The №1 Skill Every Entrepreneur Should Be Learning
Presented by FIRED-UP!
FIRED-UP was written for entrepreneurs, creators, freelancers and career professionals. In this book, you’ll learn how to build your personal brand, tell stories and build community.
If you’ve been looking for how to grow your personal brand, then FIRED-UP is for you!
You can preorder here.
Great Businesses Tell Great Stories
This essay was initially published in The Fireworks Newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter in your inbox.
“Build it, and they’ll come” is NO longer the way to do business in 2022, and I dare say going forward. In today’s business world, it’s not enough to build great products. You’ll have to tell people you’re building your business or product. You can or should be documenting your entrepreneurship journey in written, audio or visual form or a combination of all three. Every entrepreneur must hone their skill of storytelling. Every one of us is a storyteller, you’re either a good one or a bad one. And like most skills, your storytelling skill can be sharpened.
Think of your favourite business. I’m willing to bet they don’t just have great products, and they also have excellent business storytelling. Some of the biggest companies in the world are great storytellers; Nike, Apple, Netflix and more. They spend a lot of time and resources hoping to connect and build trust and authority with their audience. That’s what storytelling does, and that’s what you should start doing.
What is Business Storytelling?
Storytelling MUST be part of your Business Strategy. It’s no longer something you can afford to ignore. So what is Business Storytelling?
Simply put, Business Storytelling is the use of narrative thinking and devices to connect to your prospects and customers.
Your audience or customers are tired of being “sold to”. Most customers actively seek to avoid any advertising. These days, people want connection and community. The way to build that is through authentic storytelling.
What kind of stories should you be telling?
Three Types of Stories You Should Be Telling
- Origin Stories: If you watch superhero movies, you’ll notice the characters are introduced with an origin story. Why? They want you to empathise with the character. It would be best if you did the same, tell a “grass to grace story”, the story of why you started your business, what motivates you, and what inspires you. Your audience will connect with you!
- Testimonial Stories: Your prospects will connect more when they see other customers, real people who have used your product or service, and it has transformed their lives. Make sure you’re documenting stories of customer transformations. Tell the story of your clients before they used your product, what you did for them and what the result was. How did it make them feel? How did it improve their lives? Tell that story.
- Teaching Stories: Your stories can and should be informational/educational. So many companies have created entire courses teaching their audience not just how to use their products but breaking down concepts that arm their audience with knowledge. Tell stories that teach your audience to be better people. I believe almost every company, in the future, in addition to being a media company, will also be an educational company.
Four More Things
I’m writing a book
It’s called “FIRED-UP: How To Tell Your Story, Find An Audience And Build Community For Personal Success”. It’s coming out in 2 weeks on Friday, 29th July. It’s my first book, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Preorder here
Listen to The Fireworks Podcast
This year, I’ve interviewed some great people, Alma Asinobi of Chess in Slums, Blessing Abeng of Ingressive4Good, Teslim Alabi and Dada Benjamin. You can listen to episodes on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you stream podcasts!
Hire me as your vCCO
Some weeks ago I introduced myself as a vCCO, a Virtual Chief Creative Officer, who helps brands and businesses tell their stories, build products and help with branding strategy. I’m looking to work with as many of you to help 10x your business with creative strategy. Let’s talk, jesse@thefireworks.co!
Register for the Personal Branding Workshop
I’m hosting a free 45mins workshop teaching how to build powerful personal brands. Building your Personal Brand is one of the best decisions you can make in 2022. If you’re a freelancer, creator, career professional, or entrepreneur, this workshop is for you! Register for free here.
