5 Big Questions I Asked Myself To Uncover The Story Of My Creative Business

Do you need a secret-weapon to attract your dream clients or customers? I’m going to let you into a little secret, it’s your story! 

We are wired from babyhood to learn about our worlds through stories and this is never more true than as a small, creative business who is working on a shoestring budget. If you can get clear on what the story of your business and then share it with the world, you are inviting people to connect with you and get to know you which is going to translate into clients and customers. It means you can rely less on advertising and more on backing yourself and sharing what problem you solve, for who, and what the impact is.

In my new podcast, The Happy Creative, I’m talking all things storytelling in Episode 2: Uncover Your Business Story To Connect + Have Impact.

I talk through some simple storytelling techniques you can work through to uncover your own story and here I’m sharing my own answers to inspire you to write your own story!

What is the background story to your business?

OK so authenticity is valued so highly. People can sniff out fake a mile off, and people are genuinely interested in your background, the good, the bad and the ugly. I promise you, if people can get to know you through your story, your dream clients will find their way home to you.

I’ve been making a living creating content online for over twenty years. In fact it’s all I ever wanted to do since I ‘launched’ my first magazine called Tribe when I was 16. My first job was teaching journalists and marketers to write for the web – I used to fly all over the world to do this! I set up my own creative content agency after becoming a mum and I grew it to 7 full-time employees with multiple 6 figure revenues. 

But I worked so hard and I got really sick. I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer whilst I was nursing my mum through aggressive and terminal cancer and had to go through almost two years of treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy. Can you believe that the night that my mum died I had to go straight from the hospice to have my own chemotherapy treatment. Life felt so hard for a long time. 

We knew we needed to make changes. And I LOVE change so the day after my treatment ended we did something pretty radical! We packed up our house, kids and life and moved to Barcelona for over two years. THE BEST DECISION EVER, would you do it if you had the chance? The climate, the beach walks and the new experience helped me see the future quite clearly. Rather than work for major businesses I could use all my super-powers (because we all have those, right?) and pivot my business to help other creatives who want to launch something or change their current businesses. 

I knew that my future clients struggled with lots of things I have A TON of experience in: Building an audience, finding their voice online, making a plan and making it happen, using story and content to reach their own dream clients and customers. It was a BIG BANG moment for me and my mission was clear.

So wrapping this into a three-act narrative looks something like this. Note I’ve written this addressing my dream client personally because then I can use it to form the basis of my future web copy.

PROBLEM: Do you feel stuck in your 9-5 and want to realise a big creative dream and work for yourself? Do you already have a blog or a business but you are in a rut and want to make a greater impact. Growing an online business is a big and beautiful path to go down and you need support but I know you can do it! All those things that make a successful, profitable business like building an audience who really want to buy from you, knowing what to say to people online, creating content and a story that is going to reach out and connect with your dream clients, having a business plan and then the bigger challenge of making ti happen.

SOLUTION: You can work with me on a 1-2-1 basis to launch that new business, product, service or blog that you’ve been dreaming of. We can get super-clear on your business, reaching out to your own dream clients and customers and creating a beautiful and content-rich online experience.

IMPACT: You have an accountability partner, a cheerleader and can tap into my years of experience in running a creative business, blogging and using content to attract clients. I know this approach works!

My clients say:

“I always feel so energised after talking to you, you have such a gift. I have felt, for the first time in a very long time felt like I’m moving forward and I feel so positive about what I’m doing, I cannot thank you enough!” Rachel Blunsom, Personal Stylist, Style My Armor.

and, “I can’t tell you how valuable my sessions with Ruth have been. Changing direction with my photography business has been difficult, I’ve had mixed ideas but Ruth has guided me through the fog, helped me dig deep into my dreams and goals to develop a clear and focused brand plan and vision for the future.” Kelly Back, photographer.

What happened to spark the start of pivoting of your business? 

People LOVE to know what motivates people so here goes. 

Running a business with full-time employees was hard. The balance between getting paid and paying out was always stressful. Working with big businesses also left me a little bit empty inside. It was super-fun creating big ideas for content campaigns, and I worked with a lot of big influencers but I fell out of love with it I guess after getting really sick. So after we moved abroad I started to realise I could do something really meaningful and help creatives and budding business owners build a business that they were totally in love with. That I could help them bridge a gap between where they are and where they want to be. Work that feels good and makes an impact on people’s lives.”

How do you do fix the problems of your people? 

This is the part of the story where you make a difference. You share your gift with the world. 

I help them bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Maybe that’s a blogger who has built an audience and wants to turn it into a business but doesn’t know where to start. Or maybe they have an idea for a product or service based business (a creative dream) and need help planning it out and attracting their first clients. Or maybe there’s a specific thing they want to launch – a new website or podcast or event and need accountability and support in doing that.

What is your mission on this planet?

Everybody deserves a raison d’être. The Japanese call it Ikagai which I LOVE! A mission is what fires us up in the morning and keeps us going on the days when we struggle or get overwhelmed.

This is simple: To inspire creatives all over the world to build rewarding, content-rich AND profitable businesses that they are in love with. Whether that’s through my free content (my blog, my workbooks and my podcast) or through my 1-2-1 coaching, I’m giving them the confidence and knowledge to share their own unique gift with the world.

What 3 things make your business amaaaazing? 

Let’s celebrate what makes our future or current businesses completely awesome. I’ll go first!

#1.  I get to work with completely amazing creatives who inspire me every single day.

#2.  It’s a business based on a SWEET AF convergence of my super-powers, passions, experience and values. 

#3.  It never feels like work and I can run my business from anywhere I want.

If you want to work through your own business story you can download this little workbook. By signing up you also get access to all my resources. I can’t wait to read or hear your own business story. If you tag #TheHappyCreative I’ll be able to find it!