Evan CarmichaelSpeaker / Author / Introvert

My Founding STORY by Obtain Eudaimonia

20 Mar 2017 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:19

In this motivational monologue, Evan Carmichael explains how aligning personal values with business work—whether activism, creativity, or other passions—creates authentic enterprises. He recounts turning to the stories of iconic entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, and Anita Roddick for inspiration during challenging moments, noting that Bill Gates' story literally saved his own venture. Carmichael describes how, initially reluctant to share his own background, he began revealing his founding story after audience curiosity grew. By narrating his journey—from earning $300 a month to building an international company that was later acquired—he saw a surge in website traffic, client acquisition, newsletter sign‑ups, media interview requests, and overall sales. He concludes that storytelling humanizes a business, builds credibility, and motivates audiences to act, urging viewers to write and share their own stories.

Chapters

My founding story. If you can shape your business life or your working life, you can just look at it as another extension. You just fulfill all your values as a human being in the workplace. If you're an activist, you bring the activism of your life into your business. Or if you love creative art, you can bring that in. Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop and pioneer of ethical consumerism. I never wanted to tell my story. When I started my website, I wanted to build a great resource to help entrepreneurs succeed. I started with stories of famous entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Walt Disney because their stories inspire people. Inspired me. When I was down, when I doubted myself, when I felt like I wasn't going to make it, I looked to their stories and they motivated me to keep going. Bill Gates' story saved my business and made me stick with being an entrepreneur. I wanted to share that knowledge with others so they could also be motivated to continue to pursue their dreams. I created an awesome website, but people kept writing in saying, "Love the site, but who is Evan Carmichael?" I'm nobody compared to the entrepreneurs I'm profiling, I thought. But people were asking, so I started to share. And my business took off. Suddenly I was attracting more clients, more website traffic, more social media followers. I was selling more products, getting more newsletter signups, receiving more media requests for interviews. I was having more fun too. The product I had was already great, but when I told my story, it added more context. It made it feel more valuable. It connected with people. When I talk about how I was making $300 a month in my first business and Bill Gates' story saved my company and helped me build an international business and get acquired just a couple of years later, that adds context. People really want to hear what I have to say. I realized that telling my story wasn't about pumping myself up. It humanized my business and made it easier for people to take whatever next step I was asking them to take. It's time for you to write your story.