Three Tips to Generate Story Ideas for Your Business

Jamie Perez • April 4, 2024

Don’t be a victim of Storylessness — the idea or notion that you don’t have a story to tell.

Everyone has a story. Most people just don’t recognize their experiences as being valuable stories worth sharing. This rings especially true for many for-profit businesses who simply focus on sharing what their product or service is.

While it’s fine to share that information, let me tell you the difference in response you’ll get with an example:

When you ask someone a generic question like ,”How are you?” or “How was your vacation?”

Most people respond with, “Good.”

Why?

Because your question was too generic. It didn’t address anything specific. But when you frame the question differently by saying something like, “What’s the most exciting thing you’re looking forward to today?” or “What was the coolest part about ziplining through the jungle on your vacation?”

Those questions are more specific and spark memories and stories from the person being asked.

This blog post is meant to help those looking for ways to generate story ideas for your own business… something that goes BEYOND just featuring the product or service you sell.

The Founder Story

Every business has a founder story. No one just started a business for the heck of it. There was passion and motive behind it. A story that led the founder to want to solve an issue. No one just starts a business to pass the time. It’s way too much work and way too challenging to start a business if you don’t have passion for what you’re doing. By sharing this story, it adds a human element to your product/service. It gives people a reason to care, want to support you by becoming a client or want to refer clients to you. It also helps make you MEMORABLE. Chances are, your business is not unique. There’s probably other companies out there doing similar work as you. Sharing the founder story helps differentiate you from your competition.

The Customer Story

The other story that every business has is the customer story. Every person you work with is impacted by you in some way. Engage your customers by asking them how they felt BEFORE discovering you, and how you impacted their lives by working with you. Ask them to share a story about a time they knew your product/service was working for them. When someone else hears and sees that story, they could see themselves in it and THAT leads to conversion rates.

The “Why People Don’t Choose You” Story

This question might get a weird response when initially reading this. Why would I want to tell people to not choose me? That’s not the idea behind that question. That question is meant to help you address concerns customers have with you so you get a chance to address those concerns in the video to help put them at ease and lead to more sales. If you know that some people have not worked with you in the past because they thought you were too expensive, tell a story about how your product/service saved someone money in the long run by making the initial investment with you. Or if you know people have been hesitant in the past to switch from the current product or service they’re utilizing to go with your business, tell a story about the difference you made in someone’s life who DID make that switch.

There are many other types of stories, but these are a few that can be applied to EVERY business. Here are some additional bonus questions you can ask yourself to generate more video story ideas:

When have you had to be resourceful in order to stay afloat?
What was the worst day in your business?
What was the best day?
When have you made a customer cry tears of joy?
Whose life is different because of your business?
What was a pivotal moment in the history of your business?
Why did you start your business? What problem were you trying to solve?
What have you been surprised about in your business?
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business?
What’s the best decision you ever made in your business?
What was your first sale?
Who is your most satisfied customer?
What was the moment for you where you knew the work you were doing was worth it?

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Here's Why Nonprofits Should Be Sharing Donor Stories

By Jamie Perez • May 29, 2025

Most of the time when nonprofit organizations are sharing stories, we are hearing from staff members, the founder and clients. All of these are perfectly fine stories to tell... but what about sharing the donor stories? When a nonprofit has regular donors, there's probably a story behind WHY they believe in your cause so much. There's a heartfelt element to why out of all the nonprofits they could donate to -- why do they choose YOURS to give to time and time again? They most likely relate to your mission. They believe what you believe about a problem that needs to be addressed and they wanted to be part of the solution. Maybe they went through a traumatic situation that your organization is helping people solve. Get to know your donors. Be curious. They're just as much a part of your organization as your staff and clientele. By sharing their stories, they not only feel more involved in an organization they already care so deeply about, but it also could be a great way to attract MORE donors who can relate to their story. Donors give because of stories -- their gifts don't come from coercion; they come from emotion, a desire to connect. It opens up a relationship and this is how wallets open and lives are transformed. People want to know they belong to something and that they're making a difference. It feels good for anyone to know they're needed, wanted and appreciated. Show them the impact of their gift through storytelling. Don't just focus on them when you need something from them. Engage them. Make them part of the organization's journey. To help get you started, here are a couple questions that could ignite some great soundbites when interviewing your donors: What happened in your life that makes you so compelled to support our cause? Why is this need so important to address? With these questions, you're not only asking them to address the need that your organization is addressing, but you're still focusing on THEIR story. By bringing them along this journey and asking these questions, it helps remind them why they give monetary gifts to you. And their story and their reasons could encourage others to do the same. BE CURIOUS. THESE ARE THE TYPES OF STORIES THAT ARE NEVER TOLD BECAUSE WE NEVER ASK . By being curious, sharing THEIR story, you're showing them you not only care about them helping your cause, but you care about them as people. And who doesn't like to share their story with someone who is truly interested?

Owner of Beyond Words Jamie Perez interviews woman on camera in studio setting

3 Tips for Ethical Storytelling

By Jamie Perez • April 30, 2025

Owner of Beyond Words Jamie Perez interviews woman on camera in studio setting

A person is holding a video camera on a tripod.

Three Mistakes Organizations Make When Creating Video

By Jamie Perez • April 28, 2025

We see this time and time again... organizations wanting to tell an emotive story through video and then being disappointed that the final product wasn't as heart-tugging as they'd hoped. This mainly happens for three reasons: 1. Controlling the narrative. There are too many cooks in the kitchen. Organizations want to include everyone in the conversation and then there's too many opinions on what should be included in the video, who should be included, what should be shown, etc. This convolutes the message and becomes a jamboree of information and takes away from the natural flow of what the true story should be. 2. Trying to fit everything into one video. Organizations often don't think about what it truly means to tell a story. It's not talking about all the facts and features of the organizations, the different types of programs, showing the building, etc. We don't need to know everything about you. We KNOW you're doing incredible work, but we can read the facts and figures through the caption or text on your website. What we want to see and feel is the stories and emotions that accompany what you do. Which brings us to the next point... 3. Focusing on the features rather than the people. While it's great to inform people of the logistics of your organization -- those things are often not unique and they don't really retain people's attention. What does accomplish these two things, however, is gripping people by the heartstrings by focusing on one or two people's stories to show the audience the impact you make. It's not about telling me all the generalities of your organization. We really need to hyperfocus on ONE story that embodies the difference you make in people's lives. Remember what a story truly is. It has characters, it follows a journey, it presents a problem, a solution, has layers, and evokes emotion. If your videos are mostly just a summary of what you do as an organization, then you haven't really told a story. You've told me WHAT your organization does. The true heartfelt stories are always found in the WHY.