Tell Me a Story or Business Plan

By Amanda McCormick, About.com GuideAugust 29, 2012

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Have you ever written a business plan?
I am writing one right now, and apart from actually making me sit down and make tough choices about what's practical and what's not, I realize the process is a tremendous exercise in storytelling.
In that, I mean what makes your business more than just an idea, something that will resonate with a lot of people...something that will last?
It connects with something that I often teach my students in Copywriting for the Web students. There's no real rocket science to making online copy sing. It's really all a matter of figuring out how to be a great storyteller. The kind of person who can hold the attention of others around a campfire. It's not easy, but surprisingly essential in business.
These are the common threads I see in great stories:

• Clarity: You can follow the story. From a business point of view, this might mean you understand the pain point the business is trying to solve.
• Coherence: one event logically follows from the last. In a business plan, obviously it's extremely important to show that your planning steps make sense.
• Point of view: does it express something singular and special? This is where things get interesting. Investors want to know that you are different, and in your difference lies the special something that will translate into a profitable enterprise.
• Resonance: does it connect with something larger? In other words, will people be buying?

When talking about your business, you need to become a fabulous storyteller. This principle applies to your business plan of course, but also in those chance meetings with potential allies. What are you going to say to hook them in?
It's important to get your story right on paper, so that you can know it off-the-cuff in those all-important social situations. If you want to know more about becoming a great storyteller, check out Create a Killer Elevator Pitch.
And let me know -- what tools are you using to tell the story of your business better?