How Property Investors & Entrepreneurs Can Use Storytelling To Raise Finance

There's a proven way to tell a thrilling tale. It's called The Hero's Journey. This is the storytelling system behind the biggest movie blockbusters in history. Movies like Star Wars, Rocky and Avatar.

There are 10 steps in the Hero's Journey. I'm not going to give you all the steps because I don't want you to tie your story in knots.

I've simplified the Hero's Journey to make it easier to tell an inspirational story. Here are the 4 steps that you need to take

1. What your life looked like before you started your own business
2. What forced you to make a change
3. What challenges you faced achieving your goal
4. The end of the rainbow

Let's look at each of these in turn.

What Your Life Looked Like Before You Started Your Own Business

What your life looked like before you invested in property or started your own business is the set up to your story. Stories explain how and why change happens. By showing what your life used to look like you are setting up your story.

This lets your Joint Venture Partner know a little bit about you. It could be that you worked a dead-end job and hated it. It could be that you had a stunning corporate career but always wanted to be your own boss.

This can be the shortest part of your Epic Story unless there is something relevant that you want to share.

In 2017 Jim Ratcliffe topped the Times Rich List. Jim had a successful corporate career for 20 years before he started his own business. His corporate career gave him a unique set of skills and experience that he has used to build his business INEOS.

You see, Jim started his career as a chemical engineer. BP fired him after 2 days because he had mild eczema. Jim worked for companies like Shell as an accountant. So that immediately gave him a skill set that few people had. A chemical engineering degree and a management accountant.

Then Jim went to work for a Venture Capital firm where he learned about the debt markets.

When Jim started INEOS he had all the skills he needed to build a chemicals empire. He was a chemical engineer, an accountant and had insider knowledge of the debt market. That's how Jim could buy and manage unwanted chemical plants from giants like BP.

If your background does not relate to what you are doing now, that's okay. Mention it and move on. If it does then give a little more detail.

Ultimately the background builds up to why you wanted to start your own business.

Let's face it, corporate life is safe. It might not be easy but it's safe. Every month you know you will be paid. The bank will give you a mortgage because you've got a full-time job. And if you're anything like me, this is the path your parents want you to take.

So why did you give that all up?

What made you decide to start your own business or invest in property?

What Forced You To Make A Change?

Most people think about starting their own business or investing in property and sit on that idea for many years. They do nothing with that idea until something happens. Something forces them to make a change.

So, what forced you to make a change?

Were you made redundant?

Did you need to make more money? I started my consulting business because I couldn't afford to pay my daughter's nursery fees. That was the trigger that forced me to make a change.

Was it reaching a significant birthday?

Was it the death of a friend that made you realise that life is short?

Whatever the reason, you must describe it to your potential Joint Venture Partner in an emotional way.

How do you do that?

You tell your story with complete honesty. You describe your fear at excitement at quitting your job or buying your first property.

I remember the terror that I felt before paying the deposit for my first investment property. The deposit was £17,500. That's not much to buy a house but it was a huge amount of money for me. I was excited to become a property investor. I wanted this to change my life and I was terrified if something went wrong.

I remember the excitement and terror when I quit my job. I had a job that I enjoyed and paid well. Consulting had been a side hustle that paid for my daughter's nursery and some luxuries on the side. Now it was going to be my only income. Now I was betting the farm on myself. It was a great feeling. An exciting time. And not without its worries.

So how did you feel when you took the plunge? What made you bet on yourself?

What Challenges You Faced Achieving Your Goal

So, you've got an idea. And you are taking action to turn your idea into reality.

What happened next?

Did you enjoy the instant success that you hoped for? Or did you run into some roadblocks?

And what did those roadblocks cost you in time, money and enthusiasm?

My start in property could not have been easier. Everything went better than I hoped. That gave me the confidence to do it again. What happened next?

A lot of nothing!

I took action but not enough to get results. I made a lame attempt to build relationships with agents. If I had put in more time and effort that might have yielded results. I spent time looking for property on Rightmove. Again I wasn't doing it every day so I wasn't giving myself the best opportunity to seize deals.

I put more effort into finding deals direct to vendor. But I didn't do it long enough and consistently enough to give me the results that I wanted.

Why not?

Because I got greedy.

I remember the excitement of getting my first investment property. And the disappointment at only getting £200 monthly cashflow. I knew that's what I would get before I did the deal. But knowing on paper is very different from experiencing it in reality.

I wanted something that would change my life faster. So I got distracted, didn't take enough action, and didn't get any results.

Until...

So what about you?

What idea did you have and what challenges did you have bringing it to life?

The more honestly you talk about the challenges you faced the more you reveal your values. I know an amazingly successful property investor whose portfolio lost money for the first 10 years! I couldn't believe that he kept it and he still believed that property would be the path to wealth.

When house prices rose fast in 2005 to 2007. The 10 years of sacrifice paid off, big time.

The big question your potential Joint Venture Partner wants to know is why did you keep getting back up after getting knocked down.

So tell them. It could be that your belief in your idea was stronger than the setbacks you faced. This was my experience at the start of my copywriting and marketing journey.

It could be that you couldn't see an alternative. It could be that you know it takes time to master a skill and that when you do the money will come.

These are all ways that you reveal your values. These are the elements of your story that will make a Joint Venture Partner want to work with you.

The End Of The Rainbow

Your Joint Venture Partner wants to work with someone that has achieved success in their chosen field. So tell them about the success that you have had in property or in your business. This shows that you can do the same thing again and make money for them.

More than just telling them the result that you enjoyed. Tell them how good it felt. This will help them see into the future and how good their life will be when they are making more money with none of their time.

The end of the rainbow part of your story also reveals your motivation for wanting more. Which leads into what you want to do next, why you need their help and how it will benefit them.

Your Story Makes You Unique

When you tell your Epic Story like this, you make yourself unique and you make yourself investible.

How many other people are doing this?

Most people jump straight to the deal and how much money the investor could make. Sure they want to know that but they didn't get where they are today without some struggle. They know that projected paper profits don't always turn out that way. That's why they want to know about you. That's why they want to know your values. That's why they want to know if you've got the grit to see this through to the end.

When you tell your Epic Story, you show your Joint Venture partner everything they want to know in an entertaining and engaging way.

Does This Work In The Real World?

I've used this system to raise £500,000 of finance from 3 joint venture partners. I then decided that I didn't want to be a landlord so nothing came of it except... a stronger relationship with people I still keep in touch with.

This system will work for you when you use it.

It really is as simple as finding the start and end points and then having the courage to tell how you got from one to the other. There's no magic in that.

By revealing your hopes and dreams as well as your fears and worries you make your story interesting. You make your story unique. You earn the trust of your Joint Venture Partner.

Now It's Your Turn

When you follow the 4 steps in this blog you will tell your inspirational story in a way that makes people want to work with you.

When you tell your story in this way you will build better relationships faster.

So take the first step. Identify the moment of change and what forced you to change. Once you find that point, everything else becomes a lot easier.

If you'd like me to work with you one-to-one to uncover and tell your Epic Story then email me on roland.eva@rolandeva.co.uk.

If you've found this useful, then please leave a comment below.

If this can help someone you know then please forward this to them.

Until next time...

Carpe diem

Roland Eva