May 13, 2025 • 27 mins
Have you ever felt pressured to hide your personality behind a professional facade in your business? What if the quirks, stories, and experiences you've been downplaying are actually your greatest assets?
In this illuminating conversation, Gregory shares how authenticity transforms not just how clients perceive you, but how you connect with yourself as a business owner. Drawing from his own journey through cancer and anxiety, Gregory reveals how he nearly fell into the trap many coaches experience – turning personal pain into a marketing tool before fully healing.
"When you go through something life-altering, it's tempting to turn your story into a marketing tool," Gregory admits. But he discovered a more powerful approach: authentic connection rooted in integrity and meaningful service. Together, we explore the delicate balance between vulnerability and exploitation in business storytelling.
The heart of our discussion centers on Gregory's comprehensive five-step framework for ethical storytelling: self-reflection, healing before sharing, intentional storytelling, brand alignment, and responsible sharing. This thoughtful methodology helps entrepreneurs determine not just how to share their stories, but whether they're ready to share them at all.
Perhaps the most powerful takeaway comes in Gregory's brilliant bite of wisdom: "Your story is a bridge, not bait. Share it to connect, not to convince." This simple yet profound distinction transforms how we approach marketing authenticity.
For solopreneurs tired of feeling stiff and corporate in their own businesses, this episode offers permission to bring your full self forward. Your humor, personality, and lived experiences aren't distractions from your expertise – they're what make you memorable, relatable, and ultimately, the perfect coach for your ideal clients.
Ready to stop hiding and start using your authentic story to build genuine connections? Tune in now and discover how embracing your quirks might be the business breakthrough you've been searching for.
Connect with Greg:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Greg (00:00):
When you go through something life-altering, it's
tempting to turn your story intoa marketing tool.
Alyssa (00:06):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:29):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way and who faced the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
What if the very quirks you'vebeen downplaying are actually
(00:51):
your greatest business asset?
Your humor, your weirdness,your unique way of doing things
that's what makes you stand out.
In today's episode, gregory isgoing to help you discover your
real niche the one rooted in allof your quirks, talents and
lived experiences, and how.
That is the key to attractingyour ideal clients.
(01:11):
So let's dive into thisconversation.
Welcome to the show, greg.
I am so happy that you're here.
Greg (01:16):
Hi Alyssa.
Thank you so much for invitingme on.
I'm excited.
Alyssa (01:26):
Me too, and you know, one thing I've really noticed
over the years, whether it'sthrough kind of my own
experiences or working withclients, is how often we're told
to separate our personal sidefrom our professional side.
Like having a big personalityscares people away.
Like there's this kind ofunwritten rule that says keep it
professional, don't let anyonesee the real you.
And over over time I find thatthis stiffness of being in
(01:47):
corporate for so long, likemyself, and then going into your
own business, you realize howmuch of your personality gets
washed away and you sort of haveto rebuild your identity
through your business and kindof be okay with being vulnerable
.
And there is this time andplace where I think acting
professional is important partof your business, but at the
same time I find that we're veryhuman and business is personal,
(02:11):
I think anyways, especially for, like, solopreneurs and
creators like us, where kind ofevery idea, every offer that we
create, every piece of content,feels like an extension of who
we are.
And so I would think that if weinfuse a lot more personality
into our content, that ourbusinesses would do so much
better.
So I'm looking to you, craig,to tell me what are some simple
(02:35):
strategies that people can doright now to make their
businesses feel more human andnot robotic.
Greg (02:41):
That's a great question and I love the topic and I love
the idea of putting your wholeself, your personnel, to a
certain extent, into yourmarketing and your business,
because it does make it morerelatable.
And why, just why, not bringour whole selves, you know?
But so I do sometimes like towork from the from the
(03:07):
perspective of how we infuse ourpersonal stories into our
marketing, into our coachingbusiness, because sometimes, you
know, a lot of us like to takeour um adverse experiences,
things that we have overcome,and I don't know.
We'd like to make it part ofour business, our practice,
(03:28):
because hopefully we want toinspire somebody else or help
somebody else through a hardtime.
So I like to explore how we canauthentically weave our
personal stories into ourmarketing.
Our intentions are often pure wewant to help others avoid
pitfalls, offer inspiration andcreate meaningful connections.
(03:51):
Sharing our struggles andtriumphs, you know, feels like a
natural expression of ourhumanity.
But sometimes, if we haven'tfully processed or healed from
certain experiences,storytelling can become sort of
more performative than impactful.
Instead of sparking real change, like it might it might be
(04:11):
unintentionally serve as acoping mechanism rather than a
tool for connection, and I havecreated this sort of five-step
framework for helping a coachthrough that, if they decide to
share their story and make itpart of their marketing message.
(04:33):
And you know, when we're notaware of that, we're not aware
of our, if we think, if we havemore healing to do and we're not
aware of it can kind of causemore harm than good or even
confusion.
So, yeah, it's a veryinteresting thing.
Alyssa (04:51):
It is, and it's amazing how much our personality can end
, you know, through ourstorytelling can shape the way
that people connect to abusiness Like I find that when
we share our authenticexperiences, things that we've
been through, it creates thatdeeper sense of trust that's
really hard to fake.
And so when you think ofauthentic storytelling, you know
(05:11):
you've gone through cancer,anxiety, yourself, and so tell
me about that experience and howit has shaped you.
So you know, not just you knowshifting the person that you've
become or that you are, but howhas that affected how you show
up as a coach?
And then what have you learnedfrom those experiences?
Greg (05:31):
Yeah, and you're right, it is hard to fake, and sometimes
when we try to fake it in ourmarketing and through our
business, our marketing becausewe want to just put it out there
, we want to tell our story,without doing the healing work,
sometimes people can't pick upon that.
Can't pick up on.
Maybe that coach needs to workon themselves a little more
(05:54):
before doing that, and so myexperience with cancer,
chemotherapy and anxiety couldhave easily led me down the path
of weaponizing it's a verystrong word, but weaponizing my
pain for profit, and for a whileI almost did.
(06:15):
I almost went that route interms of being more of a
predatory marketer, in terms ofhow I and I need to be so
upfront and honest about this,because this is a thing that's
highly practiced today in theworld of online business, and
when you go through somethinglife altering, it's tempting to
(06:36):
turn your story into a marketingtool before fully understanding
how that could impact someoneelse.
But these challenges didn't justshape me as a person.
They transformed me as abusiness owner.
They made me more self-aware,more patient and gave me a
(06:56):
deeper sense of knowing who I amand what truly matters, to me
at least, and how I want to showup in my work.
You know, instead of using mypain as a selling point, I've
learned to channel it intosomething more powerful
authentic connection, integrityand a business rooted in real,
meaningful service and sometimes, when you're not self-aware, or
(07:19):
healing.
If you haven't healed enough,you can't possibly know how to
do that.
Alyssa (07:32):
I feel like that is so true because there are coaches
out there who every emotion,they want to talk about it and
they turn it into a sellingpoint and not every story needs
to be turned into a product thatyou offer.
Like you just you feel terriblethat day so you say, oh, this
is what I'm feeling right nowand this is the.
You know, this is how you canalso feel better by doing, you
(07:54):
know, like I just find thatthere's a lot of that sort of
marketing that's out there rightnow and I feel like you should
be telling your story, that youknow, telling your personal
(08:17):
stories that are real andauthentic, that have happened to
you, like with cancer andanxiety, but not using it as a
Like if you ever noticed, if youever kind of noticed a friend,
if you're telling your friendsomething like I was just having
a conversation with a friend ofmine and I was telling the
story but I wasn't listing outlike the facts, like I wasn't
just listing out, oh, this iswhat I did this weekend, like I
went into like a lot more detail, I threw it.
(08:39):
I threw in like the emotionalpart of it, the, the drama, and
I just find that that makespeople curious and they'll ask
more questions and it makes themcare.
And so and I guess throughbusiness as well like people
don't just connect with bulletpoints and I feel like I've read
(09:00):
a lot of about pages, like ontheir websites, they have a lot
of bullet points, there's a lotof those, and they just have
straight facts on there and Ijust don't find that I connect
with.
Like when I'm reading about it,I'm just like what else is
there?
It's like, yes, I know yourcertifications, I know all that
about you, I know all of thefacts about where you started.
(09:22):
But like, how do you build thatinto like a story?
Because that's what'sinteresting to me, um, and when
we, when we're able to tellstories properly, then we can
start to see how relatable weare to each other and how we
remember things about each other.
And honestly, like I I feel likeit's also deciding about how we
vibe with someone or not.
Like, um, like when I'm lookingat someone through, if I'm
(09:46):
hiring someone like a contractoror like a coach, and I look at
their website and look at theirabout page, like I'm waiting for
like a story that's like reallyreal, raw, authentic.
That's different and not justsomething that's just generic
and boring and just like itmakes me feel like, oh, I don't
think I relate to this person atall, so I don't think I want to
(10:07):
work with that person.
And so I'm curious about howyou bring your storytelling into
your coaching work, like, isthere, like I know you mentioned
like a framework?
Um, we mentioned a frameworkearlier about your five-step
method, so tell me about thismethod and how does it actually
work.
Greg (10:25):
Yeah.
So this method, this framework,is about how someone can weed
through their story and detectwhether or not they're ready to
share it, if they've processedenough of whatever it is they
need to process before reallyputting out there into the.
(10:45):
Some people are not comfortablewith telling their stories, and
that's very fine too, becausethere are so many ways to.
You know what's it called.
So there are so many ways topresent your story that doesn't
say your story, and you knowwhat I mean.
There are just so many creativeways to do that.
But for this system it kind ofit helps the, it helps the coach
(11:09):
.
I like to work with new coaches.
I like to it helps the newcoach kind of, you know,
deconstruct everything beforethey decide to go that route.
You know, deconstructeverything before they decide to
go that route.
Because I think, I thinkeveryone should do this in the
world of marketing.
Because, because it's just, Idon't know if it's very helpful
to just put it out there willynilly, to just put it out there
(11:31):
to write a, you know, abiography of this is what
happened to me.
It's just so, I don't knowthere's, I don't know, maybe it
can happen, but I haven't seenit be very successful.
I mean, maybe it's helpedpeople make a lot of money.
Alyssa (11:45):
But so as an example, like I don't want to put you on
the spot here, but when you saydeconstruct their stories, so
what happens?
So do you ask them a bunch ofquestions first or like how is
the, how do they, how can theydeconstruct their story so that
it doesn't feel like it'soverwhelming to them?
Greg (12:06):
Sure, so this I'll go through the five steps briefly.
This is how I would walk themthrough the process us, um, use
our personal stories in a waythat uplifts and inspires and
create real and creates realimpact and builds a relationship
with somebody, rather than justselling and cold calling and
(12:28):
all of that stuff.
Um, I think, because it's thefirst and foremost, uh, the
customer, the audience.
Without any of, without thosepeople, we will have nothing
there's, that's the bottom line,they're just, it's, it's really
all about them.
So, before and before we startselling, we really need to know
how to take care of our people,our audience, in a way that's
(12:49):
just really true and authentic.
So the first part isself-reflection, understanding
your story.
So, before you share yourpersonal story, take time to
reflect, and a really powerfulway I like to do this is by
journaling, and this is asidefrom therapy and all of those
other modalities, but for thisexample, I like to journal and I
(13:15):
think it's a powerful tool toexplore what parts of our story
feel most compelling to share.
Because sometimes we'recompelled to share a part of our
story, but is that becausewe're reacting to it emotionally
, or is this part really goingto teach something to someone
important that they're going toactually take away, or am I
trauma dumping?
(13:36):
And the next part is why don'tI want to share this story with
people?
And third, how does share, howdoes sharing this serve me, our
businesses and the people whowill hear it?
These are like three parts tonumber one that are really
important to answer.
Alyssa (13:56):
That was just step one.
Greg (13:58):
That was step one.
Yes, Wow, you go really, really,that's super comprehensive yeah
, because I think it's when itcomes to, you know, psychology
and emotional pain.
You gotta really go in there.
You can't, can't mess aroundwith this, because it it can
just do a lot of harm towardsother people not just towards
(14:19):
other people, but to yourselftoo.
It can, you know, you're notready to put something out there
it can just have catastrophiceffects.
Wow.
So the second part is and I'lltry to go through this because I
know we don't have a lot oftime but the second one is
healing before sharing, becauseour story can be a powerful tool
(14:39):
for good, or sharing, becauseour story can be a powerful tool
for good, but if we haven'tfully processed or healed from
certain experiences, sharing toosoon can be more performative
and impactful, because unhealedwounds can clutter a message,
potentially cause harm orconfusion.
So part of this is have I trulymade peace with this part of my
story or do I realize that it'san ongoing journey of grief and
(15:02):
, you know, letting go?
Am I sharing to inspire andguide, or am I seeking
validation or catharsis?
Or can I talk about this withneutrality, or does it still
trigger deep emotions?
So that's the second part.
So the third part isintentional storytelling,
choosing what and how to share,because not every part of our
(15:22):
story needs to be sharedpublicly.
Instead of trauma dumping orusing pain as a marketing tool
desperation marketing Considerwhat lessons or insights does
the story offer?
How can I provide value,inspiration and guidance to my
audience, and am I framing mystory in a way that empowers
(15:43):
rather than seeks sympathy?
And you feel free to interruptme anytime, but I'm going to go
through these, okay, cool.
Number four is aligningstorytelling with your business
and brand.
Our personal stories shouldalign with our coaching
philosophy and brand message.
So ask yourself does the storyconnect with the core values of
(16:06):
my business?
How does it support my idealclient's journey?
And am I using this story tocreate authentic engagement or
to manipulate emotions, which wesee a lot of that in marketing
all across the board, whetherit's online or, you know,
coaching, the coaching world orthe non-coaching world.
(16:26):
There's a lot of you knowmanipulation.
I mean it's all manipulativeand you know at the bottom, but
there are some manipulation.
That's just not.
It's not cool.
Number five is ethical andresponsible sharing.
It's not cool.
Number five is ethical andresponsible sharing.
Storytelling should always behandled with integrity before
posting or speaking about anexperience.
So consider, would I becomfortable sharing this if I
(16:55):
knew my clients were in the sameposition?
Am I respecting the privacy ofothers involved in the story?
Does my story serve my audienceor is it unintentionally
self-indulgent?
So that is the five steps thatI just, you know, I kind of
bulleted through it, but I wouldtake a client through this over
a series of time.
Alyssa (17:11):
Wow, and how long does it take usually?
Greg (17:15):
It, just it can be.
It depends on the client.
Some people are quick, Somepeople are healed through stuff
quicker, Some people need alittle more time.
It could take a month to sixmonths depending on the person.
Alyssa (17:28):
I guess it depends on their story too and how much of
it there is to get through,Because even when you're dealing
with trauma that could havehappened decades previously I
mean, who knows right and howlong that healing would take and
to go and then just and then toextract that and put that into
(17:48):
a story, oh my goodness, Likethat sounds real that would take
.
That could, yeah, that couldtake some time.
So, wow, that's really helpful.
Thanks so much, greg.
Greg (17:59):
Cancer cancer Like I really struggled with and I
still don't really share it alot.
I may pop it in there, I weaveit in there sometimes in my own
stuff, but I really struggledwith wanting to share it like I
wanted.
I blew it out there like crazybecause I was still in pain from
the chemo and all of that, butthen I reeled it back and think
(18:20):
and thought, like, do I reallywant to keep talking about this
or do I want to keep it?
Just, I don't want to keep itin the past.
So there's a whole, there's awhole bunch.
Alyssa (18:29):
it's so nuanced yeah, and it's also like, how do I
share it?
Like, if I'm a business coach,how does that relate to cancer?
So there's always that thatself-doubt of like how do I
weave into my story but still berelevant for my clients too?
Greg (18:45):
yes, and in terms of like how long it takes, too, it's.
I always encourage the clientswho know that themselves from
their how are they?
It's such a feeling like youknow when you're ready.
If you don't know if you'reready, you're not ready, but
it's more of I mean, sometimesthere's some ambivalence.
It's like I'm ready but I'mscared, or I'm nervous.
(19:06):
But if you're like, oh, I'm notsure if I should do this or not
, I'm not.
That means you kind of you know, maybe there's still a little
bit more work, but I alwaysencourage the client to approach
it from a place of how they'refeeling about it.
Alyssa (19:20):
Yeah, especially also if you there's more than one
person involved and you know howdo you approach privacy and
confidentiality withoutrevealing names, and you know
the person that you're talkingto and what happened to you, and
so that also could make thingsmore complex.
Greg (19:40):
Yes, absolutely, yes, absolutely, Because it's I don't
know part of the healingprocess is not dragging somebody
else through dragging, is notdragging somebody else through
dragging.
But you know, even if they maybe part of your story in the way
that they did harm to you orwhatever, but it's still
important to know if that couldcause harm to them.
(20:01):
You know there are other waysto deal with that.
Alyssa (20:04):
Yeah, it's so complex because then if you put your
story out there and whoever thatperson sees it or whatever, how
do they feel and how is itgoing to affect them and is
there any kind of legalitiesinvolved?
I don't know Right Like thatcould be.
Greg (20:17):
Yeah.
Alyssa (20:18):
That's its own beast.
I mean, we've kind of opened upa can of worms here, but yeah,
I know, we can go so manydirections with this.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So now we've come to our myfavorite segment of the week.
Here is where it's called thebrilliant bite of the week, and
this is where you get to leave apiece of wisdom or actionable
(20:39):
advice that listeners can use toput into practice with their
own business.
So we've talked about a lothere, but what is one tip,
mantra or insight that you wouldlike to share that they can
take the next step with?
Greg (20:52):
Sure.
So I have a short mantra and alittle bit of an insight.
So I like to say this I like mystory is a bridge, not a bait
and that's pretty intense to usethat word bait but when we're
talking about marketing andonline business, we got to
really be transparent, and soour story is a bridge, not bait.
(21:15):
Share it to connect, not toconvince, because that's our job
is to connect.
And so the insight around thatI think authentic storytelling
isn't about using your pain as aselling point.
It's about sharing from a placeof wisdom and service.
Before we tell our stories, askyourself is this for me or is it
(21:40):
for them?
And honestly, sometimes it canbe for both.
Sometimes, telling our story,even if we're ready to tell it,
can also be healing for us aswell, for ourselves.
It's not, you know, it's notonly for them, and that's
another thing that it'simportant to differentiate, that
(22:01):
we do things not just for otherpeople, but we also do things
for ourselves too.
In terms of sharing our story,it could be healing.
Maybe we ran in.
Maybe, as we're telling ourstory, we learned something new
that we didn't realize before.
I'm like, oh my God, I didn'tknow.
I was still feeling that way,anyway.
So is this for me or for them?
(22:22):
If your story empowers,educates or inspires without
seeking validation, then it'sready to be shared.
Alyssa (22:36):
Wow, that's a lot of value what you just shared.
I think it's that kind of likeinsight that moves the needle
for people who are in the thickof trying to share their story
and just be comfortable to do so, to get that kind of
reassurance that maybe it istime or maybe they need to
connect with someone like youwho can help them bring out that
story for them.
And you know, I can't help butreflect on the major takeaways
(22:57):
that we've learned today fromyour story to you know, to
helping us humanize what we talk, be comfortable in our business
, to talk about these types ofthings and to just make sure
that we're coming from a placeof connection rather than just
guru marketing and doing allthose things that we, yes, want
to get away from and just to beourselves like that's like the
(23:21):
the main point here, and sothanks so much, greg, for um,
for helping on today and forlisteners.
You know, don't forget to checkout the show notes for all the
ways that you can connect withGreg and to learn more about he
also has a membership as well.
So I mean, if you want, do youwant to share anything about
that?
Greg (23:40):
If it's okay, I'll just quickly share Go ahead.
I'm just super proud of thisbecause all of this work stems
from my own frustrations andexperiences around not having
money and struggling and growingup poor and all of that stuff
and just almost getting caughtup in the online, needing to
(24:00):
make six to seven figures kindof mindset, and I just couldn't
do it and I got you know, youinternalize it as you're the
problem, but so, anyways, all ofthis was born from goodness,
healing and frustration.
But so I have a membership sitecoming out March 1st called the
Quirky Rebel Coach Membershipand I sort of like want to be
(24:23):
like the Walmart of the coachingindustry in terms of offering,
the Walmart of the coachingindustry in terms of offering.
So I want to make sure coacheshave the resources, strategies
and support to take action interms of building their coaching
business, without you know ifthey don't have a budget or if
they have a small budget or ifthey're struggling financially.
I want this to be at theirdisposal and so you could join
(24:47):
for nine dollars a month.
There's no upselling, there's no, no, you know no surprises
later on, as you know, I justwant to keep it that.
I want to offer a lot of value.
You get like plug and playcoaching scripts and done for
you email and welcome sequences.
You get pricing calculatorsthat I created monthly live Q&As
(25:11):
, a private community, just deepdive trainings and tutorials
and you know, content gets fresh, freshened every week, there's
stuff added every week and it'sonly $9.
And yeah, that's it.
It's really upfront, honest andno surprises.
Alyssa (25:31):
I like that you're pushing the ethical side, like
you're not just like some, likescammy, that you're coming from
a place of good hearted coachingrather than pushy sales tactics
that we see in the coachingindustry, because I do think
that we're.
I think as a group, as anindustry, we're trying to move
away from that because we knowthat it doesn't work.
(25:53):
It works for FOMO tactics anddoing all of those things that
don't make the customer feelgood, but we can't sleep at
night.
So I feel like, from a coachingperspective, you're coming from
a good place, and that is thatyou're going to attract people
(26:14):
who also want to feel good intheir business too.
Greg (26:18):
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah, I joined something for $7because I'm like, oh wow, this
is so cool.
Look at all this value and allthis stuff.
But then I got behind the, youknow, I joined up and behind
closed doors I'm like, oh my God, they want me to buy all this
other stuff.
And 10,000.
I'm like, oh my God, what did Ijust do?
So I fell into that a lot and Igot frustrated.
(26:41):
I got to do something aboutthis and help deconstruct it all
.
So thank you so much forletting me share that.
Alyssa (26:49):
I appreciate it and I hope everyone, for everyone
who's listening right now.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
If you do want to connect withGreg directly, just look at the
show notes.
I'll have.
Look at the show notes.
I have all the links there andI will catch you next time on
another brilliant idea.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas.
(27:09):
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
Visit AlyssaBelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
When you go through something life-altering, it's
tempting to turn your story intoa marketing tool.
Alyssa (00:06):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:29):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way and who faced the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
What if the very quirks you'vebeen downplaying are actually
(00:51):
your greatest business asset?
Your humor, your weirdness,your unique way of doing things
that's what makes you stand out.
In today's episode, gregory isgoing to help you discover your
real niche the one rooted in allof your quirks, talents and
lived experiences, and how.
That is the key to attractingyour ideal clients.
(01:11):
So let's dive into thisconversation.
Welcome to the show, greg.
I am so happy that you're here.
Greg (01:16):
Hi Alyssa.
Thank you so much for invitingme on.
I'm excited.
Alyssa (01:26):
Me too, and you know, one thing I've really noticed
over the years, whether it'sthrough kind of my own
experiences or working withclients, is how often we're told
to separate our personal sidefrom our professional side.
Like having a big personalityscares people away.
Like there's this kind ofunwritten rule that says keep it
professional, don't let anyonesee the real you.
And over over time I find thatthis stiffness of being in
(01:47):
corporate for so long, likemyself, and then going into your
own business, you realize howmuch of your personality gets
washed away and you sort of haveto rebuild your identity
through your business and kindof be okay with being vulnerable
.
And there is this time andplace where I think acting
professional is important partof your business, but at the
same time I find that we're veryhuman and business is personal,
(02:11):
I think anyways, especially for, like, solopreneurs and
creators like us, where kind ofevery idea, every offer that we
create, every piece of content,feels like an extension of who
we are.
And so I would think that if weinfuse a lot more personality
into our content, that ourbusinesses would do so much
better.
So I'm looking to you, craig,to tell me what are some simple
(02:35):
strategies that people can doright now to make their
businesses feel more human andnot robotic.
Greg (02:41):
That's a great question and I love the topic and I love
the idea of putting your wholeself, your personnel, to a
certain extent, into yourmarketing and your business,
because it does make it morerelatable.
And why, just why, not bringour whole selves, you know?
But so I do sometimes like towork from the from the
(03:07):
perspective of how we infuse ourpersonal stories into our
marketing, into our coachingbusiness, because sometimes, you
know, a lot of us like to takeour um adverse experiences,
things that we have overcome,and I don't know.
We'd like to make it part ofour business, our practice,
(03:28):
because hopefully we want toinspire somebody else or help
somebody else through a hardtime.
So I like to explore how we canauthentically weave our
personal stories into ourmarketing.
Our intentions are often pure wewant to help others avoid
pitfalls, offer inspiration andcreate meaningful connections.
(03:51):
Sharing our struggles andtriumphs, you know, feels like a
natural expression of ourhumanity.
But sometimes, if we haven'tfully processed or healed from
certain experiences,storytelling can become sort of
more performative than impactful.
Instead of sparking real change, like it might it might be
(04:11):
unintentionally serve as acoping mechanism rather than a
tool for connection, and I havecreated this sort of five-step
framework for helping a coachthrough that, if they decide to
share their story and make itpart of their marketing message.
(04:33):
And you know, when we're notaware of that, we're not aware
of our, if we think, if we havemore healing to do and we're not
aware of it can kind of causemore harm than good or even
confusion.
So, yeah, it's a veryinteresting thing.
Alyssa (04:51):
It is, and it's amazing how much our personality can end
, you know, through ourstorytelling can shape the way
that people connect to abusiness Like I find that when
we share our authenticexperiences, things that we've
been through, it creates thatdeeper sense of trust that's
really hard to fake.
And so when you think ofauthentic storytelling, you know
(05:11):
you've gone through cancer,anxiety, yourself, and so tell
me about that experience and howit has shaped you.
So you know, not just you knowshifting the person that you've
become or that you are, but howhas that affected how you show
up as a coach?
And then what have you learnedfrom those experiences?
Greg (05:31):
Yeah, and you're right, it is hard to fake, and sometimes
when we try to fake it in ourmarketing and through our
business, our marketing becausewe want to just put it out there
, we want to tell our story,without doing the healing work,
sometimes people can't pick upon that.
Can't pick up on.
Maybe that coach needs to workon themselves a little more
(05:54):
before doing that, and so myexperience with cancer,
chemotherapy and anxiety couldhave easily led me down the path
of weaponizing it's a verystrong word, but weaponizing my
pain for profit, and for a whileI almost did.
(06:15):
I almost went that route interms of being more of a
predatory marketer, in terms ofhow I and I need to be so
upfront and honest about this,because this is a thing that's
highly practiced today in theworld of online business, and
when you go through somethinglife altering, it's tempting to
(06:36):
turn your story into a marketingtool before fully understanding
how that could impact someoneelse.
But these challenges didn't justshape me as a person.
They transformed me as abusiness owner.
They made me more self-aware,more patient and gave me a
(06:56):
deeper sense of knowing who I amand what truly matters, to me
at least, and how I want to showup in my work.
You know, instead of using mypain as a selling point, I've
learned to channel it intosomething more powerful
authentic connection, integrityand a business rooted in real,
meaningful service and sometimes, when you're not self-aware, or
(07:19):
healing.
If you haven't healed enough,you can't possibly know how to
do that.
Alyssa (07:32):
I feel like that is so true because there are coaches
out there who every emotion,they want to talk about it and
they turn it into a sellingpoint and not every story needs
to be turned into a product thatyou offer.
Like you just you feel terriblethat day so you say, oh, this
is what I'm feeling right nowand this is the.
You know, this is how you canalso feel better by doing, you
(07:54):
know, like I just find thatthere's a lot of that sort of
marketing that's out there rightnow and I feel like you should
be telling your story, that youknow, telling your personal
(08:17):
stories that are real andauthentic, that have happened to
you, like with cancer andanxiety, but not using it as a
Like if you ever noticed, if youever kind of noticed a friend,
if you're telling your friendsomething like I was just having
a conversation with a friend ofmine and I was telling the
story but I wasn't listing outlike the facts, like I wasn't
just listing out, oh, this iswhat I did this weekend, like I
went into like a lot more detail, I threw it.
(08:39):
I threw in like the emotionalpart of it, the, the drama, and
I just find that that makespeople curious and they'll ask
more questions and it makes themcare.
And so and I guess throughbusiness as well like people
don't just connect with bulletpoints and I feel like I've read
(09:00):
a lot of about pages, like ontheir websites, they have a lot
of bullet points, there's a lotof those, and they just have
straight facts on there and Ijust don't find that I connect
with.
Like when I'm reading about it,I'm just like what else is
there?
It's like, yes, I know yourcertifications, I know all that
about you, I know all of thefacts about where you started.
(09:22):
But like, how do you build thatinto like a story?
Because that's what'sinteresting to me, um, and when
we, when we're able to tellstories properly, then we can
start to see how relatable weare to each other and how we
remember things about each other.
And honestly, like I I feel likeit's also deciding about how we
vibe with someone or not.
Like, um, like when I'm lookingat someone through, if I'm
(09:46):
hiring someone like a contractoror like a coach, and I look at
their website and look at theirabout page, like I'm waiting for
like a story that's like reallyreal, raw, authentic.
That's different and not justsomething that's just generic
and boring and just like itmakes me feel like, oh, I don't
think I relate to this person atall, so I don't think I want to
(10:07):
work with that person.
And so I'm curious about howyou bring your storytelling into
your coaching work, like, isthere, like I know you mentioned
like a framework?
Um, we mentioned a frameworkearlier about your five-step
method, so tell me about thismethod and how does it actually
work.
Greg (10:25):
Yeah.
So this method, this framework,is about how someone can weed
through their story and detectwhether or not they're ready to
share it, if they've processedenough of whatever it is they
need to process before reallyputting out there into the.
(10:45):
Some people are not comfortablewith telling their stories, and
that's very fine too, becausethere are so many ways to.
You know what's it called.
So there are so many ways topresent your story that doesn't
say your story, and you knowwhat I mean.
There are just so many creativeways to do that.
But for this system it kind ofit helps the, it helps the coach
(11:09):
.
I like to work with new coaches.
I like to it helps the newcoach kind of, you know,
deconstruct everything beforethey decide to go that route.
You know, deconstructeverything before they decide to
go that route.
Because I think, I thinkeveryone should do this in the
world of marketing.
Because, because it's just, Idon't know if it's very helpful
to just put it out there willynilly, to just put it out there
(11:31):
to write a, you know, abiography of this is what
happened to me.
It's just so, I don't knowthere's, I don't know, maybe it
can happen, but I haven't seenit be very successful.
I mean, maybe it's helpedpeople make a lot of money.
Alyssa (11:45):
But so as an example, like I don't want to put you on
the spot here, but when you saydeconstruct their stories, so
what happens?
So do you ask them a bunch ofquestions first or like how is
the, how do they, how can theydeconstruct their story so that
it doesn't feel like it'soverwhelming to them?
Greg (12:06):
Sure, so this I'll go through the five steps briefly.
This is how I would walk themthrough the process us, um, use
our personal stories in a waythat uplifts and inspires and
create real and creates realimpact and builds a relationship
with somebody, rather than justselling and cold calling and
(12:28):
all of that stuff.
Um, I think, because it's thefirst and foremost, uh, the
customer, the audience.
Without any of, without thosepeople, we will have nothing
there's, that's the bottom line,they're just, it's, it's really
all about them.
So, before and before we startselling, we really need to know
how to take care of our people,our audience, in a way that's
(12:49):
just really true and authentic.
So the first part isself-reflection, understanding
your story.
So, before you share yourpersonal story, take time to
reflect, and a really powerfulway I like to do this is by
journaling, and this is asidefrom therapy and all of those
other modalities, but for thisexample, I like to journal and I
(13:15):
think it's a powerful tool toexplore what parts of our story
feel most compelling to share.
Because sometimes we'recompelled to share a part of our
story, but is that becausewe're reacting to it emotionally
, or is this part really goingto teach something to someone
important that they're going toactually take away, or am I
trauma dumping?
(13:36):
And the next part is why don'tI want to share this story with
people?
And third, how does share, howdoes sharing this serve me, our
businesses and the people whowill hear it?
These are like three parts tonumber one that are really
important to answer.
Alyssa (13:56):
That was just step one.
Greg (13:58):
That was step one.
Yes, Wow, you go really, really,that's super comprehensive yeah
, because I think it's when itcomes to, you know, psychology
and emotional pain.
You gotta really go in there.
You can't, can't mess aroundwith this, because it it can
just do a lot of harm towardsother people not just towards
(14:19):
other people, but to yourselftoo.
It can, you know, you're notready to put something out there
it can just have catastrophiceffects.
Wow.
So the second part is and I'lltry to go through this because I
know we don't have a lot oftime but the second one is
healing before sharing, becauseour story can be a powerful tool
(14:39):
for good, or sharing, becauseour story can be a powerful tool
for good, but if we haven'tfully processed or healed from
certain experiences, sharing toosoon can be more performative
and impactful, because unhealedwounds can clutter a message,
potentially cause harm orconfusion.
So part of this is have I trulymade peace with this part of my
story or do I realize that it'san ongoing journey of grief and
(15:02):
, you know, letting go?
Am I sharing to inspire andguide, or am I seeking
validation or catharsis?
Or can I talk about this withneutrality, or does it still
trigger deep emotions?
So that's the second part.
So the third part isintentional storytelling,
choosing what and how to share,because not every part of our
(15:22):
story needs to be sharedpublicly.
Instead of trauma dumping orusing pain as a marketing tool
desperation marketing Considerwhat lessons or insights does
the story offer?
How can I provide value,inspiration and guidance to my
audience, and am I framing mystory in a way that empowers
(15:43):
rather than seeks sympathy?
And you feel free to interruptme anytime, but I'm going to go
through these, okay, cool.
Number four is aligningstorytelling with your business
and brand.
Our personal stories shouldalign with our coaching
philosophy and brand message.
So ask yourself does the storyconnect with the core values of
(16:06):
my business?
How does it support my idealclient's journey?
And am I using this story tocreate authentic engagement or
to manipulate emotions, which wesee a lot of that in marketing
all across the board, whetherit's online or, you know,
coaching, the coaching world orthe non-coaching world.
(16:26):
There's a lot of you knowmanipulation.
I mean it's all manipulativeand you know at the bottom, but
there are some manipulation.
That's just not.
It's not cool.
Number five is ethical andresponsible sharing.
It's not cool.
Number five is ethical andresponsible sharing.
Storytelling should always behandled with integrity before
posting or speaking about anexperience.
So consider, would I becomfortable sharing this if I
(16:55):
knew my clients were in the sameposition?
Am I respecting the privacy ofothers involved in the story?
Does my story serve my audienceor is it unintentionally
self-indulgent?
So that is the five steps thatI just, you know, I kind of
bulleted through it, but I wouldtake a client through this over
a series of time.
Alyssa (17:11):
Wow, and how long does it take usually?
Greg (17:15):
It, just it can be.
It depends on the client.
Some people are quick, Somepeople are healed through stuff
quicker, Some people need alittle more time.
It could take a month to sixmonths depending on the person.
Alyssa (17:28):
I guess it depends on their story too and how much of
it there is to get through,Because even when you're dealing
with trauma that could havehappened decades previously I
mean, who knows right and howlong that healing would take and
to go and then just and then toextract that and put that into
(17:48):
a story, oh my goodness, Likethat sounds real that would take
.
That could, yeah, that couldtake some time.
So, wow, that's really helpful.
Thanks so much, greg.
Greg (17:59):
Cancer cancer Like I really struggled with and I
still don't really share it alot.
I may pop it in there, I weaveit in there sometimes in my own
stuff, but I really struggledwith wanting to share it like I
wanted.
I blew it out there like crazybecause I was still in pain from
the chemo and all of that, butthen I reeled it back and think
(18:20):
and thought, like, do I reallywant to keep talking about this
or do I want to keep it?
Just, I don't want to keep itin the past.
So there's a whole, there's awhole bunch.
Alyssa (18:29):
it's so nuanced yeah, and it's also like, how do I
share it?
Like, if I'm a business coach,how does that relate to cancer?
So there's always that thatself-doubt of like how do I
weave into my story but still berelevant for my clients too?
Greg (18:45):
yes, and in terms of like how long it takes, too, it's.
I always encourage the clientswho know that themselves from
their how are they?
It's such a feeling like youknow when you're ready.
If you don't know if you'reready, you're not ready, but
it's more of I mean, sometimesthere's some ambivalence.
It's like I'm ready but I'mscared, or I'm nervous.
(19:06):
But if you're like, oh, I'm notsure if I should do this or not
, I'm not.
That means you kind of you know, maybe there's still a little
bit more work, but I alwaysencourage the client to approach
it from a place of how they'refeeling about it.
Alyssa (19:20):
Yeah, especially also if you there's more than one
person involved and you know howdo you approach privacy and
confidentiality withoutrevealing names, and you know
the person that you're talkingto and what happened to you, and
so that also could make thingsmore complex.
Greg (19:40):
Yes, absolutely, yes, absolutely, Because it's I don't
know part of the healingprocess is not dragging somebody
else through dragging, is notdragging somebody else through
dragging.
But you know, even if they maybe part of your story in the way
that they did harm to you orwhatever, but it's still
important to know if that couldcause harm to them.
(20:01):
You know there are other waysto deal with that.
Alyssa (20:04):
Yeah, it's so complex because then if you put your
story out there and whoever thatperson sees it or whatever, how
do they feel and how is itgoing to affect them and is
there any kind of legalitiesinvolved?
I don't know Right Like thatcould be.
Greg (20:17):
Yeah.
Alyssa (20:18):
That's its own beast.
I mean, we've kind of opened upa can of worms here, but yeah,
I know, we can go so manydirections with this.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So now we've come to our myfavorite segment of the week.
Here is where it's called thebrilliant bite of the week, and
this is where you get to leave apiece of wisdom or actionable
(20:39):
advice that listeners can use toput into practice with their
own business.
So we've talked about a lothere, but what is one tip,
mantra or insight that you wouldlike to share that they can
take the next step with?
Greg (20:52):
Sure.
So I have a short mantra and alittle bit of an insight.
So I like to say this I like mystory is a bridge, not a bait
and that's pretty intense to usethat word bait but when we're
talking about marketing andonline business, we got to
really be transparent, and soour story is a bridge, not bait.
(21:15):
Share it to connect, not toconvince, because that's our job
is to connect.
And so the insight around thatI think authentic storytelling
isn't about using your pain as aselling point.
It's about sharing from a placeof wisdom and service.
Before we tell our stories, askyourself is this for me or is it
(21:40):
for them?
And honestly, sometimes it canbe for both.
Sometimes, telling our story,even if we're ready to tell it,
can also be healing for us aswell, for ourselves.
It's not, you know, it's notonly for them, and that's
another thing that it'simportant to differentiate, that
(22:01):
we do things not just for otherpeople, but we also do things
for ourselves too.
In terms of sharing our story,it could be healing.
Maybe we ran in.
Maybe, as we're telling ourstory, we learned something new
that we didn't realize before.
I'm like, oh my God, I didn'tknow.
I was still feeling that way,anyway.
So is this for me or for them?
(22:22):
If your story empowers,educates or inspires without
seeking validation, then it'sready to be shared.
Alyssa (22:36):
Wow, that's a lot of value what you just shared.
I think it's that kind of likeinsight that moves the needle
for people who are in the thickof trying to share their story
and just be comfortable to do so, to get that kind of
reassurance that maybe it istime or maybe they need to
connect with someone like youwho can help them bring out that
story for them.
And you know, I can't help butreflect on the major takeaways
(22:57):
that we've learned today fromyour story to you know, to
helping us humanize what we talk, be comfortable in our business
, to talk about these types ofthings and to just make sure
that we're coming from a placeof connection rather than just
guru marketing and doing allthose things that we, yes, want
to get away from and just to beourselves like that's like the
(23:21):
the main point here, and sothanks so much, greg, for um,
for helping on today and forlisteners.
You know, don't forget to checkout the show notes for all the
ways that you can connect withGreg and to learn more about he
also has a membership as well.
So I mean, if you want, do youwant to share anything about
that?
Greg (23:40):
If it's okay, I'll just quickly share Go ahead.
I'm just super proud of thisbecause all of this work stems
from my own frustrations andexperiences around not having
money and struggling and growingup poor and all of that stuff
and just almost getting caughtup in the online, needing to
(24:00):
make six to seven figures kindof mindset, and I just couldn't
do it and I got you know, youinternalize it as you're the
problem, but so, anyways, all ofthis was born from goodness,
healing and frustration.
But so I have a membership sitecoming out March 1st called the
Quirky Rebel Coach Membershipand I sort of like want to be
(24:23):
like the Walmart of the coachingindustry in terms of offering,
the Walmart of the coachingindustry in terms of offering.
So I want to make sure coacheshave the resources, strategies
and support to take action interms of building their coaching
business, without you know ifthey don't have a budget or if
they have a small budget or ifthey're struggling financially.
I want this to be at theirdisposal and so you could join
(24:47):
for nine dollars a month.
There's no upselling, there's no, no, you know no surprises
later on, as you know, I justwant to keep it that.
I want to offer a lot of value.
You get like plug and playcoaching scripts and done for
you email and welcome sequences.
You get pricing calculatorsthat I created monthly live Q&As
(25:11):
, a private community, just deepdive trainings and tutorials
and you know, content gets fresh, freshened every week, there's
stuff added every week and it'sonly $9.
And yeah, that's it.
It's really upfront, honest andno surprises.
Alyssa (25:31):
I like that you're pushing the ethical side, like
you're not just like some, likescammy, that you're coming from
a place of good hearted coachingrather than pushy sales tactics
that we see in the coachingindustry, because I do think
that we're.
I think as a group, as anindustry, we're trying to move
away from that because we knowthat it doesn't work.
(25:53):
It works for FOMO tactics anddoing all of those things that
don't make the customer feelgood, but we can't sleep at
night.
So I feel like, from a coachingperspective, you're coming from
a good place, and that is thatyou're going to attract people
(26:14):
who also want to feel good intheir business too.
Greg (26:18):
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah, I joined something for $7because I'm like, oh wow, this
is so cool.
Look at all this value and allthis stuff.
But then I got behind the, youknow, I joined up and behind
closed doors I'm like, oh my God, they want me to buy all this
other stuff.
And 10,000.
I'm like, oh my God, what did Ijust do?
So I fell into that a lot and Igot frustrated.
(26:41):
I got to do something aboutthis and help deconstruct it all
.
So thank you so much forletting me share that.
Alyssa (26:49):
I appreciate it and I hope everyone, for everyone
who's listening right now.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
If you do want to connect withGreg directly, just look at the
show notes.
I'll have.
Look at the show notes.
I have all the links there andI will catch you next time on
another brilliant idea.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas.
(27:09):
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
Visit AlyssaBelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
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