Learn this skill to build a business that feels like an extension of yourself
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The JD Letter November 23, 2024 “Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” – Morgan Harper Nichols You can try to influence people's behaviors or you can tell them a relatable story.
In the example above I could’ve said: “Just accept life as it is.” But let’s be real—words like that go in one ear and out the other. Logic does not move people. Emotion does. That’s why I decided to tell a story instead. Stories are powerful because they bypass logic. They don’t just tell you what to do, they make you feel it. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had the goal of doing what I love for a living. Isn’t that what everyone wants? There has not been a single moment from the age 24 until 31 that starting my own business hasn't been in the back of my mind. So this entire year I've been giving it a shot. A few things I've realized:
Why am I telling you all of this? Because today I want to talk about how to close the gap between you and the business you can build by improving one simple thing: Your storytelling ability. We will go over:
The herd will always encourage you to play it safe. But safety is an illusion. If you follow the crowd, you'll only go as far as they do. Mediocrity will be your ceiling. By learning storytelling, you can attract rare opportunities. Your uniqueness becomes your biggest advantage. It won’t be easy, but you’ll stand out from the crowd and building the future you've always dreamed of will feel less distant. Why storytelling?“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs AI will only replace those who do not develop their unique skills, perspective, and ability to create value. AI is a tool, not a complete replacement for human skills. Now more than ever, people are craving real human connection. People want to read and listen to stories that evoke emotion. I used to think no one would care about what I had to share. I used to think building my business in public would make me feel ashamed. Let's be real: Opening up and sharing makes you feel like you’re naked. But here's what I learned when I began to build my business in public: It didn’t weaken my relationships, it strengthened them. It led to a level of personal growth and intimacy I hadn't experienced before. The fear of being judged or rejected was overshadowed by the support I gained. In a culture that thrives on perfection and superficial success, choosing to share your passions in public is a radical act of courage. Vulnerability is starting a business. Vulnerability is sharing your passion. Vulnerability is sharing an unpopular opinion. Vulnerability is saying I love you first. Vulnerability is sharing your art with people. Vulnerability is trying something new. Vulnerability is announcing your goals in public. Vulnerability is admitting that you’re wrong. Vulnerability is asking for forgiveness. Vulnerability is honesty. Vulnerability is being raw. Vulnerability has no filters. What you think will push people away will make you connect deeper with the right ones. My only regret is that I didn't start sooner. You see, trends come and go, but foundational human needs and desires remain the same. Let's look into how to tell stories and build a business in markets that withstand time (health, wealth, relationships). 1) Follow your curiosity“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek The beauty of storytelling is that it allows you to follow your curiosity for a living (we will get to ways to productize it later in this letter). When you follow your curiosity, your business is no longer the traditional rigid structure. Your business becomes an extension of who you are. It should feel as natural as the conversations you enjoy the most, the rabbit holes you explore, and the topics you can’t stop thinking about. A business, your business, is whatever you want it to be. If you're reading this letter you have this thing called the internet. What is stopping you from spending the next 1-2h diving deep into the rabbit hole of something that you're passionate about? What most people get wrong about starting a business is this belief that what their passion cannot be profitable. I used to think the same way. Until I learned that storytelling makes anything profitable. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are thousands of people out there that have decided to follow their curiosities before you, and have similar interests. Take an online course. Join a cohort. Hire a coach. The best investment you can make is to invest in yourself. If you're willing to learn how to tell your story in a way that resonates, people will buy into your vision, product, or service. The only question left is: What story do you want to tell? Start here:
Pick 1 broad topic. Go on YT. Learn everything you can. 2) Storytelling frameworksThe best storytellers provoke emotion, spark curiosity, and inspire action. If you’re not telling your story, someone else will tell theirs and stand out. In my own journey, I chose writing as my way to share my story. There are other ways you can convey a message to an audience like audio, video, music, and art. But I found that writing precedes all other forms of communication. Let me explain. If you choose your form of communication to be audio like a podcast, chances are you need to write a script or at the very least an outline – that’s writing. If you choose to create a YT video, reel, or TikTok it’s the same thing.
So, learning how to write in my opinion, is the storytelling skill you’ll need to learn. No, I’m not expecting everyone to turn into Ernest Hemingway or become the world’s most famous poet. I’m suggesting that everyone can benefit from learning how to write. In a way that follows a general storytelling structure that sparks curiosity. There are a lot of writing frameworks out there. But these two are the ones I found to be the simplest yet most effective frameworks to write any form of content: PAS (problem, amplify, solution) - great for any type of content writing, short or long form. - List a problem - Amplify the problem - Provide a solution SLAP (story, lesson, advice, proof) – this is the one I am using to write this newsletter - Share a story related to your topic - Share a lesson you’ve learned on the topic - Provide advice based on your experience - Show proof, ideally a metric or a clear transformation You do not have to use these frameworks. You can use any that you’d like. But I have spent tons of hours studying the human psychology behind what drives people to buy, subscribe, and follow. I have seen the results. 3) Storytelling principles and techniques“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain I’ll keep this section short. People will remember your stories the most if you use any of the principles below or a mix: -Repetition -Simplicity -Contrast -Symbolism -Morality Treat all of these as building blocks to create a story that sparks curiosity. People love these storytelling techniques: -Underdog stories -Transformational stories -Relatable struggles -Forgiveness -Parables -Fables -Poems Now, we can start to piece things together: - Choose one topic that interests you and follow that curiosity for 1-2h with YT videos, articles, newsletters, podcasts - Choose one writing framework (I recommend starting with PAS) list a problem within that topic, amplify that problem, and provide a solution to solve this problem. These can be bullet points - Apply one or more storytelling principles to expand on your bullet points; if you don’t know where to start use AI - Use the storytelling technique that fits your topic the best Tell stories that make people see themselves as the transformation. The right story can influence behavior. 4) How to productize your storyThe fastest way to monetize in the 21st century is to publish your story online. But you don’t get to hit publish, sit back, and plan for a rich retirement. You will need to drive traffic to your story. You will need to build an audience that is interested in reading or listening to what you have to say. Thanks to social media, this can be done fairly quickly –thank God it’s not the 1900’s anymore or this would be a lot harder. It’s 2024. You can go on twitter, LinkedIn, IG, YT, Facebook, TikTok, hit publish and start growing your audience. I will write about the details on how to grow an audience on twitter and why twitter should be the first place you start in a future newsletter. Pick any social media platform to drive traffic to your story and potential new business. Here are the digital products you can create: -emails -articles -eBooks -websites -newsletters -sales pages -video scripts -landing pages -online courses -podcast scripts The story you write can become any of the digital products above. Think about it from a consumer perspective. What image are you more inclined to click and buy? Same product, different emotion. If you’ve made it this far in this letter but you still don’t believe you can build a business around your curiosities, here is my personal example: One year ago I decided to follow my curiosity to learn more about how to monetize my writing passion. At the time, I had made $0 online and had no clue how to make my first $1. For the next 3 months I read tons of newsletters from people who had achieved my goal before. I started to dive deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of learning how to write and make money while doing it. Within 5 months of being consistent, learning, and following my curiosity I landed my first client. As I continued to invest in myself via online courses and cohorts, I kept improving my writing. I then started to use storytelling frameworks like PAS and SLAP and techniques like parables and fables. Once I started using these in my newsletters and social media posts, more doors opened up for me. I went from less than 1k followers to over 2k followers in 3 months: I’m currently working in a very exciting writing project with people who 12 months ago I did not think I could be in the same room with. All because I decided to follow my curiosity. All because I learned how to turn a story into a digital product. All because I found out about the power of storytelling. If I can follow my passion and learn how to monetize it, so can you. You now have the tools to close the gap between you and the business you can build. It starts with staying curious – you’ll be surprised how far it takes you. That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed today’s letter. Chat next week, Jess Inspire, Empower, Transform. P.S I'm helping clients on X:
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