Business: The direct line between 'raw and honest storytelling' and the amount of money you make
One story
Growing up, “L” struggled to be seen and heard as the youngest of three daughters in an Asian household.
Then she struggled as an immigrant in an American school.
Then she landed work at an Ivy League institution that already had a big story.
How would she influence without the title or the pedigree?
I taught her to lean in ‘hard’ on what makes her unique.
Turns out she is a master at managing folks above her, title or no title.
She is also fiercely Korean.
I challenged her to channel both of those traits for her personal brand as she stood up a coaching business this year. She would help other emerging Asian leaders wanting to put their stamp on work at legacy companies with big stories too.
She crafted a talk for a big stage, leveraging her Korean-ness and her chops at ‘managing up.’
When she posted about it, she got an inbound query in her DM.
“Can I work with you?”
One system
Brandon Blum recently interviewed four 7-figure founders on how they grew their brands in 2025. In this day and age of social media noise, the only thing punching through is authentic stories. Not followers. Not vanity metrics. Not going viral.
Sharing struggles, showing real selves, and building in public drove revenue for the four founders. He wagers this trend will continue to in 2026.
That being said, it’s not enough to give a talk or post on social, without infrastructure to capture a lead.
