Koula Callahan: What you Communicate IS Your Brand

You could think of Koula Callahan as Donald Miller’s right-hand woman. After all, as director of content, she touches everything that goes out of StoryBrand, from training programs to content for live events, from teleprompter scripts to content of sales and marketing campaigns... 

After college, Koula had a secure job in the healthcare field with a good salary and great benefits, but she found herself living for the weekends and itching to make a meaningful change in her work. That change came in the form of a part-time job at what would become StoryBrand. The scope of her work has grown along with the company. And today she’s thrilled that she took that risk nearly five years ago. 

With the current coronavirus pandemic, StoryBrand, like many businesses, has had to pivot to stay relevant. StoryBrand was centered around live events. Let that sink in. Once it became clear that no one would be traveling for a while, the company quickly shifted to move events and courses into the digital space. It’s like they didn’t miss a beat. Koula shares how they stayed agile and made the shift happen.

In today’s episode, Koula shares about her work at StoryBrand and explains why she likes to say she’s Don’s boss. We get a glimpse of Koula as the yoga instructor, how she’s doing self-care during the pandemic, as well as some of her book recommendations.

For businesses, she shares three things they can and should be doing to stay relevant now and to be remembered once the pandemic is over: 

• Over-communicate – your customers need to hear from you frequently
• Communicate with empathy and with authority. Identify with the human suffering we’re all experiencing. At the same time, exude confidence in the areas of your expertise. 
• Repackage your products or services in a quarantine-friendly way 

This is a fun episode offering a glimpse into Donald Miller’s Storybrand, practical business advice from Koula, and Koula’s tips for self-care and mental health.

Quotes:

“I was making a great living, had great benefits and then just totally abandoned it to take this part-time job at a company that I didn’t really know that much about.” – Koula Callahan

“What we do is help people take the reins back on their business and understand how to do it better so that they can grow their business, have a more fruitful life, and also provide jobs and security, and help for other people too.” – Koula Callahan

“Our territory is simplifying things that are pretty complex.” – Koula Callahan 

“We take ideas that are hard to communicate or might have previously been seen as complex and make them super simple so that everyone can understand.” – Koula Callahan 

“What you say online and what you distribute digitally is your brand at this point. It’s not your product. It’s not your service. It’s not the good that you sell. It’s what you say.” – Koula Callahan

“This crisis forces you to get creative and innovate.” – Koula Callahan

“If you’re not emailing your people or getting on social media...at least two or three times a week, you’re getting ignored. Your customers need to be hearing from you.” – Koula Callahan

“We teach our customers to play the guide and not the hero. To be a good guide, you must establish empathy and demonstrate authority.” – Kaula Callahan

“I am not ignoring the fact that this is a weird, scary, anxiety-inducing time, and also at the same time, it’s an opportunity to be really, really creative.” -- Kaula Callahan

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us about you and how you arrived at StoryBrand. (3:14)
• How did your work in the healthcare sector prepare you for StoryBrand and the importance of connecting through stories? (7:25)
• How has your role developed with StoryBrand, especially as director of content? (10:38)
• How has StoryBrand shifted during COVID-19? (16:26)
• What was the feedback from your initial live-stream event? (22:45)
• What are three things businesses can begin to work on right now? (25:45)
• What is the right context for over-communicating? (27:59)
• How do you communicate in an empathetic and authoritative? (30:58)
• Has there been a new habit or a behavior that you would say has improved your life? (38:45)
• What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed or unfocused? (43:29)
• Is there a weird or absurd thing you do that not many people know about? (46:06)
• What do you believe your purpose is? (47:25)

In This Episode You Will Learn:

• How Koula decided to leave her secure but relatively unfulfilling heathcare job for something less established but more meaningful
• That you can serve/help others in many different fields 
• Why all businesses should be in the content business
• How StoryBrand has pivoted from live events to live streaming and adapted their content to suit the COVID-19 atmosphere
• Three things your business can do right now to help weather the COVID-19 storm
• About Koula’s daily personal care routine that keeps her grounded, sane, and reduces anxiety
• Why Koula believes it’s important that we find meaning in suffering

Connect with Koula Callahan:

Find Koula on Instagram and LinkedIn

Also Mentioned on This Show:

StoryBrand.com

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message so Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

The Forgotten Body: A Way of Knowing and Understanding Self by Elissa Cobb

Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle