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The most effective business storytelling reinforces a company’s culture and shared values. Storytelling in business can provide common-sense solutions to issues affecting all employees— from new hires to executives. For example: Onboarding stories help employees learn how to connect with allies.
- Spark Vision, Founded by Marybeth Hyland
- Zoom, Founded by Eric Yuan
- Halfaker & Associates, Founded by Dawn Halfaker
- Night Owl Cleaning Services, Founded by Arlete Turturro
- Xaviars Restaurant Group, Founded by Peter X. Kelly
- Corpnet, Founded by Nellie Akalp
- Gooroo, Founded by Scott Lee
- Red Rabbit, Founded by Rhys Powell
- Wine & Design, Founded by Harriet Mills
- Grubhub and Seamless, Founded by Matt Maloney and Jason Finger
The business success story:
MaryBeth Hyland started her company Spark Visionto help businesses create and maintain collaborative and inclusive office cultures. Specializing in millennial engagement, Hyland and Spark Vision offer workshops to help offices foster collaboration and connections among workers. A child of abuse, Hyland has faced a lot of challenges to her self-worth and confidence. She uses her survival daily as a way to motivate her to succeed in business, drawing on the experience of her past to connect wit...
The takeaway:
Everyone has a past—and not all are good. But whatever you’ve gone through, using your background and experience to inform your business can be great, even if your experiences aren’t. In Hyland’s case, she uses a troubled childhood to motivate and drive her, and her business benefits from it.
The business success story:
Eric Yuan came to the U.S. from China in the mid ’90s to pursue the internet boom—but it took a while to get here. The first eight times he applied for a visa, he was denied. Finally, on the ninth attempt, he was approved, but the process lasted two years. In 2012, after working for a Silicon Valley communication startup for years prior, Yuan founded the communication platform Zoom. In an interview with Thrive Global, Yuan says that Zoom started as a daydream, a solution to a long-distance re...
The takeaway:
Yuan’s difficult visa experience is a reality for many immigrants. But it’s alsoa testament to what can happen if you’re persistent and willing to keep trying. Whether you’re applying for an official document like a visa or a permit, or you’re simply trying to solve a difficult problem, determination will yield results—even if it takes a few years.
The business success story:
Virginia-based contracting firm, Halfaker & Associates,deals with data analytics, cybersecurity, software engineering, and IT infrastructure for the federal government. After being wounded in combat in Iraq, Dawn Halfaker worked on Capitol Hill and with various other contractors looking for a way to continue working with the military even after being medically retired. As a veteran herself, Halfaker knows firsthand what troops in combat need to be successful, and she saw a disconnect between...
The takeaway:
Halfaker’s story is a clear example of perseverance and getting back up after life knocks you down, and of what can be achieved with determination. But maybe what’s most important here is her commitment to her community—and how it benefits not only those around her, but also strengthens her business too. By hiring veterans and wounded warriors, Halfaker betters her company through their experience and expertise.
The business success story:
Arlete Turturro has a degree in merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a real estate license from Queens College. But these days she’s not working in fashion or real estate. She’s the owner of Night Owl Cleaning Servicesand has been for nearly three decades. Night Owl offers a huge array of services, like commercial cleaning, providing party attendants, plus 24-hour emergency services, too. Turturro was featured by the Westchester Business Journaland awarded its Woman of t...
The takeaway:
You can plan for a certain future—and end up in a totally different place. In Turturro’s case, she changed fields, somewhat drastically, a few different times before finding the business that worked for her and it’s paid off. Staying flexible and open to new possibilities can lead to great things—as can hard work. Starting off by cleaning homes and offices by yourself on the weekends isn’t the most glamorous job in the world, but it is an important one, and it led to Turturro owning her own b...
The business success story:
Peter X. Kelly is a self-taught chef. He didn’t go to culinary school, but his restaurants and catering business bring in around $10 million in sales a year. He beat Bobby Flay in 2006 and rose to become an Iron Chef (no small feat, as any Food Network fan can tell you). He became the chef of the Highlands Country Club in Garrison, NY at 23 years old. When asked if he was nervous to be so young in such a position, he saidhe knew he could pick up and try something else if he failed. He didn’t...
The takeaway:
Entering the workforce can be challenging in any field, but especially one as competitive as the culinary world. Even if you don’t have the formal training, you can make up for it with passion and hard work—just like Kelly did. This approach doesn’t work for all fields, but it’s also not an uncommon story. If you’re willing to put in the work and learn by doing, you might be able to make it big.
The business success story:
Nellie Akalp is the founder of not one but two hugely successful companies—plus mom of four, author, and speaker. Even though entrepreneurs just starting out are often advised not to go into business with their significant others, she and her husband started MyCorporation.com in their living room, which they then sold to Intuit in 2008. Then, rather than retiring on that sale, Akalp launched another company: CorpNet, which aims to help potential small business owners by preparing and filing t...
The takeaway:
In the Akalps case, ignoring advice not to go into business together resulted in a hugely successful company and a $20 million sale. When you’re starting a business, you’re being inundated with advice from all sides—the internet, other business owners, family, and friends. But in the end, you have to make your own informed decisions. Listen to advice from people who’ve been there before, definitely. But also remember that you’ve done your homework, and can forge your own path.
The business success story:
GooRoois an online platform for finding tutors for everything from basic reading and writing skills to SAT prep to college admission essays and more. GooRoo has more than 1,000 tutors in New York and has facilitated upward of 3,500 sessions. And those numbers keep growing. Scott Lee founded his first company, Peertutor, while he was still in high school in South Korea. Since then, he’s gone back to serve in the Korean army, founded an online clothing retailer, worked for JPMorgan, and served...
The takeaway:
Accumulating a diverse set of experiences can help you run your business best. As Leesays, all of his experiences helped him be a better CEO when he came back to what he knew he wanted to do in high school.Of course, you don’t have to abandon ship and return to the roost, but you do want to make sure you incorporate outside-the-box experiences so you can have outside-the-box thinking.
The business success story:
Founded in 2005 by former Wall Street trader Rhys Powell, Red Rabbit’s mission is to provide healthy, nutritious meals to school children. Red Rabbit partners with different schools to offer students made-from-scratch meals at affordable prices. Powell started Red Rabbit after talking to parents who were struggling to consistently find healthy meal options for their children. Initially, the business plan was to have parents order meals online that would then be delivered to school. They quick...
The takeaway:
By switching his focus from the parents to the schools themselves, Powell was able to increase profits and lower Red Rabbit’s overhead cost. Being flexible and receptive to what the data is showing you is crucial to the success of your small business. No matter how thoroughly you plan and how well you stick to that plan, sometimes you’ll need to make adjustments. But if you stay flexible, your changes might pay off in major ways.
The business success story:
In 2010, Harriet Mills had a young child and had just gotten laid off from her sales job. Rather than panic, she took a breath—and a paint-and-sip class. As she enjoyed the outing with some girlfriends, she realized that group painting just for fun was a largely untapped area. Now, her own take on the idea, Wine & Design,has almost 80 franchise locations across the country, offering a range of events including children’s parties and corporate get-togethers.
The takeaway:
Always be looking for the market whitespace to fill—that’s where your business is going to see success. And if you’re looking to start, pivot, or grow a business, your opportunities may come when you’re not looking for them. Heighten your senses for the areas within your own life that could use a little boost to start.
The business success story:
Grubhub has been operating since 2004, founded by two web developers who were tired of keeping track of paper menus and reading their credit card numbers on the phone. Seamless, which merged with Grubhub in 2013, has a similar origin story—just replace web developers with lawyers. Today, Grubhub and Seamless combined serve from 80,000 local takeout restaurants in more than 1,600 cities in the U.S. They also have a corporate catering wing, so you can order larger-scale meals on a company card...
The takeaway:
Don’t reinvent the wheel—or your brand, in this case—if you don’t have to. If the easiest answer is simplest, don’t question it. When Grubhub and Seamless merged, they decided to continue to keep the two brands distinct. Grubhub founder Matt Maloney explainsthat both brands had good awareness and success independently of each other, just in different cities.By keeping both brands, they didn’t have to spend time or money rebranding or re-marketing either company.
- Contributing Writer
- Swan Vesta – The matchbox millionaire. Ideas can come from anywhere, and some of the best ones are the simplest. Take this story from enduring brand, Swan.
- Frito-Lay – Flamin' Hot! Flamin' Hot Cheetos are a favourite snack for people across the globe, but the idea for them came from an unlikely source...
- McDonald's – The happiest meal. Name a more iconic meal in a box than the Happy Meal. We'll wait... Did you know, however, that this icon actually started as a simple gimmick?
- Amazon – Optimum Prime. What better place to head next than with the highest grossing employee idea of all time? Part of Amazon's core identity - 'Prime' - is actually the product of intrapreneurship within the ranks of Amazon's employees.
Use these essential tips with real-world employee storytelling examples to set your campaigns up for storytelling success. The best way to find out how business storytelling will transform your HR, learning and comms campaigns is to see StoryTagger in action.
Jan 25, 2024 · Here are 20 examples of business proposals that can guide you in creating a successful proposal for your own business. These examples cover various industries and business sizes, from graphic design to supply chain management.
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