Business histories are a lot like personal histories--this or that happened when and by some hand (or influence). And what did it mean over the long run?
Business stories can start with the founder’s vision and build from there or present a strategic highlight as a starting point. In either case, the objective is to showcase the determination, hard work and entrepreneurial spark that often drives a startup. Then comes the inevitable changes that challenge every business: experimentation in the face of changing markets or other circumstances; failures and successes; then more failures and successes (whether major corporation or the corner store). Succession issues, too--until the company either passes to next in line in the founder’s family or is purchased by someone else and proceeds into the future, where it often becomes quite different or disappears into corporate oblivion, leaving the founding family with mixed memories but a generous generational nest egg to pass along (a sometimes pleasant or not so pleasant family experience that itself can be mined for story).
NOTE: Business histories can be lengthy and chronological or shorter and more like a memoir. They can be written for family enjoyment and edification and/or written strictly for business purposes. Presentation can be in loose-leaf form (a notebook or spiral bound), bound in a book, produced as a video, distributed online or a mix of any or all of these options.
Business stories can start with the founder’s vision and build from there or present a strategic highlight as a starting point. In either case, the objective is to showcase the determination, hard work and entrepreneurial spark that often drives a startup. Then comes the inevitable changes that challenge every business: experimentation in the face of changing markets or other circumstances; failures and successes; then more failures and successes (whether major corporation or the corner store). Succession issues, too--until the company either passes to next in line in the founder’s family or is purchased by someone else and proceeds into the future, where it often becomes quite different or disappears into corporate oblivion, leaving the founding family with mixed memories but a generous generational nest egg to pass along (a sometimes pleasant or not so pleasant family experience that itself can be mined for story).
NOTE: Business histories can be lengthy and chronological or shorter and more like a memoir. They can be written for family enjoyment and edification and/or written strictly for business purposes. Presentation can be in loose-leaf form (a notebook or spiral bound), bound in a book, produced as a video, distributed online or a mix of any or all of these options.
BUSINESS HISTORY EXAMPLES WRITTEN BY BRIAN FAULKNER:
> A hugely successful apparel company that was given birth by a creative visionary in a corporate closet and grew rapidly because it found a need and filled it with a national brand that soon dominated its business category. We produced a video that looked at the firm's roots and described a future that was theirs for the taking, and our strategic communication team continued serving this client with writing and media production services for many years, a creative partnership its founder attributed (in part) to their extraordinary success.
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> A well-known bank that needed a memorable video to commemorate its 100th Anniversary. Theirs was a great story--from small beginnings almost as old as the community in which it was founded to regional success over a small handful of generations as the city and state grew up around it.
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> A small packaging company serving the produce industry that had a hidden competitive advantage we discovered while in the process of writing their business history and advising on current potential.
> A Virginia college that celebrated their ninety-year anniversary with a video about their history. They had a great story to tell, which we were challenged to get done quickly. The video worked out well: Fundraising goals met! And another happy client!
> A Virginia college that celebrated their ninety-year anniversary with a video about their history. They had a great story to tell, which we were challenged to get done quickly. The video worked out well: Fundraising goals met! And another happy client!
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> A Public TV segment about the history of a Rhode Island aristocrat's home built in 1922 on North Carolina's Currituck Sound. He was said to enjoy "looking good" and spending his businessman father's money--and did both rather lavishly in their 15-bedroom electrified getaway amid the rich natural beauty of the Outer Banks. Their home was an art nouveau masterpiece that the couple (and their wealthy friends) enjoyed only for a short time before his death. This story presents a mere fragment of the family's history but offers a compelling portrait of time, place and privilege.
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> A well-regarded, family-run regional battery manufacturing company with multiple lines of business that started (as many do) in a small shop and then grew, thanks in part to the family values that permeated the enterprise and imaginative marketing that built valuable, mutually successful business relationships with their customers.
> A craft-based family business that morphed over time from a lumber retailer to a well-regarded, high-end millwork manufacturer that never lost its family vision and values. Our task was to help them describe the importance of family to their current and future success via various marketing presentations.
> A family owned plumbing distributor that used a video about their company history to help prepare it for sale.
> A craft-based family business that morphed over time from a lumber retailer to a well-regarded, high-end millwork manufacturer that never lost its family vision and values. Our task was to help them describe the importance of family to their current and future success via various marketing presentations.
> A family owned plumbing distributor that used a video about their company history to help prepare it for sale.