Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Zac Garside, Founder of The Storytelling Habit, located in Hyrum, UT, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Storytelling Habit helps entrepreneurs and salespeople say what they do so well that buying from you becomes a no-brainer. If you're building a business and are dying to be more understood - by customers, prospects, family friends - you are our customer. Oftentimes, the only thing standing between us and success is our ability to communicate what we do.
Tell us about yourself
Two years ago, while attending Bernadette Jiwa's Story Skills Workshop, I saw two videos of Microsoft Founder Bill Gates speaking from the stage. The first? Painful. Cringeworthy. It's so bad that the late Steve Jobs is forced to cut Gates off mid-story to save the audience from his rambling. The second? A revelatory TED Talk was given several years later. It's wonderful. A complete 180 in storytelling ability. The instant I saw the second video, I knew "there's no way Bill Gates made that transformation by simply studying and practicing in the mirror. He paid someone. He paid someone to help him go from walking textbook to the impossible-to-ignore storyteller." At that moment, I decided that I wanted to be "that guy" for the next wave of entrepreneurs. I want to be the guy that entrepreneurs, Founders, salespeople, and anyone else with an important message to share come to when they simply need to engage the people they wish to serve. Your message is too important to let it go to chance. If there's any possibility that people will see you as just another textbook of useless knowledge in our information-saturated economy, I want to help you. Leveraging skills I've developed since childhood as a speaker, salesman, and CEO of a company, I've built my business, The Storytelling Habit, to help you say what you do so well that buying from you becomes a no-brainer.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I spoke to a mastermind group in Cancun this year, and it was a transformational experience. Getting clients is one thing, but seeing the eyes of an entire group of entrepreneurs light up when they realize they have such a beautiful story to tell is my favorite part of this work.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
System building! "You fall to the level of your systems," as James Clear says. And building, implementing, and maintaining a good system for each pillar of your business is a challenge. But the long-tail benefits greatly outweigh the costs.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Just start! Just make a sale! Every problem in your life and business feels infinitely smaller and less intimidating the second you make a sale. Just sell one customer! Then another, and another, sales breathes life into a troubled organization.
- Beyond that, establish a unique point of view on your "thing." Anyone can start a business at any time, for free. Whatever your business is, we probably don't need another one. What we need is YOU.
- Finally, invest. Spend some money on growth and personal development! Pay to be in rooms with people who will force you to think bigger.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.zacgarside.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacgarside95
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacgarside/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacgarside
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacgarside/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.