A few years ago, I met a guy who described himself as a 20-year veteran of the apparel industry. When I probed further, he rattled off manufacturing facts for all kinds of apparel, from Argyle to Zibeline. Impressed with the depths of his knowledge, I asked if he had a blog.
He shook his head. “I should, but I just don’t know what to write about.”
The biggest barrier to storytelling is the irrational concept, “I have nothing interesting to say.”
Soon after, a young woman wearing stone-washed bluejeans approached.
“Look at that denim!” he said, a slight bit too enthusiastically, before taking us on a journey through the multi-step process of how the denim she wore was processed, woven, and sewn. A small crowd gathered as he elaborated on softening techniques, thread counts, and weave patterns. He even estimated the (very high) retail price of her blue jeans successfully.
“So,” I said smugly. “I thought that you didn’t have anything to write about?”
He stared at me as if I’d just claimed that polyester was more comfortable than cotton. Then I pointed to the crowd that had gathered to hear his passionate denim soliloquy.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our day-to-day activities that we forget how interesting our jobs are to people outside of our industry…umm…like our clients! Take a look at your company from a different perspective. Perhaps you’ll find that your story is more interesting than you think. I mean, if denim guy can command attention about fabric manufacturing, I bet that you can to do the same thing in your “boring” industry.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress