One of the greatest tools we have in marketing is telling a story. As small business owners, we have more than one story that can be compelling to our audience – the story of the business and our life story. Your story is part of your personal brand – and it can be a meaningful force in networking.
Most of my Tips of the Week take an impersonal view to smart marketing principles. What better time than this Tip of the Week to share a bit of my story – to show you how powerful a story can be?
My story is lengthy. It crosses numerous cities and three continents, a variety of contracts with several phases of employment and self-exploration. I won’t attempt to retell it all here. But I would like to tell you about one of the first times I leveraged a personal story into a brand and how it opened doors for me: my Colorado journey.
I did gymnastics for 18 years, and then the sport stopped. I had to find myself again without sport, and it was a tough realization. Yet, soon I realized that there was another way. I could work in the sports industry. I sent about 200 e-mails and landed an almost-volunteer gig in Torino for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. After taking all the risk on myself – flying myself over to Italy, getting my own accommodation, and everything – I made a good impression with my boss and was offered a paid role. It was a miracle of miracles for a 22-year old. Soon, I was conducting one-one-one interviews with all of the alpine skiers. Then, the Olympic Winter Games ended.
I went back to my old house in NY knowing that I had found the thing I wanted to do. That I had had a taste of it. That it was achievable, but that it wouldn’t come around again for years. I stumbled around for a few months and then finally realized that I would have to go to my dream again if I wanted it.
I needed to go to the Olympic Games, but I did not have any magical visas to go abroad. So, where was all the Olympic stuff in the United States? Colorado Springs.
The good news was that I had no strings attached. I booked a one-way flight to the Springs. I packed everything I owned into a few bags. I reserved a room in a Howard Johnson for four nights.
The bad news was that I didn’t know anyone in the Springs. I had hardly any money and was afraid to spend what I had in case I ran out completely. I had no car in a city where you really need a car. I had no phone. I had no apartment. I had no idea where anything was.
On the first day in the Springs, I walked 15 miles getting a cheap apartment, a phone, and finding my way around the city. It was a long walk back to the hotel, and on the way was the Olympic Training Center. I decided it would be a nice relief to see some gymnasts flipping around.
I walked through the gates and into the Visitor Center. Then, I found a map that showed where the gymnastics building was. I walked in. No gymnasts. I was dejected and exhausted. I sat down, depressed for this small failure, on the steps next to the gym door. And a facility manager saw me and came over. Apparently you needed a tour guide to enter the building. But, what was I doing there?
So, I told the man that I had moved from NY because I wanted to work for the USOC. I had just gotten into town, and I had walked 15 miles that day to get my life organized. I showed him my new phone. I told him I used to be a gymnast, and I thought it would help me feel centered and calm if I could just see some people flipping around for an hour. He listened. He offered to give me a tour of the gym. Then, he told me to come back the next day at the same time, because I had shown up on the team’s day off.
The next day, I went back. I stopped by his office. He let me into the gym and told me that he had run into an old friend earlier that morning and told her about me. That she was open to meeting me and doing an informational interview. I accepted the opportunity gratefully. Now I could know two people in Colorado Springs.
From those first two people came 50 informational interviews in a month. Each time, I told my story about how I had moved out to the Springs. Some people were shocked. Some people were proud. For some, it reminded them of a time in their lives when they chucked it all for the Olympic dream. My heart and my passion for the movement was on my sleeve and in my struggle.
The people I met with started as my audience, and they became my community. They heard my story, and they related to it. So much so, that within a month I had three part-time jobs on campus. Enough to buy a car and stick around. I eventually landed a great job in the International Relations department.
Here’s the point of my story: my personal brand is about being driven, it’s about being passionate, and it’s about giving it my all for what I believe in. At that time in my life, my target market was potential employers and new friends in Colorado. But now, I hope all of my clients – whether they have a big sport event or a non-profit or a small business – see this story and connect it with the person behind Melissa Forziat Events. My personal brand involves taking on projects that mean something to me and going to every length to see the project succeed.
What does your story reveal about you and your business?