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Biography building block #3: Drama

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Note: This is the third installment in an occasional series. Earlier posts can be found here and here.)

shakespeare, drama, business biographyIf you’ve ever endured a mumblecore film or forced yourself to slog through 100 pages of Proust, you understand why drama is indispensable to a story. Without drama or conflict, there’s no forward motion, and you’re stuck with the status quo, which is Latin for “boring.”

A business biography that focuses only on your personnel and products is every bit as dull. The solution: Spice up your storyline by letting customers know about some of the hurdles and hardships your company has faced.

That’s not to say that your business biography needs to read like a soap opera in order to be interesting. Drama comes in many forms, and even small conflicts can drive a story forward. Chances are you’ve experienced the drama of:

  1. Recession. Everyone knows the pain of the last few years, and shuttered storefronts are proof that small businesses felt the pain, too. When you share your story of survival, customers will feel more inclined to stick with you during the good times.
  2. Competition. Big-box stores may have low prices, but mom-and-pop shops have emotion on their side. You’re David in this story, so share how it felt when Goliath came to town. Don’t worry about bringing the giant down. Just standing your ground makes you the good guy, and it makes for a great story.
  3. Disaster. Fires, floods, earthquakes — nobody wants to experience that kind of drama, but when disaster does strike, be sure to make it a part of your business biography. It worked for Trae Wieniewitz, who uprooted his financial planning service following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, moving hundreds of miles away to Knoxville, Tenn., where he didn’t know a soul. Initially viewed as an interloper, Wieniewitz used his survivor story to help connect with the locals, and his business grew seven-fold.

Drama works because it humanizes the players and gives us someone to cheer for. We identify with struggle. We connect with emotions such as fear, uncertainty and disappointment.

You don’t have to be a Shakespeare to harness the power of drama; you just have to be honest, vulnerable and human. For instance, take Erika Kotite, the founder of a brilliant and beautiful online magazine called Toque. I’ve enjoyed Toque from the start, but it took this newsletter item to get me truly emotionally invested:

Toque was hacked two weeks ago. Seems a gang of phish-farmers decided they wanted to harvest some bank customers and chose one of my sites as control central. It was like having bad case of head lice: miserable and damn hard to get rid of.

In her newsletter, Kotite recounts the struggle to get Toque up and running again, shares some of the lessons learned, and then closes with this:

Adversity builds character, crisis tests resiliency. Although worn out from the drama of resuscitating Toque, I am gratified to realize that it’s well worth saving.

Kotite’s little drama won’t make the evening news, but it will likely make readers rally to her cause — and therein lies the power of a story well told.

Photo credit: tonynetone via flickr CC

Filed Under: Communications Tagged With: , , ,

How to get publicity of biblical proportions

July 28, 2011 By 2 Comments

What does this story remind you of:

A burned-out Internet entrepreneur decides he wants to spend more time with his family, so he opens a small retail shop that sells and services Apple products. He makes a decent living, eats lunch and dinner at home every day, and life is generally good — until Apple announces plans to open one of its sleek corporate stores in the same sleepy Georgia town.

Rather than run away, the entrepreneur fights back. He adds more services, more workshops and five times the number of accessories carried by the typical Apple store. Lo and behold, the giant fails to crush the little guy. In fact, PeachMac grows to a mini-chain with five locations.

Even if you weren’t brought up in Sunday School, the words “David and Goliath” might spring to mind. I couldn’t help but think of the analogy this morning as I read the story of scrappy little PeachMac and its improbable battle with the retail giant. That got me thinking about other stories that resonate far beyond the church pew — and the lessons they might hold for business communicators.

David-vs-Goliath is one of those universal stories that everyone can relate to. We’ve all felt like “the little guy,” so we love it when the giants fall. Customers aren’t immune to that feeling, and neither are reporters. Everyone wants to see the little guy win, which means you can’t lose by emphasizing the David-and-Goliath aspect of your story.

Here are three more biblical phrases that have found their way into common usage, along with suggestions for applying the universal themes to your own business story:

  • The patience of Job. Sounds vaguely familiar, right? In case it’s been a while, Job was the one who lost everything through no fault of his own. Even in poverty, sickness and personal tragedy, he never lost his faith — and in the end he was vindicated with more than he ever had before. How it applies to you: Everyone loves a comeback story. Rather than hiding your hardships, make them part of your narrative. If customers can identify with your struggles, they’ll be more eager to contribute to your success.
  • Walking on water. This phrase comes from the story of Jesus walking across the waves to save his followers who seemed certain to perish in a storm. How it applies to you: Everyone wants to believe in miracles. Sometimes success can be so fast or so improbable that it boggles the mind. That makes for a great story — provided you handle it with care. Walking on water should be slightly bewildering, even for those who have done it. If you appear to take it for granted or take full credit, you’ll just come across as arrogant, and your reputation will sink like a stone.
  • A good Samaritan. The biblical good Samaritan took pity on a robbery victim who had been ignored by previous passersby. He interrupted his own journey and spent his own funds nursing the man back to health. How it applies to you: Everyone loves a “good guy.” We identify with people and organizations that help others and make the world a better place. Find tactful ways of establishing your Samaritan credentials and letting others know what you’re doing. Just make sure it’s sincere — no one likes somebody who exploits the less fortunate.

I’m sure there are plenty more examples I’ve overlooked, plus similar stories from other faiths. Feel free to contribute below.

Photo credit: humancarbine via flickr CC

Filed Under: Communications, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

In business biography, less can be more

July 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In an uncertain economy, it’s big news that Go Daddy is selling itself for a reported $2.25 billion. So why do terms like “elephant hunt” and “Danica Patrick” keep popping up when reporters analyze the deal?

Chalk it up to the power of storytelling — for good or ill.

Go Daddy dead elephant

Go Daddy is synonymous with its flamboyant founder, Bob Parsons, who built his Phoenix-based company into the world’s leading domain name registrar, with revenues estimated at more than $1 billion a year. Parsons realized early on that low prices and high volume would drive growth in domain registrations, and he hired scantily-clad “Go Daddy Girls” to help spread the word among his core market of young, male technology types.

Every year the company gets tons of press for its risque Super Bowl ads featuring celebrities like race car diver Danica Patrick and personal trainer Jillian Michaels — plus the accompanying “too hot for TV” clips that drive traffic to the Go Daddy website.

In other words, Parsons created a story about sexual mores and social boundaries that helped to differentiate his company in what is, essentially, a commodity business. But the funny thing about pushing boundaries is that you never exactly where they are until you’ve inadvertently stepped over them, as Parsons seemed to do earlier this year with an elephant hunt in Zimbabwe.

Rather than quietly jetting off to pursue his hunting pastime halfway around the world, Parsons posted a video on his blog, including footage that showed him grinning proudly over the carcass of his fallen prey. When animal-rights groups protested the killing, he indignantly portrayed himself not as a sportsman, but as the Great White Hope of the poor, benighted African villagers whose crops were being trampled by the elephants.

While many supporters rallied to Parsons’ defense, tens of thousands of exasperated Go Daddy customers voted with their wallets, transferring their domain registrations to competitors such as Namecheap and Network Solutions.

Parsons insists that nothing will change at Go Daddy after his billion-dollar payday, but I suspect that’s not entirely true. Big investors are buying the company for its steady revenue stream, and they won’t have much patience for a founder who doesn’t know the difference between self-aggrandizement and self-immolation. Just look what happened to Ted Turner, the “Mouth of the South,” after Time Warner bought out his media empire.

For other entrepreneurs, the lesson to be learned from Go Daddy is this: Every founder has both a personal brand and a company brand, and same stories that build up one can tear down the other. When you’re trying to decide how much of yourself to reveal, make sure the decision is based on economy rather than ego. Still not sure? Imagine yourself in a buyout situation, and ask whether your new corporate bosses would wince at your revelations.

When your reputation is at stake, sometimes less is more.

Filed Under: Communications, Rants & Raves Tagged With: , , ,

The “socially conscious” lifestyle business

June 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

I’ve been doing some consulting work recently for CouponNetwork.com, and the project has taken me deep into the world of mommy blogging. (Those who know me will want to insert their own joke here, so I’ll pause just a moment to let the laughter to die down.)

If you’ve never read some of the top mommy blogs, I think you’re missing an eye-opening experience. Yes, there’s a slight obsession with breast pumps and spit-up, but there’s also a lot of really polished writing, smart monetization and sense of community.

socially conscious businessThese moms are living the definition of lifestyle entrepreneurs. Many of them had glamorous, high-powered careers that they abandoned in order to raise a family. They made a conscious choice to put their families first — and in my book, that qualifies them as socially conscious business owners.

Socially conscious? I know the term is generally reserved for “big causes” like the environment or fair trade, but that definition seems artificially limiting to me. After all, a functioning society is constructed from many different building blocks, including:

  • Family
  • Religion
  • Education
  • The arts

… and the list goes on. If you’re an entrepreneur who has made a conscious decision to commit yourself to one of these causes, then yours is a socially conscious business — and you should never be shy about publicizing that fact.

I realize that advice runs counter to the conventional wisdom. The business press is obsessed with “high performing” or “high potential” companies, and admitting that you have outside interests is viewed in some quarters as a lack of commitment or professionalism.

Fine. If your goal is to ring the opening bell at the NYSE or make the cover of BusinessWeek, then maybe you should keep your outside interests to yourself. But if you want to grow your business, make a comfortable living, build a community, attract like-minded customers — and just maybe make your corner of the world a better place — then don’t be shy about what’s important to you. Make your causes a part of your story and a part of your company.

There’s absolutely no reason to be self-conscious about being socially conscious.

Need some inspiration for working your passions into your own business biography? Check out the “About Us” pages from some of my new favorite mommy blogs. (Don’t be fooled by the cutesy kid pics; these are serious business owners with national advertisers, publishing deals, packed speaking schedules — even their own iPhone apps!)

Oh, if you know of any other great mommy blogs I should follow, please share links in the Comments section. My work continues for CouponNetwork.com … and I can always use parenting tips for my 7-year-old Schnauzer.

(Photo by flickr user summations)

Filed Under: Lifestyle Business Tagged With: , , ,

Biography building block #2: Characters

March 25, 2011 By 1 Comment

Compelling characters make business biographies come alive

Note: This is the second installment in a series on writing your “business biography.” Part I, which focused on origins, can be found here.

Is there anything worse than a story with flat, uninteresting characters? (Admit it, you sat through Star Wars Episode I out of a sense of duty, not because you gave a crap about Queen Amidala.)

If your business biography is going to keep customers coming back for repeated sequels — i.e., shopping trips — then you need to convey a vivid sense of who you are and what you’re all about. When customers want nameless, faceless efficiency and everyday low prices, they’ll go to Walmart. As a small business owner, you can’t compete with that, but you can offer something that no one else can: a little piece of yourself.

This is why the “About Us” page is one of the most critical pages on your website. It’s where you connect with customers on a human level, get them involved emotionally, and make them feel like they have a stake in your success. Your characters come alive even more with blogging, tweeting, and other social media tools. In other words, anywhere that you can infuse your company with personality and humanity, you’re helping to set yourself apart from the competition.

There are two objections I hear all the time when I’m working with owners to “flesh out” their business biography with more interesting characters.

  1. “I’m not comfortable talking about myself.” Hey, I get it. As a nice Baptist boy, I was likely to get my mouth washed out with soap if my mother caught me bragging. But there are ways to get around this hangup. My favorite tool is self-deprecating humor. It’s hard to be accused of bragging when you’re poking fun at yourself. Plus, there’s nothing more human than a character with faults. If you’re a serious professional who doesn’t take yourself too seriously, you’re instantly more likable than a boastful know-it-all.
  2. “I’m not that interesting.” See, you’ve already learned to be self-deprecating! But seriously, no good story has just one character, so if you think you’re a little “flat,” you’ve got the perfect excuse to shine the spotlight on your supporting cast. Wegmans, the mid-Atlantic grocery chain, does a great job of this. More than 30 different employees contribute posts to the company blog, adding plenty of personality to a fairly boring retail category. Or check out the bio blurbs at MAKEaDEAL, where the entire team gets to share their hobbies and “the best deal you’ve ever gotten” — perfect for a name-your-own-deal shopping site.

Take a look at your “About” page and ask yourself how much personality you’re conveying. Better yet, use some friends as a focus group. Do they get a sense of who you are just from your copywriting? If not, ask them what they like best about you that you’re failing to convey through your website.

In business, as in cable TV, it’s always good to live by the motto, “Characters Welcome.”

Filed Under: Communications, Social media Tagged With: , , , ,

Building blocks of a business biography: Origins

March 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Robert Remini, Life of Andrew JacksonBack in my grad school days, I had the privilege of serving as a teaching assistant to Robert Remini, the distinguished historian who wrote prize-winning biographies of Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster, to name a few. He’s the one who taught me that good storytelling isn’t just for novelists and filmmakers. Whether your genre is history, biography or business writing, many of the building blocks remain the same.

In honor of Prof. Remini’s upcoming 90th birthday, I thought I’d start a series on what makes for a compelling business biography. Your story, after all, is what sets you apart from every other business operating in the same space. Who you are, where you come from, the obstacles you’ve faced — those are  the swirls and ridges of your unique company fingerprint. You want to leave those fingerprints on every page of your website and every customer interaction, letting people know exactly who they’re dealing with and turning every purchase into an interaction, not just a transaction.

A good story needs a good beginning, so let’s make origins the first building block of your business biography. We’ll get to your personal history later in this series; for now, let’s focus on the origins of your company. You’ll want to answer two primary questions:

  • Why did you start the business? What was your inspiration? What did you hope to accomplish? TOMS Shoes is a compelling brand because founder Blake Mycoskie constantly tells the story of how he was moved by the plight of shoeless children in South America. Maybe your story isn’t quite that inspiring. Maybe you “just” needed the money. But again, the question is why? Were you laid off from your job? Divorced by a cheating jerk? Every origin story has its own drama. The key is to find it and communicate it effectively.
  • How did you start the business? Unless your last name is Bush or Hilton, you probably struggled to turn your idea into reality. Maybe you took night classes, held down two “real” jobs or mortgaged the house. All those things make for a great story, so find a way to let your customers know. Sweet Leaf Tea does a great job of this, putting a “scrapbook” on its website with photos and captions that explain the founders’ struggle. (Pillowcases for tea bags? A delivery van with 200,000 miles on it? We can all drink to that.)

Think there’s nothing interesting about your origins? Maybe you should get a second opinion. We’ve lived with our own stories for so long that it’s often hard to identify the dramatic arc. Tell your story to someone else — a spouse, a consultant, even a customer — and ask what they think is interesting. MAKEaDEAL on the iPhone

As a reporter, I’m constantly stumbling across businesses that are far more fascinating than they first appear. Take a company called MAKEaDEAL that I recently wrote about for SmartBrief. They have a smartphone app that could change the face of retailing by allowing customers to request low-price bids from multiple merchants when they’re ready to buy a specific item.

It’s a cool technology, to be sure, but what I really love is the company’s why and how. Founder Todd Chipman isn’t some college kid looking to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, he’s a husband and father who noticed a rash of small-business closings on the main street of his hometown and started to think about ways that technology could change the marketing equation. Rather than selling out to venture capitalists, he sold his vintage car and bootstrapped the company through more than two years of development, using local pizza parlors and other small businesses to test his prototypes and work the bugs out.

Here is a link for Chipman’s MAKEaDEAL site, and this is a link to Foursquare, a competing service. Now ask yourself this: Which company would you check out first? If the origin story behind MAKEaDEAL tempts you to go find out more, then here’s a final question for you:

Why aren’t you using the power of origins in your own business biography?

Filed Under: Communications Tagged With: , , , ,