How to Tell a Great Story

Storytelling is a key business skill.  Telling a good story can help you connect with your audience on an emotional level. It can make complex data easier to digest, and make your arguments more persuasive.

So how do you tell great stories, particularly great business stories? Here’s how to make your narratives more persuasive.

See You in Antonio, TX at the WPO EEF 2025!

If you haven't signed up, here's what you are missing.  The 2025 forum (28th annual) agenda can be found here. 

Oh, and you might still be able to attend if you move on it now.  We have 16 Chicago members attending and I can't wait to connect and learn together. 

The program takes place from May 7-9, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa.

See you in San Antonio!

From Side Hustle to Shower Curtain Empire

Lisa Schulner-Fine (along with photographer husband Michael Fine) had been frustrated with the lack of shower curtain options on the market for a while. She and Michael both had an eye for design — she worked as a director of styling at Madewell and he as a freelance fashion photographer — and the couple struggled to find aesthetically pleasing bathroom accessories on retail shelves. To make matters worse, most of the items available were far from sustainable.

And so a side business becomes a multimillion-dollar business.  It's called Quiet Town.

For: Thinkers. Makers. Leaders. Learners.

UK-based Creative Review (CR) has been bringing the creative community together since 1980, first as a print magazine and now across more platforms than ever. They deliver the sharpest opinion, analysis and advice on life in the commercial creative industries.

CR is for everyone involved in commercial creativity, anywhere in the world. They share insight and inspiration across disciplines and borders, connecting brilliant minds to make brilliant things happen.

Learn more how creative thinking and design make businesses and brands more successful, dynamic and engaging for audiences.

How to Build a Multimillion-Dollar Business That Is Like Lightening in a Bottle

Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce, wedding industry veterans of more than 20 years, met in the early '90s while working at The Walt Disney World Resort, where they grew Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings to a $100 million per year operation. "It was a little bit like lightning in a bottle the first time that we had the chance to work together," Grinnals tells Entrepreneur. "We had the chance to collaborate on some really cool projects, and it was a really formative time."

What they discovered along the way was there wasn't an event that brought together different buyers, suppliers and vendors focused on luxury weddings.

So Grinnals and Arce established a conference to do just that: Engage! Summits, now a multimillion-dollar brand.

Find out more here.

Smart, Driven Women Support Other Smart, Driven Women

Three smart, driven women share advice on mentorship, growth and career success.  Here are a few highlights.

Smart, driven women, like WPO members, always support other smart, driven women.

Building Your Own AI Assistant

Gen AI can save you time, but once you’re using it frequently, the process of repeatedly uploading the same background files and re-entering prompts for common tasks can really eat into your efficiency gains.

That’s why many generative AI platforms allow you to create custom AI assistants: what ChatGPT calls a “custom GPT,” Claude calls a “Project,” and Google Gemini calls a “Gem.” These assistants store elements of a prompt that you might want to use over and over so you don’t have to include them every time you ask the platform to help you with your recurring tasks and challenges. 

Listen and learn more here.