The Biggest Storytelling Mistake Business Owners Make on LinkedIn

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Story connects.
Story sells.
But effective storytelling — especially on LinkedIn — is both an art and a science.

I didn’t realize I was making this mistake for years.
Until a coach finally called it out.

I was writing content that looked good, sounded smart, and shared wins from my journey…
But it wasn’t converting. Not consistently. Not at the level I knew it could.

Here’s what I was missing — and what I see so many business owners miss too:
We forget to tell the right part of our story.

When You Become the Case Study

A lot of founders are the case study for their own work.

• Consultants who worked in dysfunctional organizations and now help companies build healthier cultures.

• Coaches who once felt stuck and burned out and now guide others to clarity and momentum.

• Strategists who used to spin their wheels — now building frameworks that cut through the noise.

In most cases, we were the ideal client.
We found the solution.
We did the work.
We changed our lives.
And now we’re the walking billboard for our own methodology.

But once you’re on the other side — living the “after” of your journey — it’s easy to forget just how hard the “before” really was.

My Own Blind Spot

When I think back to that time in my life — before I built a business, before I was showing up confidently online — it wasn’t pretty.

I doubted myself constantly.
I stayed small out of fear of judgment.
I consumed more than I created.
And I was desperate for clarity about how to move forward.

But once I made it through all that… I didn’t want to revisit it.
I wanted to move on.
Live in the joy of what I’d created.
Celebrate how good life had become.

And in doing so, I skipped over the exact stories that would have helped my ideal clients feel seen.

Your Audience Isn’t Where You Are Now

They’re not celebrating yet.
They’re still in the “before.”

• Stuck in a job they don’t like — unsure how to pivot

• Afraid to invest in themselves or take a leap

• Running in circles, trying strategy after strategy that doesn’t work

• Burnt out and out of alignment

• Unsure how to trust their voice or intuition

If all they see from you is the polished “after” — they’ll admire you.
But they won’t always connect.
And admiration doesn’t always convert.

Why You Must Revisit the Before

Real trust is built when your audience feels like you’ve been exactly where they are.

It’s not enough to just share the wins or the wisdom.
You also have to bring people into the confusion, frustration, and pain that came before your clarity.

And that means revisiting the parts of your story that might feel far away now:

• The thoughts that kept you up at night

• The inner critic that told you you’d never figure it out

• The patterns you couldn’t seem to break

• The moment you realized something had to change

This is what makes people stop scrolling and say:
“Wait… that’s me.”
“She really gets it.”
“Maybe it’s possible for me too.”

3 Prompts to Reconnect to the Before

If you’re not sure where to start, here are three prompts to help you go back to where your audience is now:

1. What were you struggling with right before you found your current solution?
Be specific. Don’t generalize. What did a hard day actually look like?

2. What were you believing about yourself at the time?
What doubts or fears felt true? What did you wish someone would say to you?

3. What moment or turning point pushed you to take action?
Was it a breakdown, a breakthrough, or just a quiet decision that enough was enough?

The Bottom Line

You don’t have to stay stuck in your past to tell meaningful stories from it.
But you do have to visit it intentionally — and craft content from the place your audience still lives.

Because while your dream life is inspiring, your messy middle is magnetic.

Let people into your past so they can trust your path.
That’s how story sells.
That’s how story serves.
That’s how story converts.