When I was small, my good Vietnamese parents made sure to tell me to be humble and never talked about myself and don’t be arrogant. Little did I know that it might be a piece of dangerous advice for me later on as an entrepreneur.
I thought that if I created a good service, the quality will speak for itself.
Well, not really.
When my first and second businesses (a wellness centre and an art & craft business) struggled months after months to break-even, I realized the problem: I didn’t talk about it in a way that would differentiate it from other yoga studios that were popping up like mushroom after rain.
I learned my lesson. When I launched my third business, I made telling my stories and the story of why and how I started my business – my founder’s story – a priority.
My business, with virtually zero marketing cost, has been organically making sales, profitable, and growing in the last 3 years – with my 1-on-1 coaching program being booked out in the last 5 months.
I really understood why storytelling is considered “the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.” (Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education). And now I’m teaching founder how to craft and tell their founder’s story to amplify their impact.
You’ve probably heard of the old Native American proverb: “Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” But the power of storytelling isn’t just common wisdom, it’s a proven strategy.
Researches have shown that a well-crafted founder’s story directly enhances perceived brand authenticity – which, according to a study in 2014, is valued most by consumers in a brand – ranking above innovation and product uniqueness. An increase in your company’s brand authenticity means an increase in customers’ attitudes, purchase intent and a belief that your company is trustworthy and honest.
When you’re competing with other businesses for customers, investors, talents, a founder’s story is how you stand out.
Let say you open a salad chain. Sure you can join a race with your competitors on quality, flavours, price, convenience, or customer services. But someone else can always have better technology, talents, or simply money to burn.
As you grow your business there will be countless situations where you need to win heart and change mind and get others to act.
But no one lived through what you lived. No one has your story.
And guess what? Your founders’ story already belongs to you – free of charge.
Not telling a founder’s story is like letting your biggest asset or the rockstar performer sitting in a corner doing nothing.
Here are the 3 biggest mistakes founders make when telling their stories:
1. Not doing it all together
You might think that telling your story makes you sound arrogant and self-absorbed, or that the quality speaks for itself (pst. It doesn’t), or having fear of visibility due to subconscious limiting beliefs, or afraid of being “cheesy” or vulnerable…
All of these might be holding you back from using your story as one of the most important assets to differentiate you in the market.
2. Making it about you
The next mistake founders make, once they understand the importance of storytelling, is telling stories just for the sake of it.
I get it, your life is interesting. But no one is going to be interested in it unless it gives them some values (Maybe with the exception of your therapist – whom you pay a chunk of change to listen to you.)
Your story is about you. And ultimately, it’s not about you. Every time you tell your founder’s story is a chance for you to change minds, touch hearts, inspire actions – whether it’s to your customers, investors, or employees.
3. Tell it in a random way
When I mentioned storytelling to founders, they get sceptical – especially if they’re male. They thought they need to get artsy about it, or that they need to be a good writer or great public speaker, or that they need to have been through dramatic stuff like having gone to India to cure their own cancer, found a cure in a hidden cave in the Himalayas and now are wholesaling it to share with the world.
The truth is: no you don’t. Good writing helps, some crazy story helps. But an overly flowery story and too much uncanny details can lower the impact and make it unrelatable.
The most important thing in a founder’s story is a strong structure.
So now what?
Start crafting your founder’s story. A good start is to ask yourself these key questions:
1. Why did I start my business? Why is it important for me?
2. What are the biggest hurdles I & my team have overcome to grow this business?
3. What did I learn?
Want to learn how to craft a powerful founder’s story to inspire and influence?
Join our upcoming webinar here: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/how-to-craft-your-founders-story-to-inspire-and-influence-tickets-77795182485
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Image Credit: Teemu Paananen
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