If you’ve ever wondered how to make your content feel more human and memorable, this episode will show you why storytelling in business matters more than perfect marketing ever will.
Storytelling in Business: Why Your Story Connects Before Your Strategy Does
How can you connect deeper with your audience?
You know…make them feel seen and like your message is THE one they’ve been waiting to hear?
In this marketing podcast episode we’re talking about why the real moments you live stand out so much more than the perfect reel you’ve tried to edit ten times.
We talk about what is storytelling in business…the kind that REALLY works and sounds like a human.
Mariela De La Mora shares how one story helped her connect to millions and how she helps clients to do the same. (It’s also how we connected!)
If you’ve been trying to figure out how to build a personal brand without sounding like everyone else, this conversation will give you a more honest and sustainable way in.
We’re focusing on creating a much stronger relationship between you, your personal brand and your people.
What you’ll learn:
- Business storytelling made easy starts with real, imperfect moments
- How to build a personal brand people remember (and don’t scroll past)
- What is attraction content, trust-building content, and conversion content?
- Why storytelling for social media looks different after 2025
- Ways to find safety in sharing your voice & being vulnerable
Listen for…
a reminder that your story, that true one, is what matters. It doesn’t have to be huge or dramatic, just something that connects.
That’s how you build a personal brand that gets saved, shared and loved for years!
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why storytelling in business is essential
03:12 The personal story Mariela shared that went viral
07:21 How to find small “micro moments” to share your personal brand
18:57 Why storytelling for social media needs to go deeper than trends
27:27 What it means to become a “category of one” in your business
MORE ABOUT MARIELA DE LA MORA
Mariela is a leadership and business coach who helps entrepreneurs become in-demand thought leaders by turning their stories into their biggest advantage.
After a 16-year career as a Marketing Director, she left corporate to build a business rooted in her values as the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants.
She’s since built a million-dollar company as a single mother and has been featured in Forbes and Newsweek for helping hundreds of clients create demand, visibility, and opportunities through story-led marketing.
She’s worked with organizations ranging from QuickBooks, Salesforce and the United Nations, and coached women across the globe to lead with clarity, integrity, and self-trust.
Connect with Mariela De La Mora
Website: https://marieladelamora.com/
Instagram: @mariela.delamora
RESOURCES
Get Her 6 Figure Storytelling Bundle Here
Listen to her podcast:
Cycle Breakers and Money Makers
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Find Your Voice
MORE ABOUT THIS FEMALE FOUNDERS PODCAST EPISODE
“The most magical piece that many people are missing is their story.” – Mariela De La Mora
- Storytelling in business builds trust
- How to build a beloved personal brand
- Business storytelling made easy
- Storytelling for social media that actually feels good
Have you ever read someone’s post, listened to a podcast, or landed on a page and felt something shift?
Not because they used the “right” hook.
You stayed because it felt human.
That is the power of storytelling in business. It reaches people before they are ready to buy, before they know how to describe their own block, and often before they even understand what they need. It makes someone stop and think, “Wait… this feels like it was written for me.”
For a lot of women entrepreneurs, that kind of connection feels harder than it should. You know your work matters. You know you care deeply. Yet when it is time to talk about what you do, your content can start sounding flatter than your actual heart. More careful. More polished. Less alive.
And that is usually where the disconnect begins. Mariela De La Mora is showing us how to fix it.
What if the real issue is not your content, but the distance in it?
So many women entrepreneurs are not struggling because they have nothing valuable to say. They are struggling because somewhere along the way, their content became careful.
It became polished.
Useful.
Strategic.
Safe.
And in the process, it lost some of its pulse.
This episode keeps returning to that tension. You know your work matters. You know you care deeply about the people you serve. But when it is time to talk about your business, you may default to sounding more professional than personal, more informative than resonant.
Mariela names that gap beautifully through the way she talks about story. She explains that people often overcomplicate it, thinking they need a huge backstory or a perfectly crafted origin story before they can share anything meaningful.
Instead, she says, “People think that their story has to be this contrived thing, or it has to be their whole story, but in reality it’s just you sharing pieces of your life.”
That is where this conversation lands so well. It gives you permission to stop treating storytelling like a performance and start seeing it as a way to bring more truth into your brand.
What is storytelling in business, really?
If you have ever wondered, what is storytelling in business, this episode offers a grounded answer without making it feel abstract.
Storytelling in business is not oversharing. It is not forcing your life into every caption. It is not making everything about your personal journey.
It is using lived experience, perspective, memory, and emotional truth to give your work context.
That context matters because people do not just want to know what you do. They want to know why your work holds weight. They want to understand what shaped your voice, what informs your perspective, and why your message feels different from the next person saying something similar.
Mariela speaks to that directly in the episode. She shares that when she tells stories, she is not trying to neatly tie everything back to an offer. She is trying to show people who she is, what she stands for, and whether they will feel safe with her.
That is what makes this conversation so strong. It reframes storytelling as trust-building, not just audience-building.
The most powerful stories are often the smallest ones
One of the most useful ideas in the episode is that the stories that connect are not always the biggest or most dramatic ones.
Sometimes they are micro moments.
A phrase you grew up hearing.
A memory that shaped how you see yourself.
A small experience that still informs the way you work, lead, or show up today.
Mariela talks about this with so much clarity. She explains that people often dismiss these stories because they seem ordinary to them. But ordinary to you can be revelatory to someone else.
At one point, she says, “Every single person has lots of stories. We underestimate the value of telling stories that shaped us, shaped how you see the world, shaped a value.”
That line really gets to the core of why business storytelling made easy is not about learning a formula. It is about learning how to notice what already matters.
You do not need a dramatic reinvention story to build connection. You need a willingness to recognize the moments that shaped your values, your lens, and your voice.
And that is often what people remember.
Why your audience needs more than your expertise
There is a difference between someone understanding what you do and someone feeling connected to why you do it.
That difference is where trust lives.
Expertise absolutely matters. Clear offers matter. Strong strategy matters. But if your audience only sees your advice and never feels the person behind it, your brand can start to feel interchangeable.
This is one of the deeper emotional truths running through the episode. Mariela does not talk about storytelling as decoration. She talks about it as a bridge between your work and the people who need it.
She gives examples of how stories help people feel understood in ways straight teaching often cannot. A story can name a fear, a belief, or a block someone has carried for years without having the language for it.
That is why one of her strongest lines in the episode lands so well: “They’ll hear a story and they’ll remember it versus if you just say, hey, here’s this problem, here’s the solution.”
That is such an important distinction, especially for anyone trying to create content that actually stays with people.
Advice can be useful.
A story can be memorable.
And memorable is what often opens the door to trust.
How to build a personal brand without flattening yourself
If you are trying to figure out how to build a personal brand, this episode offers a much more spacious and human answer than the usual advice.
A personal brand is not just your visuals. It is not just your niche. It is not just your content plan.
It is the feeling people attach to your name.
That feeling gets shaped by what you repeat, yes, but also by what you reveal. Not in an overexposed way. In a real one.
Mariela speaks about becoming a “category of one,” and that idea runs beautifully through the conversation. The point is not to force yourself into a more unique brand identity just for the sake of standing out. The point is to stop pretending the work is separate from the person doing it.
Your story, your worldview, your lived experiences, your values, your humor, your energy — all of that informs your brand whether you name it or not.
What this episode does so well is remind you that your work is only one branch of the tree. You are the roots and the trunk. The business grows from there.
That is why strong personal brands do not just sound clear. They sound inhabited.
Storytelling for social media works when it actually sounds like you
This episode also gives a refreshing perspective on storytelling for social media.
Mariela makes it clear that social media is not just a place to promote your offer or prove your authority. It is a place to connect. That does not mean every post has to be vulnerable. It does mean the content should feel human.
And that point feels especially relevant now.
We are in a time when more and more content sounds polished, correct, and strangely forgettable. People can sense when something has been flattened into generic language. They can feel when the human is missing.
Mariela talks about this directly in the episode too. She points out that audiences are becoming more tuned in to content that sounds “perfect and polished” but emotionally falls flat. That is part of what makes her perspective so useful here. She is not asking people to abandon strategy. She is showing that strategy works better when it carries your actual voice.
That is what gives your content life.
Not more polish.
Not more proving.
Not more perfection.
Life.
A simple lens for storytelling in business
One of the clearest takeaways from this episode is that storytelling becomes easier when you stop asking, “What should I say?” and start asking deeper questions.
Why do I care so much about this?
What shaped the way I see this problem?
What do I want people to understand about my perspective?
Why do I keep showing up to share this, even when it feels hard?
Mariela speaks about asking questions like these because they help uncover the stories beneath your work. Not the polished ones. The real ones.
And that is what makes this conversation feel so generous. It does not pressure you to “open up more” in a way that feels exposing. It simply invites you to notice that your message likely already has roots — and those roots are part of what make people trust you.
Later in the episode, Mariela says, “I want more people to know that they’re all sitting on beautiful stories that other people can see themselves in that they don’t even realize that they’re sitting on.”
That line feels like the emotional center of the conversation.
Because so often, the stories you think are too small, too normal, or too old are the exact ones that help someone else feel less alone.
In an AI-heavy world, your humanity matters more
One of the quiet truths underneath this whole episode is that we are moving into a business landscape where polished words are no longer enough.
Anyone can create content that sounds decent.
Anyone can generate a structured caption.
Anyone can follow the same formula.
But not everyone can sound like a real person with a real point of view.
That is where this episode hits something important. Mariela is not only talking about storytelling as a content strategy. She is talking about it as a way to let people actually feel you.
Your lived nuance.
Your emotional specificity.
Your rhythm.
Your voice.
Those things matter even more now, not less.
And if your content has started to feel flat, overly polished, or disconnected from the reason you started, this conversation offers a powerful reset.
You do not need to share everything to be known
This part matters too.
The invitation in this episode is not to share every hard thing you have ever lived through. Some stories are private. Some are still tender. Some are not meant for public consumption.
Mariela makes room for that. She acknowledges that some stories are for you and not for others.
That is what makes her approach feel grounded. It is not about exposure. It is about discernment. It is about finding the stories that illuminate your work without abandoning yourself in the process.
That kind of storytelling feels sustainable. It feels respectful. And honestly, it feels much more powerful than content that shares for shock value or attention.
The most magnetic brands feel like someone is really there
By the end of this episode, one thing becomes very clear: the most memorable brands are not always the most polished. They are the ones that feel inhabited.
They feel like someone is actually there.
Someone with values.
Someone with history.
Someone with a voice.
Someone with a reason for caring.
That is what Mariela brings into this conversation so beautifully. Not just strategy, but soul. Not just a framework, but a deeper reminder that your story is not a side note to your business. It is part of what gives your business meaning.
And she sums that up in one of the most quotable lines from the episode: “The most magical piece that many people are missing is like their story.”
If you have been craving a more human way to connect, market, and grow — one that feels warmer, truer, and less performative — this episode is well worth listening to in full.
Because sometimes the shift is not learning how to say more.
It is remembering how to sound like yourself again.
FAQ
What is storytelling in business?
Storytelling in business is using real experiences, beliefs, and lived perspective to help people understand your work, trust your message, and remember your brand.
Why is storytelling in business important?
It helps people connect emotionally to your message. That emotional connection builds trust, and trust makes your brand more memorable.
How does Mariela De La Mora define storytelling?
In this episode, Mariela frames storytelling as sharing meaningful pieces of your life so people can understand who you are, what you stand for, and why your work matters.
How do I know what stories to share?
Look for moments that shaped your values, your perspective, or the way you help people. They do not need to be dramatic to be powerful.
How can storytelling help me build a personal brand?
It gives your audience context for your voice, your beliefs, and your approach. That helps your brand feel distinct and more deeply trusted.
What makes business storytelling feel authentic?
Specificity, emotional honesty, and discernment. The strongest stories are usually grounded in real moments, not polished performance.
Does storytelling for social media still matter?
Yes. It matters even more now because audiences are looking for content that feels human, not generic or overly polished.
Is storytelling only useful for coaches or creators?
No. Any business can use storytelling to build trust and connection, but it is especially powerful when your perspective is part of what people are choosing.
Want the deeper conversation?
Listen to the full episode to hear Mariela De La Mora share her perspective on storytelling in business, building a personal brand, using your voice more fully, and creating content that actually connects.
FAQ
What is storytelling in business?
Storytelling in business is using personal experiences, emotional truth, and meaningful context to help people understand your work, trust your voice, and remember your message.
Why is storytelling important for entrepreneurs?
It helps entrepreneurs build trust faster, create stronger emotional connection, and stand out in crowded markets where many offers sound similar.
How does storytelling help build a personal brand?
It gives people a reason to remember you beyond your services. Stories reveal your values, perspective, and the lived experiences behind your work.
How do I know which stories to share in my business?
Look for moments that shaped how you think, why you care, or how you help. The best stories are often the ones that explain your perspective, not just your credentials.
Does storytelling for social media need to be personal?
Not always deeply personal, but it should feel real. Social content works better when it sounds human and rooted in lived experience instead of generic advice.
Can storytelling improve conversions?
Yes. Story helps people feel understood, which builds trust. Trust often makes someone more open to listening, joining, or buying when the time is right.
What makes business storytelling feel authentic?
Specificity, emotional honesty, and clear connection to your message. Authentic storytelling does not try to impress. It helps people feel something true.
Is storytelling in business only for coaches or personal brands?
No. Any business can use story to build connection. But it is especially powerful for founders, creators, and service providers whose perspective is part of what people are choosing.
Listen to the full episode if you want a deeper, more human take on storytelling in business, personal brand growth, and what it really means to let your voice lead.
TRANSCRIPT WITH MARIELA DE LA MORA
Chardét Ryel (00:00)
How can you connect with people so deeply that it’s not just about them buying from you or following you, but they genuinely want to be in your world and you feel like you are having impact on them? If you’ve wondered how to do that, and it is not an easy thing, but it is definitely possible, we’re talking about it in this episode with the magnetic, the energetic, Mariella.
and she is a leadership and business coach specifically helping you really turn your storytelling into something that not only sells but also connects. She also has a really strong mission to help marginalize people, people of color to get their voice out there and I love that. And so we’re going to be talking all about how you can open up your own moments, your memories, who you are and bring that into your business. Cannot wait for you to hear this one.
I’ll see you inside. Welcome to her first three years. From breakdowns to blunders, learn what worked and what didn’t. I’m your host, Sade, and whether you’re a new entrepreneur or you’re just starting something new, this is your space to learn and feel a little less alone. Thank you for being here, Mariela. I’m so excited to hear all about story and all about being ourselves to really call in our people.
Mariela De La Mora (01:23)
Yes, thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited of just like how you found me because I feel like that is lends itself to like exactly what I want people to know, which is like you can put a piece of your story out there and you just never know who it’s going to get in front of or who it’s going to bring into your world.
Chardét Ryel (01:41)
You have no idea. And actually, let’s talk about how what that was that you shared because it’s just for background. So, you know, and I think the listeners will. I’m a very non social media person. I’m not on there very often. So you got me. Your story got me in the five minutes that I’m on there scrolling, which is amazing.
Mariela De La Mora (02:01)
Wow.
says a lot. was like, think so many people saw this video that you saw and I never expected it. And I think that’s the thing of like our stories is it’s just a moment in our lives. It’s just a thing that we’re sharing and we just don’t know how it’s going to be received. So it was so cool when you found it. I was like, oh, this just proves my point. this wasn’t even what my intention was, but it was such a vulnerable like moment. So I would love to talk about that because I just think it’s
It’s something where people think that their story has to be this contrived thing, or it has to be their whole story, but in reality it’s just you sharing pieces of your life.
Chardét Ryel (02:41)
And it was so natural. mean, I think that was the big thing about what you shared. And it wasn’t even directly, I mean, it was related to what you do in the story, but it wasn’t a sales thing. It wasn’t a marketing thing. It was just you sharing this experience with your daughter that just, mean, I was kind of blown away. So if you want to share a little bit that what was behind that and then also how it convinced you or showed you the need to really help other people feel a little more comfortable sharing.
parts of their lives.
Mariela De La Mora (03:12)
Yes, so interestingly enough, like when I filmed that video, I think it helped me realize what I had been doing all along in my business. So I’m a little bit over six years into being a full-time leadership and business coach and helping people to extract their story and build their brand around their story. So the video was something that I filmed in response to a trend that I saw on my feed of a mother asking her son to finish phrases that she had grown up hearing that had to do with
You know, it’s almost like boomer parenting. Like, I’ll give you something to cry about. ⁓ as long as you like live under my roof, like you will be in my rules, things like that. And the son responded in a way that just showed he had never, like, he only knows love, unconditional love. And I just thought like, I wonder how my daughter would respond. But of course, I don’t know what she’s going to say. So one day I showed her the video and I said, would you be okay if we filmed this? So I wanted to just like ask her permission and she was like, yeah.
But she just had no idea like why are you asking me these questions? Like this is weird. Like kids don’t know. So I set up the camera on our balcony and I asked her the questions and of course I did not know what to expect and I cried. Especially on the part where I said as long as you live under my roof and she said you’re safe. Because I grew up with my parents are Mexican immigrants and there was things that you don’t really realize until you’re an adult about like what is conditional love and what is like threatening you know your child if they don’t like act
the way you want them to act, but I just remember being threatened with being kicked out all the time. It was kind of like, you disgraced the family, if you’re doing this, just, you’re gonna get kicked out of the house. And I think just hearing her say that, I was like, I told her at the end of the video, you can always live under my roof. Because I wanted somebody to tell me that when I was a teenager. And I probably would have made different life choices, you know? And so that video was her answering those questions and showing me…
my gosh, she actually has no idea why I’m crying. And it’s just so profound, I think, just as a parent to see, I did it, it’s okay. Like, I’ve already made such a huge change in my daughter’s life that she doesn’t even, she wouldn’t even fathom any response that wasn’t like anchored in love.
Chardét Ryel (05:25)
I think you could see what you were saying there now. I think you could see the fact that you hadn’t really planned out what she was gonna say. You didn’t know what she was gonna say. then you were feeling when we were feeling the response. And I’m not a parent, but that shows you how powerful the storytelling is that it even reached a demographic that is not exactly you. And it touches different generations.
I that kind of branding, that kind of story, which isn’t even related to what you’re doing to your business, but it’s just you, the way world is going in the future now, right?
Mariela De La Mora (05:59)
Yeah, and that’s the thing about our stories too, is that the most powerful ones, like I’m obviously I have a business, but when I tell my story, I’m not thinking about like, how am I tying this to my offer? I’m just thinking I want to show people who I am. Because especially when you do work like I do, where people have to trust you immensely, and they have to trust you not just with a result, but with like vulnerability, like things that they don’t share with other people.
I am just like, I think it’s so important for them to see what do I stand for, who am I outside of the work that I do, and for them to kind of see me unguarded because that is just, I think that we gauge whether or not we’ll feel seen and safe by somebody based on those things. And I want more people to know that social media is a place for us to connect with people and it doesn’t all have to fit in this neat little box. the biggest, the most powerful thing we can do is share just pieces of our lives and things that shaped us.
For example, parents, like I had thousands and thousands and thousands of comments and millions of views of people declaring saying this helped to heal them and thank you for sharing this. And it was just not necessarily people with children, but people who saw themselves in that. And so that’s why I’m like, no, there’s so much magic here. And ⁓ I want more people to know that they’re all sitting on beautiful stories that other people can see themselves in that they don’t even realize that they’re sitting on.
Chardét Ryel (07:21)
How do you start to unearth some of these stories with your clients? Because it’s like you said, I imagine some of the stuff they tell you is super vulnerable and maybe you help them decide that, maybe this isn’t the right thing to share, but this is. How do you unearth, how do you decide, how do you guide a little bit with that?
Mariela De La Mora (07:41)
There are stories that are maybe for you and not ones that could be for others. And I think that’s always completely valid. And I think we don’t share things that feel like they’re for us and they’re personal. But in thinking outside of that, when my clients are like, I don’t think I have a story, that’s literally not true. Every single person has lots of stories. We underestimate the value of telling stories that shaped us, shaped how you see the world, shaped a value.
shaped how you see yourself, ⁓ something that just those moments, they can feel like little micro moments. They don’t all have to be like, let me tell you my story from my childhood to now. Small things like, for example, with clients of mine who, let’s say, are coaches now and they serve women of color, they’ll talk about how they got money for a birthday present and they saved it for college and how they’re like, I should have been doing dumb things with my money, but we didn’t go up with money and this is what I was taught.
They don’t think that that matters. And I’m like, no, because a person who feels guilty about spending is gonna immediately feel seen by you. it’s like anything that shaped you I think is really important to share because it helps other people feel seen. And it doesn’t need to be the most big profound story because it could be received that way by other people even if it doesn’t feel like that to you.
Chardét Ryel (08:53)
Yeah, I think that’s the biggest objection you would hear from someone listening right now is, well, I don’t have anything worth talking about in the standpoint of, these micro moments, which I love that way of saying it, that have shaped you. What are some examples that people have shared? So it’s okay to share them here as examples, just to understand what could be, and you gave a great one actually just right now about.
saving your birthday money for college because that was the background that people grew up with, right? If there’s anything else too, just so we can really crystallize it in everyone’s minds.
Mariela De La Mora (09:27)
And I think it depends on what are you telling your story for. One of the biggest stories that we can tell is like, and this is why I do what I do now. This is why I help who I help. This is why I do this thing. This is why I create content because that creates a bigger like emotional anchor than like, you have this problem and I have the solution, which can really, that’s technically accurate, but I think it can like fall flat versus, know, for example, the people who are
who help, let’s say, women of color with ⁓ saving money and investing, you could say, okay, yes, I want to help you with saving money and investing. And it’s like, yes, but so do lots of people. Like, what is it that, and you could even say, I do it differently because we do X, Y, Z strategy. But it really hits differently when you’re talking to people and you say, I watched my parents move money from account to account so that the lights wouldn’t get cut off. I would ⁓ save all of my birthday money in case they couldn’t pay the rent.
And this isn’t my story, but these are just stories that I have coached on where it’s like I watch my parents send money back to their home country and be so generous and then have nothing left for themselves. So this is, you know, part of what I help my clients with is not being so over generous that they’re like leaving themselves empty and depleted. And there are things like this where it touches upon guilt, almost like survivor’s guilt or being the one that has money. Guilt over spending money on yourself.
always feeling like the other shoe is gonna drop. And it’s like you tell these stories and then the clients that they’re actually meant to serve are like, I don’t feel ashamed bringing this to you. yeah, you understand why I feel like I can’t spend money or I have to save every dime. Why I’m afraid to invest because it feels risky and I was told that it’s risky. It’s like, there’s so much more you can show through stories. But for example, things like that, like those sorts of stories are really powerful of like, and this is why I do what I do because I want to.
help other women like me who maybe grew up in scarcity to actually grow their wealth. It’s more powerful to say that than to say, I’m a money coach and I help women of color grow their wealth. They’ll hear a story and they’ll remember it versus if you just say, hey, here’s this problem, here’s the solution.
Chardét Ryel (11:33)
You use that for your SEO, but it’s not your story. When they have a story, people see themselves in it is what you were talking about. And they might not have the words or the emotions to express why, for example, they’re not ready to invest, but just you giving that story says, oh, wow, this is why I feel this way. It gives them not just understanding, but also really going deeper into what maybe their own blocks are for everything.
Mariela De La Mora (12:00)
Exactly. Yeah, that’s exactly what it is, is that they don’t even realize what their blocks are. They don’t understand why maybe why they have certain beliefs they don’t even realize that they have, especially if you say, I grew up hearing this. And granted, like this is an example of like clients of mine who are leadership coaches or money coaches or marketers and different things. But I do the same with my business a lot around creating conventional success and security by being married and divorced, being
graduating and having two master’s degrees, climbing the corporate ladder. And then I talk about the story of when I got pregnant with my daughter, how every form of conventional security failed me at once. Like my husband left. I went through my second divorce unexpectedly as I found out that I was pregnant. I then had to leave my job when I was living in the UK, because I moved there to be married to him, to be with him. And I spent all of my money paying our rent in our apartment by myself after he moved out.
having to leave my job, having to move back to California, in with my parents, and getting on food stamps. When I tell people, like, I lost everything in, a moment, in the moment that I got pregnant with my daughter, which is why I… All parents love their children, but I’m just like, she is my rainbow in, every sense, that I said, when I rebuild, I’m going to build something that nobody can take away from me. Because I invested my whole life in, this job’s gonna give me security. I’m gonna get married and we’re gonna buy a house, and, having a husband, and, like…
But then when you lose it, it’s like, want to build something that’s mine. I also want to make a difference in the world with the work that I do, not just help other big companies make money. So when I say that, I think it just helps people understand that when I’m a business coach or when I’m helping people with story, this isn’t just a thing I decided. It’s literally like, it came from me.
losing everything and that that’s a form of like liberation and empowerment for women, you know, that they always can have this. They can have a job and still have a brand. They can have children and still have a brand. Like, and it’s still something that they can get paid with. I’m like, my gosh, to me, I’m like, nothing’s made me feel safer than having a brand that pays me. And that only grows in value every single year. Like I look at it like a home that just appreciates in value the more that I tell my story.
Chardét Ryel (14:16)
Well, first, if anyone’s listening that’s not yet an entrepreneur, I think you just converted them.
Mariela De La Mora (14:21)
You’re all ready.
Chardét Ryel (14:26)
I know your story already before reaching out, but I still got chills when you told it. And I think it’s so powerful because if someone goes to your Instagram after this, ⁓ after this episode, and of course we’ve got, we’ll have it in the show notes for you to do that and definitely should. No one would know if you hadn’t shared that story on there. If they just looked at your brand photos and everything that this was your background, they would have no idea. And both sides of it as well, that.
standard corporate security and then also having to struggle and make it on your own. Those are two things that you just would, think a lot of people don’t realize that no one knows your background unless you share it.
Mariela De La Mora (15:06)
And that when you’ve lived through something, I think that it’s very easy to just move on and not realize the gravity of things that you’ve overcome. And I think it’s actually very normal and human to do that, which is why I say a lot of our stories are things that are gems that we’re sitting on. But because we moved through it already, we don’t actually sit and say, wow, I did that. We’re just like, well, yeah, that just happened. And then you move on. But it’s like, no, we actually have all been through things.
that are difficult, that are inspiring, that other people need to hear about. And it’s almost like our stories are the least remarkable to us, but the most remarkable to other people.
Chardét Ryel (15:43)
What do you think are some of the questions or even just one question to think about to help unearth some of these stories? Because a lot of times, you know, we’re not writing them down in a notebook. We kind of just forget about it. And you’re not always feeling super inspired. So how can you start to maybe bring some of these to light, even just the small tiny ones?
Mariela De La Mora (16:06)
what I call sellable stories. It doesn’t mean you need to sell, but it is just your stories, your core brand stories. So I created a custom GPT that will interview you and extract them, which I’ll provide so that everyone listening can have that. Why do you create content? And if you stopped creating content, what would bother you the most? Who would feel unseen? What would feel unspoken? Why do you create? Because we could just talk to friends and family.
We can just hang out in our neighborhoods. We could do that, but we don’t. We all choose to put our voices on a platform for multiple people to hear, like, why do you do that? Especially when it’s hard. When it’s hard, why do you keep doing it? That is probably the truest question for anybody, whether they are building a brand just to build the brand or whether they’re selling something. And then I ask my clients, like, why don’t you quit?
Why don’t you quit? Like, I don’t want you to quit, but I’m like, why don’t you quit? Because it’s hard. We kind of all go through discomfort, especially around sharing pieces of ourselves. So there has to be something really, really strong. And I think on the day that we have a hard time showing up or we wonder, does this even matter? Is anybody even listening? Like, really asking yourself that question of, like, why don’t I quit? What keeps me showing up?
Chardét Ryel (17:22)
It switches the conversation from, ⁓ I have to go on and I have to do this because if I don’t, then I won’t be relevant. I won’t make sales. Instead, it’s like, if you don’t, who is missing out from not hearing you?
Mariela De La Mora (17:35)
Exactly, and the answer is usually like surprisingly not that much about us. It’s generally about somebody in the world is not going to be helped. They’re not gonna be seen. Like there’s something there and I think that helps to kind of take ourselves out of it because I think that when creating feels hard, we’re generally thinking about how we’re gonna be perceived or am I gonna get the result that I want? We don’t create for us necessarily like we do but we’re creating for.
who is going to receive it and how it’s going to impact them. And there’s a reason we keep showing up to do it.
Chardét Ryel (18:08)
don’t know if you’ve heard this, it’s a very, everyone talks about it, but it’s so true that when you do public speaking and if you’re afraid, the biggest thing you can do is shift it from what is it about? It’s not about you, it’s for them. it’s like what can you do to make it help them? And it’s the same, you’re saying it’s not about like what results can I get? This person, what do they need to hear? And you probably create better content because of it.
Mariela De La Mora (18:34)
What do want them to know and then just go put it out there.
Chardét Ryel (18:37)
It
brings up an interesting next question though, and I’m sure you have kind of a system for how you do it. There’s still this line, right? Because you can, if you are selling something, at some point you do want it to convert. That’s the mission, right? And we’ve all been friends before where everyone loves our content, but they don’t really want to ever push the trigger. So how do you, is it different kinds of content for different things? Is it, what is your philosophy and thought on this?
Mariela De La Mora (18:57)
you
ABC Attraction building, which is like building trust, building connection, just building that relationship. And then there’s conversion content. But really, especially now, it’s very difficult to grow if you post a lot of conversion content. We want it on there, but we really want like half of everything we post to be attraction content and then maybe a third to be like building content and then like a quarter of it to be conversion content. Because really it’s like attraction content is like little messengers.
And then when they get there, that’s where they like, you go deeper with them. You have more transformative content that really positions you and builds that relationship. So it’s like you connect with them, then you build trust with them. And then there’s like a little bit of content that’s more on conversion, but I also am an advocate for and part of what I teach in my program of category of one is where I’m like, we have to also then get our followers off ⁓ of social media onto an email list. And that’s what we do in like.
building content and conversion content, it’s like here you’re teaching them, you’re building trust and you’re saying, join my email list, I have this resource for you. Or join my email list, you’re gonna learn more about this because we cannot reliably expect our followers to see our posts. Like it just isn’t like that even for the best creators. Like if you think you’ve probably followed people over the last six months that you love their content and they fell off your feed, even though they’re great creators. That’s just the nature of it is that social media is for connection and audience growth. It’s not necessarily to do the entire job of your business, not anymore.
not since like the beginning of 2025.
Chardét Ryel (20:34)
I love that you said that. I love that because it’s true. I have even people who’ve been on this show and they do a lot of social media and I haven’t like, their stuff is not coming up in my feed even though I’m always liking it when I do. I think it’s a beautiful channel for connection. I really do think it can be super powerful the way that you’re expressing it. I don’t like the bro marketing model at all, but this way is really nice. But also like you said,
The next step is take it to a platform that you own or you have some control over.
Mariela De La Mora (21:07)
Exactly, and it’s just a different relationship. Like that is where we can go deeper. It’s more long form. It’s more, and it’s like a less noisy environment, which is like people’s inbox. And they’re giving you consent. Email is consent. Like they’re saying, yes, I want to hear from you. And they can decide what emails they want to open. I started my business and started posting in 2019 and then went full time in 2020. I would say probably for the first four and a half years, almost five years.
I only used Instagram, I didn’t use email very much, and then I saw the difference in terms of how you can’t just rely on your feed to sell. So I changed my strategy last year and I said, number one, I’m craving being more human in my content. And number two, I don’t want when I’m launching or I’m selling, I don’t want everything to hinge on me posting on social media, because I don’t like how that feels. But it feels so different for me to use my feed in a way that feels like it’s for connection and fun, but also service, because that’s how I consider building content.
content that’s in service, but then I’m having more of the sales conversations on my podcast, like I’m teaching more in my podcast or my email, because those are long form places. And it just makes more sense, because that way we’re not hinging everything on one platform. So I really look at like, we use story everywhere, but really storytelling in content is like what actually social media pushes out more anyway. So why not be more human on our social media? It’s actually strategically, I’m a marketer, I was a marketer for 16 years.
the marketer is telling you it makes sense to be human on social media because like it actually is rewarded so why not do it that way?
Chardét Ryel (22:39)
Even more so now, right? Now that there’s so much AI sludge out there, you want to really know there’s a real person behind that.
Mariela De La Mora (22:48)
Exactly, and we’re becoming more tuned to what sounds perfect and polished, but like falls flat emotionally. And a lot of the times that’s what it is, is that the story is missing, the human is missing, the examples are missing.
Chardét Ryel (22:59)
something that’s really deeply ingrained in us just ancestrally and the story is you’re gonna sit around the fire, you’re gonna come, you’re gonna listen. And then also people are smarter now, like they know when you chat-shabby-teed the entire thing. was, I was this Reddit thread and this person had asked a question on, I can’t remember, plants or something. My plant is dying so I was looking at this about the plants.
This person answered and they had a really thorough answer and it had like three bullet points and then it had a question back to the original poster at the end. And all these people started flagging them and they’re like, this is a bot. You’re talking to a bot. You can tell from the structure. You can see the three points in the question. People know.
Mariela De La Mora (23:46)
Yes, and they’ll reflect back like, you’re asking exactly the right question here. And then it’ll go into the whole thing. And it’s like, it’s almost like our ears are attuning to what sounds like AI. And over time, it becomes less and less and less effective because we can hear AI speak. And again, it sounds accurate and it sounds smart and it’s very thorough, but like that is not actually what people trust. Now it’s like, we actually are looking for signs of life.
even the way that I write copy have words where I capitalize every single letter because I want you, I want it to sound like when I’m speaking, because I’m very animated when I speak and I use my hands and I’m Latina and all of this, that I’m like, I want you to feel me when you’re hearing my words. I will use words where I’m like, for example, we are so excited, like S-O-O-O-O. And I’m just like, I’m gonna do it, because this is me. I actually wrote this. Like, I want people to know. I want you to hear my tone of voice and my words. So yeah.
Chardét Ryel (24:40)
I this because I also do that. I also capitalize a lot and use a lot of exclamations. But ⁓ you’ll appreciate this as someone who you speak Spanish as well, right? Like you speak multiple languages. I think it’s so funny that when people are learning a second language, if they’re learning by app, for example, like Duolingo or something, the way they say something is technically correct. But it’s not the nuanced way that you get from
regular practice or from being in the environment. It’s the same way with AI. feel like you slightly notice like, oof, this is not, it’s not quite right.
Mariela De La Mora (25:19)
I say that the best marketing is would you say this to that person if they were standing in front of you, like face to face? Because immediately if you were to read your post out loud, like, does this sound like a dissertation? Does it sound like you’re talking at somebody? Do you even use that word? If you read it out loud, it would sound like a conversation that you would wanna say to someone to their face if they were standing in front of you. That’s the way to write the best copy now.
Chardét Ryel (25:46)
You know, insert some of your personality, insert some of your own words, the things you make up, all that stuff.
Mariela De La Mora (25:52)
We’re almost like teaching ourselves how to feel safe to just express. that’s part of what my mission is now. It’s not just like storytelling, it’s also helping people who historically have felt unsafe being seen or unsafe using their voice to do so more. Because that’s what’s gonna like create more diverse voices. Because diverse voices tend to know the strategy but have a hard time showing up.
Chardét Ryel (26:16)
The showing up piece when you always had to be so careful about how you came across is a very real obstacle to overcome. Not everyone has. It’s not addressed in a lot of ways. I think it’s very often not something that’s in most coaching programs. It’s just not there because you know, like what mainstream voices are.
Mariela De La Mora (26:40)
like we actually are healing through our content helps us heal our relationship with visibility and voice. And I think like when we only teach strategy, this is how people will know logically what to do, but they can’t get themselves to do it and they overthink it. everything from the beginning of my business has also been like not just creating a brand by being who you are, but it’s also like helping the people who that’s hard, like the people that that feels hard for them. How can they shift their relationship with it so that they feel safer to do it?
and not just treat it like a mindset problem, like actually say, like, no, this makes sense, this isn’t a personal failing, this is actually like, historically and culturally and societally, like, you are feeling safer to use your voice as someone whose voice isn’t centered. And that can be for women, this can be for marginalized people, it can be for so many people, you know?
Chardét Ryel (27:27)
It brings to light this idea of bringing your story in, bringing your voice, feeling safe to have your voice come out and stopping trying to be in the wellness category, in the mom category, in the category that everyone else is doing, but the category of one of you. What does that for you involve? Like, what does that mean to be in the category of one?
Mariela De La Mora (27:50)
You are a one of one, there is nobody else like you. And it also means like you essentially are the brand, you essentially are the niche, but the thing that you do is just one part of you, it’s not all of you. So there’s your story, it’s what you stand for, it’s what shaped you, it’s your personality. And then one, I think about you being the umbrella or the trunk of the tree. ⁓ I’ve used this analogy with my clients of like, you are the roots and the trunk of the tree, you as the person, and then you have all these branches.
that are also part of you. And then that little branch has some leaves and like there’s your offer, there’s your, you know, there’s what you sell and then there’s like your lifestyle and then there’s your sense of humor. To be a category of one really is just, you already are, but the way that I do it from a business perspective is like, what is the need that exists in the world that you feel because of who you are and like how you do things differently. That’s actually in marketing speak positioning. So I help people position.
their offers and their content through their story. But it just doesn’t feel like that when you’re receiving it, you’re just hearing a story and being like, my gosh, I get it. Or I understand why you’re different, or I understand why you do what you do.
Chardét Ryel (28:57)
you.
And it also sticks with you when you hear that story, right? Like I could, I could give five tips on anything and you might remember one, but if I tell you a story, even if it’s something super simple and I’m with the imagery and bringing in the emotion and all of that, like you’re showing how to do in this, then you are going to remember it. It’s going to stay.
Mariela De La Mora (29:21)
Yeah.
It’s up to you, whatever you want to do. But one day you may have a book, you’re going to be invited on stages to speak, and people are following you first. And if you’ve taught them to only consume the thing that you teach and not follow you, you’re going to feel like you can’t evolve as a human. Kind of think about it like with our content, we have like billboard, like a billboard next to a freeway. Well, America has that. I don’t know about other countries, but we’re very obnoxious with billboards. So I’m like, attraction content is like billboard. There’s like
fast passing traffic and then you have this billboard. Then you have like the street sign, which is like you’re walking down the street and it stops and it’s like, there’s a little cafe here. And then there’s a menu. If all you did is post menus on a freeway, no one would read it. And if you posted a menu on the street, they wouldn’t read it. So I’m like, it all goes together. You need to.
get attention, bring new people into your world, connect with you emotionally, then you need to build trust and be like, wait, let’s stop what’s this person saying. And then it’s like, okay, the person already wants to buy from this restaurant. They’re in here, they’re reading the menu. They all work together. And I’m just like the most magical piece that many people are missing is like their story.
Chardét Ryel (30:25)
This conversation definitely, I know is going to open up some minds to different things. And I also am going to push people again towards the AI prompts questioning that you had. What was it called? What did you call it?
Mariela De La Mora (30:38)
So it’s a sellable stories coach, GPT. So the sellable stories coach is going to just ask you questions that you can then answer. And in the end, it’s going to help you identify three main stories. One is like why you do what you do now, which could just be creating content. Two is how you do it differently. And the third is a story that shows that how you do it differently. What did it look like for you or what did it look like for a client? So it’s kind of like a full arc of stories you can kind of tell all the time.
Chardét Ryel (31:07)
I’m gonna actually do that as soon as we finish.
Mariela De La Mora (31:09)
Yeah.
⁓
Chardét Ryel (31:12)
And this is live, I’ll report my results. I think it’s an amazing resource. How can people listening find your show on your website, your offers, everything? Where can they go?
Mariela De La Mora (31:23)
I’m mostly hanging out on Instagram ⁓ at Mariela de la Mora. I also have a podcast called Cycle Breakers and Moneymakers on my website. Mariela de la Mora dot com is where you can find out more about what I do.
Chardét Ryel (31:36)
It will also be in the show notes, yeah. Or if you guys want to connect on Instagram, which you should. And thank you so much for being here, for the conversation and for just like the energy and the light that you bring. You can feel it. can feel it, whether or not I think anyone listening probably can too. So thank you.
Mariela De La Mora (31:53)
I appreciate you so much. I’m so glad we found each other and thank you for having me on.
