You’re sitting on a story: How to find the stories hiding in your business
I’m a LinkedIn coach.
And lately, I’ve been a bit bored by LinkedIn.
That’s probably not a good thing.
Every time I logged in, I found myself sighing at the same writing style. The same three tips. The same dramatic hooks. The same generic claims dressed up as brand-new revelations.
And personality?
Where the heck had that gone?
So much of the content I was seeing had lost its human soul.
We’d handed more than the typing over to the machines. We’d handed over the noticing, the thinking and the interesting little details that show us there’s a real person behind the post.
Everything was starting to sound suspiciously same-same.
That frustration became the starting point for You’re sitting on a story, my workshop for NSW Small Business Month.
It was pretty cool to be part of the program. We had around 90 people register, although not everyone could wrestle their calendar, children, clients or alarm clock into submission on the day.
So instead of a replay no one is ever going to watch, here’s a written recap. (from my audio file).
Why we need stories
I don’t think we’ve lost the art of storytelling.
Humans have used stories to share knowledge, explain ideas and pass information through generations for thousands of years.
We still tell stories every day.
We tell someone what happened at the shops. We explain why a meeting went sideways. We describe the odd thing a client said or the tiny change that made a job much easier.
The problem isn’t that we’ve forgotten how to tell stories.
We’ve stopped noticing them.
When it comes to business content, we assume a story needs to be enormous. A dramatic founder moment. A public failure. A sob story. Something worthy of its own Netflix documentary.
Most useful business stories are much smaller than that.
They’re hiding in:
The question you answered twice this week
The client reaction you weren’t expecting
The mistake that changed how you work
The decision you nearly talked yourself out of
The tiny detail that helped you solve a problem
The thing that annoyed you enough to form an opinion
The explanation you give so often that you could deliver it in your sleep
A little story is still a good story.
Stories help people understand how you think. They make people feel seen. They give your ideas context and make your business easier to remember.
They also bring you back into your copy.
AI can help you organise, structure and edit your ideas. I use it too.
But the raw material still needs to come from you.
Your experiences, observations, opinions, mistakes, conversations and oddly specific details are the things AI cannot manufacture.
Sometimes the only real difference between your business and another business offering something similar is you. That matters more than ever in a sea of sameness.
The two types of stories your business needs
Not every story has the same job.
Some help people get to know you today. Others need to keep working for your business for years.
I divide them into two groups.
Everyday stories
These are the current, casual and human moments happening around your business.
They might come from:
A client conversation
Something that made you laugh
A behind-the-scenes moment
A small win
A mildly infuriating piece of technology
A decision you made
A photo sitting in your camera roll, where screenshots go to die
Everyday stories are useful for LinkedIn posts, Instagram Stories, reels, newsletter introductions and conversations.
They don’t need to be polished within an inch of their life. Their job is to help people see the person behind the business.
Business stories
Business stories do more strategic work.
They help potential clients understand what you do, decide whether you’re right for them and feel confident taking the next step.
These stories often live on your:
Website
About page
Service pages
Proposals
Presentations
Sales emails
Team documents
Client conversations
Everyday stories help people get to know and remember you.
Business stories help people understand, trust and choose you.
You need both.
The seven stories every business needs
You don’t need one heroic story capable of explaining your entire business.
You need a small collection of stories, each with a particular job.
1. Your business story
The question it answers: What do you do, and who do you help?
This is the expanded version of your elevator pitch. It explains why your business exists, the people it serves and the change you help create.
It should make sense to normal people. That’s the benchmark.
To find it, ask: What do clients come to us struggling with, and what becomes easier after working with us?
2. Your credibility story
The question it answers: Why should I choose you?
This story goes beyond listing qualifications and years of experience.
It shows what your experience has taught you, what you now notice and why that makes you better equipped to help.
To find it, ask: Which experience changed the way I approach this work?
3. Your customer problem story
The question it answers: Do you understand what this is like for me?
This story shows that you understand the client’s actual problem, including the frustration, uncertainty and impact underneath it.
Surface-level labels won’t do much here. You need the real conversations, feelings and questions.
To find it, ask: What is happening in my client’s world immediately before they contact me?
4. Your offer story
The question it answers: Is this right for me?
A list of inclusions tells people what they receive.
The offer story explains why the service exists, who it’s designed for and what will change because of it.
To find it, ask: What was happening that made me realise people needed this particular offer?
5. Your process story
The question it answers: What happens after I say yes?
Potential clients often hesitate because they don’t know what working with you will involve.
Your process story removes some of that uncertainty. It explains what happens, what you need from them and how you guide the work.
To find it, ask: Which part of our process helps clients feel most supported or relieved?
6. Your value story
The question it answers: Does this actually work?
This is where client examples, results and before-and-after stories belong.
The client should remain the main character. Your business can be the helpful guide without charging into every paragraph yelling, “Look what we did!”
To find it, ask: What could a client do, feel or understand after working with us that they couldn’t before?
7. Your point of view story
The question it answers: Do I value the way you think?
Your point of view stories show what you believe, what you question and what you think your industry could do better.
You don’t need to manufacture a controversial opinion every Tuesday.
You simply need to share the thinking that already shapes your work.
To find it, ask: What do I regularly explain, defend or do differently, and why?
Which of these stories has quietly gone missing from your business?
That’s usually the best place to begin.
How to shape a useful story
Finding a possible story is one thing.
Turning it into something another person wants to read is the next job.
I use six simple building blocks.
1. The moment
Where are we? What happened?
Start near the interesting part. You probably need less backstory than you think.
2. The person
Who did the moment happen to?
It could be you, a client, a team member or someone else. Give the reader someone to follow.
3. The wobble or aha
What felt difficult, uncertain, surprising or revealing?
This is the bit that gives the story some movement. Without it, you may only have a list of things that happened.
4. The change
What shifted?
Perhaps something changed from A to B. Someone made a decision. A problem was solved. An assumption fell apart.
5. The point
Why did you choose this particular moment?
The point might be a lesson, warning, idea, tip or realisation.
6. The so what
Why does this matter to the person reading it?
The “so what” connects the story to your reader or your work.
It also stops your story becoming a charming account of your fiddle leaf fig with no apparent reason for existing.
A useful prompt is:
The moment was…
The person involved was…
The problem, surprise or realisation was…
Then…
Something changed because…
This matters because…
Once you’ve written it, read it aloud.
Would you actually say those words in a room?
Does every part support the point?
Have you forced the business connection?
If the connection feels bolted on, take it off.
And before adding more words, try cutting the backstory.
Make story spotting a Friday habit
Stories don’t arrive neatly packaged with a headline, lesson and LinkedIn caption attached.
You need to capture them while you can still remember the good bits.
At the end of each week, ask yourself:
What annoyed me?
What made me laugh?
What did I change my mind about?
What did I explain more than once?
What tiny thing did I notice that changed the work?
Add your answers to a simple story bank.
They don’t need to be fully formed posts. A sentence, screenshot, voice note or scrappy observation is enough.
You’re collecting raw material.
You can shape it later.
Because if you want to become a better storyteller, you first need to get better at spotting the stories.
And I reckon you’re already sitting on quite a few.
Ready when you are
Ready to get something moving?
Got a project, idea or marketing question taking up too much space in your brain?
Explore my services if you know the kind of help you need. Book a chat if you want to talk it through first. We’ll work out the sensible next step from there.
Choose your next step
Explore my services Book a chat with BeckBring the notes. The questions. The seventeen browser tabs. We’ll start there.
