How to Discover Your Inner Narrator for Business Success

You are the narrator; this is your strategy. I work with clients to help them discover their narrative for business or personal purposes. This means they must become the narrator. It starts with a conversation that explores your story, and I start asking questions

On a recent discovery call, a client asked me, “Are you a business coach?” I took it as a compliment and laughed. I was asking her questions about her business goals and personal values.

I asked her five questions to bring forth her inner narrator. Through this process, we construct the story threads that become the narrative of your brand.

Question 1: 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 or both?

This first question is simple but critical; it sets the stage for everything that follows. 

When working with early-stage founders, particularly solo operators, I advise starting with a personal brand. At this stage, clients are investing in you directly. They need clarity on who you are, your core beliefs, and the value you deliver. Leading with a corporate brand early on often creates unnecessary distance from the person they will be dealing with directly.

A business brand works when there’s a team, a product, a system that exists beyond one person. When clients are buying your thinking and judgement, it is important to provide distinct insights into your story and experience. Your audience needs to see you before they trust you.

What the answer tells me: whether we’re building content around a person or a product. That single distinction shapes the tone, the stories we tell, and where we go with our strategy.

𝟐. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲?

Why six months? In the early stages of a business, this window is crucial to develop core talking points that engage the right audience. This includes the clients you currently serve and want more of. By identifying what resonates with them about your work, we can amplify those key themes across your content.

Staying agile is essential, particularly for established brands and businesses. Developing a content strategy tied to a multi-year roadmap often leads to wasted effort when market dynamics change. Time is money. Shorter, manageable planning cycles make it easier to adapt when things change. As we know, the only constant is change. Allowing for this reality keeps content production manageable and high value.

Six months is long enough to build traction and short enough to reflect the work you are doing now.

What the answer tells me: what the content needs to do right now, for the business as it exists today.

𝟑. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?

I suggest naming three. This is enough to start speaking to the people you most want to connect with. Focusing on one or two types of clients can limit the conversations you have. Give yourself room to test and grow with your clients.

Being too restrictive early on can reduce your interactions and limit the variety of audience members you engage with. Target up to three distinct ideal client profiles with tailored narratives and messaging for each. This provides reach with room to refine your approach.

Each ideal client gets their own content line. Their own set of topics, their own way of being spoken to. You’re not writing one generic post and hoping it lands with everyone. You’re writing three types of content, each designed to resonate with a specific person. 

What the answer tells me: how many storylines we need, what language to use for each, and how to structure the first few months so we’re testing what actually works rather than guessing.

𝟒. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

This question turns strategy into action.

To drive impact quickly and get things moving, look for where you already have momentum. It can be a network, location, existing relationships, or platforms where people already know your name.

Recently, a client felt caught between two potential audiences. While she had ties to both, the path forward became clear once we identified where she was already gaining traction and engagement. We leaned into that existing energy. When you are building a narrative from the ground up, generating immediate momentum is far more valuable than waiting for a flawless plan.

What the answer tells me: where to point the content to tap into the fastest feedback loop now.

𝟓. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝘁?

This is the most important and hardest question to answer.

Potential clients are often not aware of their biggest challenges. They haven’t encountered these issues yet, or understanding them requires a specialist who is aware of the often hidden pain points. They aren’t searching for answers to problems they don’t know exist. Attracting their attention requires a well-structured educational journey.

When Airbnb started in 2007, its founders rented out air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment during a design conference that had booked out every hotel in the city. That was the first pitch: a place to sleep when a big event brought more people to town than the hotels could hold. But convincing other people to rent rooms in their home to strangers wasn’t easy. The founders anchored their message to moments when the need was obvious, targeting conferences and events where visitors could not find a bed. They showed hosts what a spare room could earn and the value to travellers. Eventually, an idea that sounded creepy became one people saw value in.

Even though people understood the value, obstacles remained. Renting a room meant letting a stranger sleep in your home, and booking a stay meant trusting a stranger to host you. Most people found both ideas unsettling. Airbnb realised trust was the real product they were selling, so they built it into the platform. They created profiles with photos and personal details so nobody felt anonymous. They added two-way reviews so hosts and guests earned a reputation over time, and held each payment until after check-in so neither side had to hand over cash to someone they had never met. Later, they backed hosts with a guarantee that covered damage to their homes. Over time, the messaging and assurances they sent to both audiences turned renting a stranger’s spare room into a simple process.

If your clients understand they have the problem you solve, your content is straightforward. You describe the problem, show your solution and build trust. But if they don’t understand the problem yet, your content has a much bigger job. It has to educate before it can sell. It has to reveal the problem and explain the steps for solving it.

What the answer tells me: how much of the content is educational. Whether we are speaking to people who are looking for help, or if we are building the case that help is needed, education is central to every story your content tells.

Why these five questions matter

Content strategy is about connection, not content. Understanding your audience allows you to tell stories that build growth-focused relationships.

These questions provide a clear roadmap: who to target, what to say, where to publish, and how much education is required.

Thinking first, writing second. Answer these questions to transform content from guesswork into a targeted conversation.

Is a Narrator Strategy right for you? Get in touch!