Crafting your company story

- Perhaps you've had the experience of attending a seminar or a lecture, and maybe it was a little boring. Your attention sort of drifted off, and then suddenly the speaker said, "I want to tell you a story about that." It pulls your attention in right? There's something about stories that capture our imagination. That's exactly why your small business needs a company story. It serves several purposes, first of all it helps build your brand. The company story is a bit of the lore the history of how you started things, and people want to know about that.

Second, it helps create advertising. You can put the company story on your website, you can add it to brochures, you can really use it anywhere where you're interacting with customers. Also, it will help with recruiting. Employees want to be a part of a company that's interesting, that has a history, so you can use the company story to attract them, to tell them a little bit more about your business. Finally, the company story helps create culture. After you hire employees, and while they're working for you the story becomes a part of the identity of your business, it becomes a powerful training tool.

In fact, new employees for Disney, the first thing that they do is learn about the story of Walt Disney. Now, there's no set structure to a company story, but here are a few guidelines. First of all, I recommend that you keep it short, usually four paragraphs or less. The shorter it is the easier it is for people to read and remember. Second, try to put as much emotion as possible into your company story. Think and feel about how you felt during the experiences of growing your business.

The more emotion in the story, the more people will connect with it. Third, try to use vivid images as much as possible. The more imagery you put in the more easy it is for people to imagine the experience, so rather than saying, "I drove a car," say, "I drove my pink Cadillac that was rusty," those kinds of images really pop in people's minds. Now, how to begin writing your company story, here are some questions to help you with that process. I recommend that as you listen to these questions, perhaps you pause this video, and write down your answers to what I'm asking you.

First of all, where were you when you started the business? What was going on in your life? What happened that cause you to say, "Now's the time for me to be a business owner?" What problems did you see needed solving, and that your business could solve for others? What challenges did you face along the way of being an entrepreneur? Do you have a customer story, an experience where a customer was so thrilled with their experience that they had to tell you about it? How about an employee story, something where they did something excellent for your customers? Or, perhaps you have an experience where you gave customer service above and beyond what was expected.

Write down your notes to these questions, and that becomes a starting point for your company story. Also you can find great examples of real company stories online just do a search for company story and see what comes up, odds are you'll find things that inspire your imagination. When you have a company story it becomes a powerful tool to build your small business brand.