I tried it. I’d never thought a pen could write so smoothly and be so easy to handle at the same time. That was the day I started writing poems. I started and never stopped because they were enriching my soul and treating my solitude. Now I have created this new line of pens to inspire other kids to become writers like I did. 

Which pen would you buy? 

Stories have multiple effects, they: 

• Connect us on a human level
• Stimulate our emotions 
• Allow us to see beyond the object 
• Free us 

And when all of that happens, money becomes a formality, and sales come easier. 

Business storytelling requires time, practice, coaching. But if you want to give it a go right now, here is where you can start. Answer the following questions. 

11 Questions to write your business story right now

1. When have you decided to open your business? 
2. How did you feel the first time somebody said “no” to you? 
3. What’s one achievement you can celebrate this week? 
4. What were your parents telling you about money when growing up? 
5. What did you do with the money from your first sale? 
6. Which book influenced you the most? 
7. Which person influenced your business the most? 
8. How did you meet your business partner? 
9. Where were you when you decided you wanted to open a business? 
10. What’s a recent experience that taught you a lot? 
11. Why did you open your business?

Bonus tip: don’t settle for the first answer that comes to mind, dig deeper, give us context. 

Once you’ve answered the questions, share the story. You can do that in the comments below or on social media, but make sure to tag me. I’d love to see the results.