Every Business Starts With a Story That Matters
Digital stories have the power to transform our personal narratives into professional purpose. In our recent podcast episode of Co-Created, mindfulness teacher and keynote speaker Trish Tutton demonstrates this transformation beautifully as she shares how her digital storytelling journey became an essential communication tool for her business.
"Every business comes from a story, especially people who have businesses like me that are purpose-driven," Trish explains early in our conversation. "It starts from a story, and that is your most powerful marketing tool. That's how people care about what you're doing." This insight sets the foundation for understanding how personal experiences can become the cornerstone of authentic business messaging.
Trish's professional journey as a mindfulness teacher wasn't arbitrary—it emerged from a profound personal loss. After her mother's sudden passing from cancer thirteen years ago, Trish experienced a profound realization about life's fragility and the importance of being present. This pivotal moment became not just a personal revelation but the foundation of her business philosophy. She recognized that sharing this story on stage impacted audiences deeply, creating an emotional connection that motivated them to engage with mindfulness practices.
What makes Trish's approach unique is her decision to capture this powerful narrative in a three-minute digital story. She explains that creating this concise version of her story served multiple purposes: it allowed prospective clients to connect with her message before even meeting her, it helped event organizers understand the emotional impact she could bring to their audiences, and unexpectedly, it helped her refine her stage presentations. "The script that I read for the digital story is what I now do in my keynotes too," she shares. "It tightens it up so nicely and allows me to put more of the teachings into my keynote."
Check out Trish’s website here.
The process of creating her digital story involved careful consideration of visuals that would evoke specific emotions. "I want them actually to feel like there are moments in those three minutes where I want them to feel their body tense with stress," Trish explains. This intentional approach to storytelling demonstrates the sophisticated understanding that effective marketing isn't just about conveying information—it's about creating an emotional experience that resonates with your audience's own struggles and aspirations.
What's particularly powerful about digital storytelling for business is how it bridges the personal and professional realms. For Trish, sharing her story about loss and presence isn't just marketing—it's also healing. "Every time I share it, there is a tiny little part of me that experiences some healing," she reflects. This healing comes from the shared human connection, the recognition that while others "didn't know my mom, they don't know our relationship... they know loss."
Episode 40 Key Messages
0:00 Business Origins in Personal Stories
7:22 Meet Trish Tutton: Mindfulness Teacher
13:42 Why Create a Digital Story
19:30 Sharing a Story of Loss and Purpose
31:12 Creating and Sharing the Digital Story
33:30 Finding Business Purpose Through Personal Loss
For entrepreneurs and business owners, the lesson is clear: your authentic story can be your most compelling marketing asset. In a world saturated with generic brand messaging, a genuine personal narrative that explains the "why" behind your business can cut through the noise and forge meaningful connections with your audience. As Trish aptly puts it, "That is what actually gets people to buy into what I want to teach them... It's the story that resonates in their heart and they go 'yeah, I need that.'"
Digital storytelling offers a structured, creative way to craft and share these narratives in a format that's both accessible and emotionally resonant. Whether you're a coach, consultant, speaker, or any purpose-driven entrepreneur, consider how your personal story might become your most powerful marketing tool through the medium of digital storytelling.
About Our Guest
Trish Tutton spent years working in cultures where stress and burnout were seemingly the only way to success. After suffering a shocking loss, she realized: stress is unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to dictate our lives. Trish has spent over 15 years studying with world class teachers, practicing mindfulness and learning about the science of well-being. As a speaker and mindfulness teacher, Trish has taught the skills to become UNSHAKABLE and THRIVE amidst change and challenge to over 15,000 people across North America. She is passionate about helping folks become more resilient and less stressed with simple but impactful mindfulness techniques. You can find her as a teacher on the #1 free meditation app in the world, Insight Timer, and she is the author of the Mindful Mornings Journal.
About Co-Created
Co-Created is a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of digital storytelling. On each episode, host Kristy Wolfe dives into conversations with the storytellers and facilitators who bring digital stories to life.
If this particular conversation resonated with you, tell a friend or a colleague about Co-Created or share one of the digital stories we were talking about. You can find the stories here.
Co-Created is presented by Common Language DST, digital storytelling facilitation training for health and wellness changemakers and is supported by the team at Snack Labs.
