I have conversations with small business owners everyday on the importance of telling stories For some reason, many of them are reluctant to open the door and let people in. Trying to get them to open up is not always warmly received.
I began to think about what I was missing. What message am I not conveying that speaks to the importance of storytelling to their marketing strategy? That question led me down the path of what exactly is blogging with purpose?
I did a little google search and found several articles talking about blogging with purpose. Some of them included technical tips and others discussed the importance of targeted information.
Then I came across this post from Copyblogger, Are You Blogging With Purpose? (If Not, 5 Ways to Fix That). This was the best start to defining purposeful blogging that I saw. In a nutshell it said when you blog with purpose you connect, convince and change minds.
I believe that to be true but I would like to take the definition a bit further. When you blog with purpose, you are opening the doors to your journey and allowing others to join you. You are allowing others to see your successes and your failures, your great moments and the not so great ones and most importantly you are giving your readers a front row seat to the good, the bad and the ugly.
It takes some serious courage to put your vulnerabilities out there. No wonder people look at me like I am crazy when I suggest talking about their failures. I truly believe, it is when you proudly share your story, the whole story, that you will see the connections forming, the acceptance building and support surrounding you.
This is what I know to be the truth. I have done this my whole business life. Just ask anyone, I am an open book. I may not have realized what I was doing but in the end, I was owning my story, all of it, and creating a web of support that has come in handy more than once.
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” -Brené Brown
Everyone has a unique talent and purpose. Small business owners usually express their life’s purpose through their business. Do it justice by sharing your story and summoning up the courage to allow others on your journey. You will be surprised at where it takes you.
Kim Yuhl is the creator of Project Inside Out, a place of inspiration, information and input for the modern small business owner. You can find Kim there or at her second home, kimyuhl.com.
