We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Valerie Gordon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Valerie below.
Valerie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I had put stories on the air as a television producer for many years. I knew the power of a story to impact and influence perception and to educate and engage viewers. During my time in media, particularly in sports media, I saw too many talented women opt out of the workforce or hold themselves back and lose out on opportunities to others. As a mentor and board member of several women’s organizations, I wanted to help level the playing field and create gender equity at all levels.
I took what I knew – how to tell a great story – and what I wanted to do – help high-achieving women with the communication skills necessary to grow their careers on their own terms – and created my first workshop: “What’s Your Story? Storytelling Strategies for Career Success.” This initial idea led to a full business, then called Commander-in-She (now The Storytelling Strategist) in 2017. Since then I’ve worked as a trainer and consultant, a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, an adjunct professor, and an author. All of my work over the past seven years has pulled from my earlier career and my belief in the power of a story.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I truly believe in the power of story. It’s auniversal, gender-neutral language that can be applied to all roles and lines of business. The stories we put out to the world impact the way people see us and the opportunities we’ll get, while the stories we tell ourselves influence our course of action. Stories are universal connectors, creating a meaningful and memorable experience for audiences of all sizes.
How did you build your audience on social media?
LinkedIn has been my preferred platform of choice as my work is primarily with corporations and those in the corporate world.
While I previously had a presence on LinkedIn, it was minimal, so I was able to revamp and reinvent myself by updating my profile and creating a business page.
I aimed to post content that was clear, concise, compelling, and of value to my audience. Additionally, I posted consistently – 4 to 5 days a week – and made sure to engage with others in my areas of interest. As a result, I was not only able to grow my audience tenfold but to get many inquiries for workshops and projects as a result of my shared expertise. I’ve also met some wonderful fellow creators and collaborators on the site, some of whom have become close friends.
I advise any new business owner or creative to pick one platform they like best and where they feel they will best reach their preferred audience, rather than splitting their energy across many. Rather than think of it as “selling,” consider it “value sharing.” If you want to be a thought leader or expert in your area, provide value to the audience in the form of relatable and helpful content. Don’t push for the sale – it will come.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
March 2020 and the outbreak of Covid was a difficult time for all and especially for my business. I had been doing live keynotes at conferences and corporate workshops when suddenly the world shut down. Events were canceled, future speaking engagements shelved, and work quickly dried up.
I remember a particularly low moment when a business group in Connecticut asked for a deposit back for an engagement I was to do for them in late summer. The deposit wasn’t much but with no income coming in and no sense of when – if ever – the event would be rescheduled, having to give it back was especially demoralizing. To that point I had tripled business year after year and figured I’d be doing the same moving forward when it all came to a standstill. I thought, “I’m done. This was a great attempt but it’s all over.”
The good news was that my overhead was low, I had no staff that needed to be paid, and I could use the time to find new ways of working. I was already on Zoom before all of us were so I used that platform and my email list to offer free weekly workshops. I generated new content, dozens of new workshop ideas, and grew my virtual business. I got pretty good at it too, so much so that these days I am as likely to pitch and conduct a virtual workshop as I am an in-person one.
The best stories are the ones that involve challenge and conflict and hardship. While no one likes going through hard times, they do make you proud of your resilience and more appreciative of your success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thestorytellingstrategist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storytelling_strategist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStorytellingStrategist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriejgordon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thestorytellingstrategist
Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Connecticut Headshots and Nicole Pereira