Your founder story is powerful. Even if you don’t know your story yet. Even if you don’t think the story of how you started your business is all that interesting or exciting.

Plot twist: It is.

Storytelling in itself is powerful. Stories are how we communicate with those around us, keep track of our history, and create personal connections.

Nowadays, personal connection is also how many consumers make purchasing decisions which makes storytelling a valuable element of your business.

But a founder story isn’t just a brief explanation of how you started your business. 

No — the founder stories that really work for your brand are those that connect with your ideal customers and create a deeper meaning for investing in your service or product.

I’ve helped founders write, edit, and optimize their founder stories at all stages of growth — from $3k – to $1M in revenue. And I’ve identified common mistakes to avoid, and a process that works for any stage of business.

Ready to create a founder story that connects with your audience, converts them into customers, and grows your community? Let’s do it.

Where To Use Your Founder Story

Where do we see founder stories? Honestly — all over the place.

• Social media
• About pages of websites
• Editorial features of businesses
• Print publications
• PR spotlights
• Networking conversations
• Sales calls

Your founder story is an ever-evolving resource as your business grows and changes over time. When you use it regularly, your story will help you build relationships, connect you with new leads, and help your brand stand out in your industry.

Common Mistakes In Storytelling

Let’s talk about the common mistakes I see (a lot) that make your storytelling ineffective — or at least not as effective as you would like your story to be.

Having No Founder Story At All

The first mistake is not sharing your story at all. This happens when founders are scared to talk about themselves or don’t see storytelling as valuable. 

As much as I commend people who want to shift the spotlight away from themselves and onto their team or community instead, not having a founder story means that you’re not creating as much human connection around your business as you could.

Big yikes. 

Creating a Big List Instead Of A Story

Another mistake I see a lot from founders is listing their accomplishments. Like a big long list of your awards, accomplishments, exciting moments, and impressive numbers.

This list-style founder story sometimes comes from a founder trying to brag about their wins, but it can also come from a founder with a “don’t-look-at-me” attitude. Instead of diving deep into your story, it may feel easier to just list your accomplishments.

Well… I’m sorry to say that no one really cares about the name of every award or accomplishment your business has had in the past 10 years. Sorry. It’s true though.

It’s possible to highlight what you do without just creating a big list. This is where the storytelling aspect comes into play. Stories bring people together and sharing yours is more impactful than a big list.

If you have lots of awards or accomplishments to speak of, that’s incredible! You can showcase those in various ways on your website — try showing awards in a banner on your services page, or listing your impressive numbers in an infographic.

Lacking a Sense of Connection

The last mistake I see (way) too often is a brand sharing a story that doesn’t relate to its audience. Connection is the name of the game in storytelling so let’s not share details that aren’t relevant.

Here’s a quick example of sharing a story without relating it to your audience.

I’m very insecure about my sentence structure and grammar skills — even as an English major who literally writes for a living. This insecurity started when I was a teenager and sometimes I still get anxious about it.

Hmm… kinda quirky? I guess. Relevant to literally anyone? No.

Here’s how I took that “story” that’s really more of an anecdote and made it relevant to my ideal clients….

I’m very insecure about my sentence structure and grammar skills — even as an English major who literally writes for a living. This insecurity started when I was a teenager and it wasn’t till I entered the copywriting world that I realized how valuable my conversational style of writing was for my clients.

Sales writing (or, conversion copywriting) is more focused on understanding people and connecting with them through your words. Now I embrace my conversational writing skills and use them to support brands across North America.

Moral of the story: Be succinct and be sure to relate your story to your audience. Leave out anything that doesn’t matter to your customers.

How to Craft Your Own Founder Story

Alrighty, we’re ready to craft your very own founder story.

The first step is to NOT think of this as a final draft. 

Keep in mind: These are random notes. This is the ROUGHEST of drafts.

Now here is the exercise/list of questions I want you to go through. Take your time and really reflect on the answers. You should have substantial paragraphs for each question — not just a sentence or two. Dive into your fears, successes, goals, dreams, and memories….

Questions To Work Through

• What were you doing before you started this business?
• What got you into this industry? 
• What makes you passionate about your business?
• What problems did you identify?
• What life events led you into this business?
• What skills did you have that helped you start?
• What were your biggest challenges in starting this business?
• Did you know it would work? Or did you have your doubts?
• What was a tough challenge you overcame in starting this business?
• What kind of “aha” moment did you have to start this business?
• How did this idea transform into a business?
• What solution did you know this business could provide?
• What results/wins have you seen since starting this business?

That’s a lot of questions. But working through these will help you get clear on your story, how it all started, what challenges you faced, and what solutions you created for your customers.

Relate Your Notes to Your Clients

Once you have ALL your ideas laid out in front of you, it’s time to look at how this story relates to your customers. Maybe you’re a mom who created an after-school daycare because you struggled to find an amazing solution to after-school care.

Or, maybe you’re a photographer who always thought you’d be a dentist and now it’s your mission to help people capture the crazy, beautiful moments in their lives because you understand just how much can change over the years.

Map Out Each Founder Story Format

You now have all the raw information and are ready to edit and revise it into usable segments. I suggest having several versions of your story for different purposes…

• Story for your website About page
• Social media profile version 
• Long-form version to use for editorials and PR
• One-liner version for networking

Need help crafting your founder story? Or maybe you have a story and are wanting these versions built out for you? Let’s chat! Connect with me through my contact page and let’s craft a founder story that connects, converts, and builds your brand.