Master your storytelling to boost business by looking for stories about people because people like to read about other people e.g. founder’s stories.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS INGREDIENT CARD
Ingredient
Cooking for Cash-Ideas
Question:
How to master your storytelling to boost business.
Answer:
People love great stories. It’s used to educate, inform, persuade, influence and encourage action.
New forms of media have created new ways for people to record, consume and express stories, from blogs to websites, social media and self-publishing tools.
Storytelling is a human way to share and interpret experiences and make sense of the world we live in. Our brains are wired to love stories.
What makes a great story, and how can you leverage storytelling for success in business?
When you watch a great movie or read a brilliant book, there are several elements that can capture you. There may be characters you resonate with or connect with. There might be a plot that engages you, making you wonder what will happen next. Whatever the rational reason, a great story engages you emotionally. It takes you on the journey or makes you care about the outcome. It is more than just a set of facts.
When it comes to crafting stories about your business, it’s easy to get caught up in facts and figures and technical details. It’s likely you’ve spent months or even years thinking about what you’re creating. There is a place for that detail in a story, but it’s not the story.
It’s not that the detail isn’t important. Some great stories are replete with technical detail. There are some great lessons to learn from this. When you’re thinking about the stories that come from your business, look for opportunities to create a narrative. Look for stories about people. Founder’s stories are a mainstay of the startup press because people like to read about other people. It’s also why gossip magazines remain popular at supermarket newsstands.
For a business, you may have found a quirky or innovative way to make an everyday task easier. To master storytelling, you need to put yourself in the audience’s shoes and ask yourself why they should care. What’s in it for the audience? If there’s no obvious benefit to the reader, why would they bother reading or looking any further? How can you resonate with them?
When you get the storytelling right, it leads to people resonating with your business, your mission, your brand and your services. It is far more engaging and compelling than simply trying to promote your products and services. It can be a point of difference to help you stand out from the pack. (Source: Koshies Business Builders 2022: Kathryn Van Kuyk and Anthony Caruana, co-founders of Media-Wize).
Method
Imagine how good it would be if your business gave you the money, time and freedom you always wanted…
You are (or will be) investing a lot of time and money into your new food venture, so for your success, it is vital to gain business management knowledge and, of course, discover ways to ‘cook for cash’ from home cooking, to small-scale catering to opening a restaurant, cafe, coffee shop…and other eateries.
