When entrepreneurs, experts, and small business owners want to get their story straight, they call Dr. Adrian McIntyre. He’s a cultural anthropologist and storytelling consultant who’s worked in over 30 countries. Adrian has been telling stories on stages and in the media since he was 5 years old, and he’s advised and trained hundreds of clients on high-performance communication, business storytelling, personal branding, publicity, and media skills.
However, It is tough for pet sitters and dog walkers to know which story to tell and when in their businesses.
But mastering this skill could help you market your business and increase your bottom line.
Listen in on this Bella In Your Business podcast episode to learn more. Plus, hear a 30 second commercial for a networking meeting and the breakdown of what makes a good story.
Adrian & Bella also chat about:
- Why storytelling is so important
- Whether a business owner should tell stories about their GOOD experiences or their BAD ones.
- What to do if storytelling isn’t your strong suit (yet!)
- They keys to successful storytelling
Blog mentioned of a pet sitter losing a dog
http://menlyspetcare.com/lost-clients-dog-professional-pet-sitter-confessional/
Adrian’s free download: www.storyprofit.com/bella
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Transcript:
This is episode 59 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready, Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, your host, and today I have Adrian McIntyre, the guy that entrepreneurs, experts, and small business owners call when they want to get their story straight. Not like the story of what happened last night, but their actual true story about themselves. They call Dr. Adrian McIntyre. He’s a cultural anthropologist—definitely never had one of you on my show before—and he’s a storytelling consultant who’s worked in over 30 countries. He actually broke the story in Darfur years ago.
Adrian has been telling stories on stages and in the media since he was five years old and has advised and trained hundreds of clients on high-performance communication, business storytelling, personal branding, publicity, and media skills. He also has two dogs named George and Gracie, which I think is the most important part of this whole interview. No, I’m just kidding.
As a little bit of background, Adrian and I met at a local conference that we both showed up to, and we were kind of like long-lost friends. We just started talking and have had many more conversations since then. He’s a very intriguing and interesting person that I am pretty sure I can say you have not heard of in the pet industry ever. So it’s a really unique topic. Sit down, grab that cup of coffee, and listen up.
Adrian: Sure. So I like to start by saying I literally grew up in my dad’s radio station. I’ve been in the media my whole life—not just as the kid of the guy who ran the place, but we also started our own family children’s program when I was five. We started recording this show in our home studio in 1978, and it turned into the longest-running children’s radio show in California history. So I come at story from the perspective of a practitioner.
I went on to study how story works, both as an academic researcher and as an anthropologist—the science of human beings. It looks at pretty much every dimension of what it is to be human. The part that interested me was the way we use language to form our identities, groups, cultures, and nations. I traveled around the world doing research and engaging with people who were practicing storytelling.
I wrote a master’s thesis about how museums create stories about the past and tie them into our sense of who we are, whatever the “we” is. I spent almost 10 years working in the Middle East and Africa. I covered the invasion of Iraq for Newsweek and later worked in Baghdad as a storyteller and cultural analyst for international nonprofits. That took me into Africa, where I worked in Sudan and Kenya.
What brought me back home was realizing that despite all the stories we told to try to solve these massive global problems—wars, famines—it wasn’t working. Yes, I helped make the crisis in Darfur the biggest news story of 2004, but we didn’t save Darfur. That war is still happening today. It became another forgotten conflict. I also had personal heartbreaks and PTSD from being in those war zones. Friends of mine died doing aid work. The weight of those stories became too much.
When I came back to California, I finished my PhD and discovered another angle on story: the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and how they shape everything we think we can or can’t do. I started working with individuals and business owners who wanted to get their message out into the world. I realized I had been taking storytelling skills for granted and could really help people. In business, when you impact someone’s life, it shows up in their bottom line. That was what had been missing for me all those years. So now this is what I do—I help people tell better stories, both to themselves and about their work.
Bella: I want to really connect this back to pet sitters, dog walkers, pet groomers, and trainers. What you said was really interesting—the story that we tell ourselves about ourselves. Why storytelling in business?
Adrian: I just came from a chamber of commerce meeting where people gave 30-second introductions. Everyone described their services—what they do—but they didn’t connect with the audience. Eventually, that becomes important, but if you don’t start with who you are, you’re missing the connection. You’ve got to brand yourself first. Then people will ask you about your business because they’re compelled to find out.
Storytelling works on so many levels because it’s the water we swim in. Fish are born in water, live in it, die in it, and never see it as water because it’s all they know. Language and story are the same for humans. We don’t often see our stories as stories because we look at the world through them. What we can see and talk about shows up through the lens of our story.
How is it important in business? It’s the most important way to transform your brand, marketing, and visibility. If you want media attention or better marketing and content, it must be story-driven. For most people, there’s the story they think is their story and the invisible story they’re telling themselves—the reason why they haven’t told the other one. You need to alter that internal story before you can share your true one.
Storytelling is not an expert-only skill. There’s no secret formula. Everyone can do it. You’re born into it—you just haven’t been shown how to use it.
Bella: I love that. I want to break it down and actually get your critique. I have an ebook that pet sitters have downloaded called Barking Up the Right Tree: A Pet Sitter’s Guide to Networking. In it, I give scenarios for 30-second speeches. I want your feedback.
So here’s one example: I’d say, “How many of you get asked to watch your friends’ or family’s pets?” People raise their hands. Or, “How many of you have a pet or know someone who has one?” Then I’d say, “Next time someone asks you and you don’t feel like doing it, think of us. Did you know people actually make a living doing this? We help people who work long hours or feel bad leaving their dog in a kennel. We even send GPS notifications showing when we arrive, how long we stay, and how many times Fido went number one or two. You probably don’t want to deal with that, but we are the solution for those people. Come up to me after; I have a gift certificate you can give them.”
Adrian: I love that you’re thinking about who’s listening. Any story has to be about the audience, or it won’t be heard. You want to engage them, but you also need authenticity without gimmicks. Personally, I’m not a fan of barking or meowing into the mic—it might grab attention but can feel gimmicky. I once saw someone stand up and say, “I grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Oregon, and now I live in a city where everyone’s house is so close it freaks me out. But I love small business, because if you’re not supporting local, you’re not supporting your own community.” She wasn’t selling her insurance—she was selling herself.
You could adjust your intro: “How many of you have ever been asked to watch someone’s pet? If you love pets—or even if you don’t—it’s a big deal to find someone you can trust. We’re the people who make that easy.” That sells by sharing, not pitching.
Bella: What if someone says, “I can’t tell stories”?
Adrian: You can, but you haven’t been shown how. Everyone’s a natural-born storyteller. We just need to practice. Like learning to talk, you learned it at home without formal lessons. Being a native storyteller doesn’t make you an extraordinary one, but anyone can improve. It’s more about getting out of your own way.
Bella: I’d say, look at Facebook—pet sitters tell stories all the time. “My client did this!” “You won’t believe what happened!” That’s storytelling.
Adrian: Exactly. And understand stories can take many forms. A photo on Instagram with a long caption is storytelling. The algorithm even favors longer captions that hold attention. So when you post pictures, tell us about Fido—why is Fido with you, what’s his story? Create a narrative. When people hire pet sitters, they’re outsourcing love and guilt—they’re buying peace of mind, trust, and security. They’ll check your Instagram and Facebook, so make sure your stories reflect that.
The keys to successful storytelling: stories happen somewhere, sometime, and to someone. Give context: “Last week…” “June 2003…” Introduce characters, include emotion, and tell the truth. The truth is the part that takes courage to admit—the thing that makes you hesitate to say it aloud. That’s the heart of the story. People connect with authenticity, not perfection.
Bella: I love that.
Adrian: I’ve got a simple guide to storytelling—it outlines six core stories every business owner needs to tell: who I am, what I do, why I started, what I stand for, what I believe, what I saw, and what I see. You can download it for free at storyprofit.com.
Bella: Thank you so much for being here, Adrian. To everyone listening, always remember to keep jumping.
For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember, Bella’s got your chute.