Business history is family history
Someone founded your business. How much do you know about that person? Your business is not just about products and services. There was a human being behind it who was motivated and inspired to start the business.
Chances are, the founder’s family was also involved. They were certainly impacted by the founder’s dedication, hard work, and long hours. There were probably social gatherings, celebrations, and many times when “work” and “home” intersected.
Please find out about your founder and all of the succeeding CEOs of your business! The information you find can inform your public relations, marketing, and community outreach work.
For example:
• Where did your founder grow up? Is this a community your business has lost touch with and now you have an excuse to reconnect?
• Where did your founder go to college? Is there an active alumni association, Web site, or publication?
• What leadership roles did your founder play in your industry? Do these organizations still exist, and can you tap in?
• If yours is a more recent company, can you set aside some time to interview retired or older employees to make sure you capture the stories before they disappear from memory?
By digging around in the personal story of your founder and his/her successors, you will find terrific PR and marketing opportunities.
For one of my clients, we will be able to tell an incredible founder’s story to the media when the client is ready to announce their 100th anniversary. We will have forged new friendships throughout the historical community. We will reestablish connections where he was involved. We will plan special events to promote my client to new customers.
There will be dozens of new opportunities to reach out – and it all comes directly from the historical research. Think of it as part of your new business development strategy!




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