Why stories matter in your business
As a service provider, a coach, a creative who is going the solopreneur route, how are you supposed to position yourself as the go-to expert in your industry and stand out in the sea of other people doing the same thing as you?
Through sharing your stories. When it comes to building a brand, your stories matter. They’re your experiences that no one else has and can be the very thing that makes someone resonate with your brand over another.
Your stories are influential. They’re memorable, they can generate feelings, and they can build connections.
Think about it: When you feel connected to a certain service provider, thought leader, or coach, it’s normally not their brand colors and fonts that draw you in. It is their story—their authenticity, struggles, and triumphs—that speak to you. You feel seen, understood, and inspired.
In this article, I’m sharing ways you can you leverage your own personal experiences and build a brand that really resonates with others.
Relatability Through Authentic Storytelling
Authenticity is Magnetic
When you share your real experiences—the good, the bad, and the messy—you invite others to see themselves in your journey. Authentic storytelling makes you approachable, relatable, and trustworthy. It’s a way of saying, “Hey, I’ve been there too.”
For example, when I transitioned from teaching to becoming an entrepreneur, I faced doubts, struggles, and moments of burnout. I felt like I was fumbling my way through every day figuring out how to run and own a business, how to get clients, how to market my business, and how to best serve my clients.
It was a lot. I hesitated to share what was really going on behind the scenes because I felt like it made me lose my credibility as a business owner.
Until one day when I was just tired of feeling so ashamed of my circumstances and the loneliness and difficulties, I decided to share about it in a post. And the feedback I received from other business owners who were saying “me too”, and the encouragement to keep going was incredible! It was the most engagement I had ever had on a post up to that point, and I think there was a reason for that.
It’s these shared experiences that build trust and create emotional connections with your audience.
Tips for creating content that feels relatable:
Focus on emotions, not just events. Instead of saying, “I left my job,” say, “I felt depleted and stuck.”
Use conversational language. Your audience wants to feel like you’re speaking directly to them.
See more examples of good brand stories here.
Storytelling Methods to Deepen Audience Connection
There are many ways to use storytelling to build relationships with your audience. Here are a few tried-and-true methods:
1. The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is a classic storytelling framework that every Disney movie uses because it’s good and it works. It follows a clear structure: the Hero has a problem arise (beginning), faces some challenges (middle), and leaves a transformed person (end).
This narrative arc not only captivates your audience but also shows them what’s possible.
For example, I often share how my entrepreneurial path started with the deep desire to leave my decade-long teaching career to pursue something that felt more meaningful and purposeful to me (THE PROBLEM).
Grabbing onto my gift and love for writing, I started my first business as a copywriter but realized that the transactional business model was leaving me feeling just like I had with my teaching career — underutilized and frustrated (THE CHALLENGES).
So I explored what it was about the projects I was working on to uncover a way that felt more aligned with me and my gifts and landed on personal branding with a focus on helping others uncover and share their stories. (THE TRANSFORMATION)
By sharing my story of where I began and the lessons I’ve learned along the way, I’ve been able to inspire others to embrace their own journeys and feel confident in knowing that not every brand story is a linear, clean, sequential story. There is power in the setbacks, the challenges, the hurdles, and even the failures.
2. Vulnerability Moments
Sharing moments of vulnerability makes you relatable. It’s not about oversharing — it’s about being honest about the struggles you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them. Vulnerability deepens trust and reminds your audience that they’re not alone.
However, vulnerability also doesn’t mean that you’re expected to share the details of your life and relationships with strangers. It’s no one’s right to know everything about you. Just because you have a public platform does not mean that you should feel pressured to disclose your private life for the sake of being vulnerable.
Set the boundaries around what you’re willing to share and stick to that. I’ve worked with clients who are in the midst of difficult situations and have not reached the ‘overcoming’ of it yet and still feel raw and vulnerable. At that moment, I recommended that they not share about it until they felt they had processed the emotions around it.
Don’t share your vulnerable moments until you’ve shared about it with trusted people first (take back the power of the narrative), and you feel comfortable sharing publicly.
3. Testimonials and Case Studies
Sometimes, the most impactful stories come from others. Share the experiences of your clients or customers to illustrate the transformation your brand can facilitate.
For example, I’ve shared stories of clients who after formulating their stories with me land podcast and speaking opportunities within days because 1) their story resonated with the hosts and wowed the receivers, and 2) their confidence was soaring and they had that energetic magnetism.
Tips for implementation:
Use visuals like photos, GIFs, or videos to make your stories more engaging.
Celebrate your client’s wins with your audience (share those podcast episodes, those DM’s, those new clients)
Tie the story back to your audience by asking questions like, “Have you ever felt this way?”
Bridging Cultural and Personal Gaps Through Stories
Stories Transcend Differences
Here’s the sappy truth: One of the most beautiful things about storytelling is its ability to cut through cultural and personal divides. Stories tap into universal emotions—joy, fear, hope, and love—allowing us to connect with people who might otherwise seem very different from us.
I’m going to share two personal examples of how storytelling has brought people together in my life.
Last year, I created a Book Brunch group here in Liechtenstein that brought together women from at least eight different countries. On the surface, it might seem like we had little in common. But through our shared experiences of living abroad, navigating relationships and careers, traveling the world, and adapting to new norms, we found deep connection and understanding.
It was storytelling—both in the books we read and in our personal experiences—that bridged any gaps we had between us. The discussions about the books opened up dialogues we probably wouldn’t otherwise have and it brought us closer together every time.
Here’s one more example. In my late 20s, I experienced some turmoil that led me to commit to therapy for the first time. My therapist suggested that I attend 12-step meetings as someone who had grown up in a home of addiction and codependency.
These meetings shifted my entire view on the power of storytelling — or in this case truth-telling. People who seemingly had nothing in common — socioeconomic backgrounds, education, career, etc. — suddenly realized they had tons in common. I saw so many people go from complete strangers to best friends by sharing their personal experiences. It was incredible!
These two examples don’t have anything related directly to my business, but they have everything to do with me as a person, my values, my beliefs, and my perspectives on life. I’ve generated tons of meaningful stories from these experiences — stories that resonate and deepen connections with my audience.
Tips for using your personal experiences to bridge gaps:
Focus on the emotion behind the events to create a sense of “us” rather than a “me” and “you”. Despite our differences, chances are we’ve experienced the emotion you’re speaking to in your story.
Use details that feel specific but resonate universally. Instead of saying, “I struggled to explain myself in a new language,” say, “I felt misunderstood, even when I tried my best.”
Encourage audience participation by inviting them to share their own stories in the comments or by replying to your emails.
Conclusion: Use Your Story to Build Your Brand
Stories have the power to foster relatability, deepen connections, and bridge gaps across cultures and experiences. By sharing your authentic journey, you invite your audience to trust you, understand you, and feel inspired by you.
Your story is uniquely yours, but its impact can be universal. So don’t hold back. Share your challenges, your victories, and the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Your authenticity will attract the right audience, the people who truly resonate with your brand.
Ready to start sharing your story? Check out my free training on Crafting Your Brand Story That Converts & Connects. And if you’re feeling inspired, DM me over on Instagram and share a story that’s shaped your journey. I’d love to hear your perspective and how stories have impacted your business!
