Inspired to share a bit of my own story, here's how I lost 30 lbs in 4 months (without trying), how I sold my little rental house for $37K more than asking, and how I helped my real estate agent friend sell a house for $300K more than she expected it would go for -- all through the power of story. Finally, if you want to learn how to capture your own stories to build your brand, grow your business, and increase your reach (without giving up more of your already limited time), grab the Free Video Creation Buyer's Guide that I co-created with my award-winning filmmaker friend by heading over to: videomarketingunleashed.com
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I.was.so.tired.
The anti-depressant medication my doctor prescribed didn't help. It made me even more tired, which I didn't think was possible.
I was dragging myself through my days, catching myself falling asleep at stoplights, literally crawling up the stairs to go to bed.
Little bursts of energy would be followed by absolute EXHAUSTION.
Several hospital visits and ultrasounds later, I discovered I was suffering from fibrocystic disease, endometriosis, cysts on my ovaries, and symptoms of hypoglycemia and fibromyalgia—not to mention depression and the occasional suicidal thought.
Not exactly how I imagined things going in my mid-20's.
After I had Baby #1 (at age 29), one of my best friends came to visit me. She took me shopping for clothes because I didn't own a single thing that fit anymore.
Now, for context, when I got married (at age 25), I was a size 10-12. Before the Freshman 15 that I packed on in college, I was around a size 6-8.
We ended up buying a pair of Target capri cargo pants, size 16-18, and a pair of army green XL drawstring linen pants. I wore those linen pants almost every day for a year. I even wore holes in the thighs. No joke.
I remember the exact moment I realized I was going to have to do things differently for my kid.
While he was sitting in his high-chair eating bits of apple that I had cut up for him, I was sitting on the couch, crouched over the coffee table my dad made in shop class in high school.
I had a Sonic Drive-In chicken sandwich in one hand and a large onion ring (slathered in ketchup) in the other.
Sitting there with my 32 oz sweet tea, wolfing down my fast-food, I looked over at my nine-month-old toddler and thought, "Oh, God. I'm going to have to start feeding him more than just baby food soon, and I can't feed him this."
Not long after, while shopping for a gift for someone I love, I came across a delightful-looking cookbook (that's now out of print) called The Working Parents Cookbook.
I found a used copy on Amazon and started reading. It was EXACTLY what I needed to get started on learning how to cook (I also checked out children's books with photos from the library. Yes, I admit it, I never *really* learned how to cook.)
In that book was an entire section devoted to the evils of trans fat (partially hydrogenated oil).
I thought, "Well, if it's that bad for me, then I'll just read labels and cut it out of my diet."
Turns out, it was in almost EVERYTHING.
After I cut out trans fat from my diet, people started to ask me how much weight had I lost?
Weight?
I wasn't trying to lose weight.
But guess what? I had dropped 30 lbs. in 4 months -- without trying.
That got me to thinking ... this is about more than just calories.
So I started digging. And what I discovered is that trans fat really is insidious. It's even banned in several countries.
That was 15 years ago.
Today, I'm in the best shape of my life.
I wear a size 6-8 instead of size 16-18.
I don't take any prescription meds.
I do pull-ups every day and I regularly go on hikes and bike rides. I play tag with my kids.
Here’s the thing, though.
Last year, I went through a divorce, so now I’m a single mom with three kids that I’ve homeschooled from the beginning. They’re all actors, so we do a TON of running to auditions and rehearsals and gigs.
So, now, instead of looking at one kiddo in a highchair, I’m looking at three very busy kiddos and thinking, “I can’t keep working the occasional part-time gig, and I’m not going to work a 40-hour per week job. I’ve got to figure out how to get financially healthy -- and FAST."
In the same way that I sort of "accidentally" stumbled upon my answer to getting physically healthy, I "accidentally" stumbled upon my answer to growing my bank account — without giving up homeschooling my kids or running them to auditions and rehearsals and gigs.
It started with "For Sale" sign in my yard.
After my divorce, I stayed in the house we had been renting, and my ex bought a house a mile down the same street.
One day, as I was taking my kids to rehearsal, I got to the end of the driveway and noticed the "For Sale" sign.
Never one to avoid conflict, I just called up my landlady right there and then and asked, "Why is there a 'For Sale' sign in the yard?"
She said, "Oh! Did I not tell you? I put the house on the market."
Um, no.
She didn't tell me.
To her credit, she had been hospitalized over Christmas (I actually went to visit her in the hospital on Christmas Eve), so she wasn't feeling well.
But, still.
A phone call would have been nice.
Thankfully, in the divorce, he got his 401K and I got the little rental house that we owned. Incidentally, my renters had JUST decided to move out, so I was getting it ready to rent again.
I called up my realtor friend and she helped me get the house on the market--fast.
We put the house on the market on a Thursday and said we would accept the highest and best offer the following Tuesday. We didn't have time to mess around.
On Sunday, she said that loads of people had come to look at the house but there weren't very many offers yet. I said, "Well, what if we sent them a video? I could walk through the house and give them a tour and tell them what I love about it."
Without missing a beat, she whipped out her iPad and started recording. I told story after story about the seven years I lived there and why I absolutely adored that little "farmhouse in the city" with the wrap-around porch.
On Tuesday, the offers came pouring in.
We had 14 offers, all over asking price (except one), and while we listed the house for $199K the offer we accepted was for $237K, As Is, Buyer Pays Closing Costs.
My real estate agent friend turns to me and says, "That video thing you did -- could you do that for a house that's not yours?"
"Of course," I said. "As long as I can capture the stories."
While staging her next house for the photographer, she invited me to come and interview the home-owners. I wrote out a script and hired a videographer. We made an 8-minute video tour of the house, not only highlighting all of the features and benefits, but also telling story after story about why it's so wonderful to live there.
She thought the house would sell for $2.1M based on comps and because it hadn't had any updates in 20 years. The sellers wanted to list it for $2,495,000.
Long story short, we ended up selling that house for the full asking price -- during the whisper campaign -- to a couple who watched the 8-minute video.
It was the first house in the history of that neighborhood to go for more than $2.2M. My realtor friend still—to this day—gets calls from appraisers asking how she got that much for it.
Good question. Why did our houses sell for so much more? Was it really the story-telling in the videos that made the difference?
Turn out, the answer is a resounding YES.
Stories sell exponentially better than dry facts. Just ask any copywriter who has been paid thousands to tens of thousands to millions of dollars to write copy for big brands.
Now, what does this have to do with YOU?
I’m not selling a course on copywriting (but I can point you to one if that’s what you want).
What I am doing is helping entrepreneurs and small business owners capture their stories -- ideally on video -- even if they’re terrified to go on camera, don’t know what to say, or they’re just not tech-savvy.
I've joined forces with an award-winning filmmaker friend to help entrepreneurs and small business owners create the most important videos for growing their business.
We even created a free buyers guide to get them started.
Grab it while it's hot at videomarketingunleashed.com/buyers-guide.