How To Create The Origin Story of Your Brand: Kevin Lavelle - Origins Copy

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Kevin, welcome to the show. Thanks very much, Sebastian, for having me. Great to be here. Hey, thanks for taking some time out of your day to hang out with me here on the show for a few minutes and talk about a little bit about your story and uh an origin story, which I that's a newer term uh for me. And when you and I first connected on uh on Facebook, I saw that you worked with brands and their origin story. I thought, I want to know more about that. So my initial connection is always when I meet interesting people is let's get you on the podcast. So glad you're able to find some time to hang out with me today. Um let's back up a little bit, help our listeners better understand a little bit more about you uh and your backstory and what really brought you to present day with what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Sure. I would say the reason I write origin stories is because I've spent my life trying to understand my own. Um I I came from a good family, uh, but I think the place, the place where I was born and the people who I was born into, um it was a very different kind of upbringing than than um I was able to get my head around when I was young. So I was born in London to Irish parents, and we would spend uh summers uh cities uh sorry, during the um during the year I would live in London in a big, you know, bustling city in a Victorian house. Uh summers were spent uh uh playing around on my cousin's farms in Ireland, you know. Um, and so I kind of I used to grow up kind of feeling neither English nor Irish, I think. And um, I don't know how much you know about the history there, but there's uh you know a long history between the two countries. And um it was when I was moving between the two, you had to choose one or the other. You you were either English or Irish, you know. Um and so I never kind of was able to kind of uh fully root myself in a country, and I know a lot of people do that. Um, and I think my kind of search for my identity has kind of been ever since then, and I think that's probably a good reason why I got into um writing. Um, I was writing from a very young age, and I always thought that someday I would somehow be a writer. I didn't know how exactly. Um and even though I I uh did science in college, I never um pursued it, and uh I went into film and TV editing actually. Um in in our small um city on the west coast of Ireland, suddenly there was a film industry, an American film production company landed there. Um, uh a TV station opened there, and so suddenly I was um there was a film industry in my backyard, and so I ended up staying there, working with a lot of American um producers, directors, and editors, which kind of piqued my interest about suddenly one day moving to Los Angeles. And I used to I used to visit um the the editors I used to work with, and um it kind of planted the seed that one day I would come. And but it that took 20 years, you know. I I lived in Ireland, I traveled all around Europe. Um, I did visit uh the US once, just visiting friends. Um, but for me, uh I'm I I think understanding where I where my place was in my family was also another kind of like defining factor. Um, I think I'm kind of probably the only male on my dad's side not to go into construction, for example. Um and so there was not maybe not expectations, but maybe hopes or understandings about what I would do with my life. And um, for me, it was always about um stories, is what you know uh it was my refuge. It was uh I used to just read so many books, watch movies by myself, and I really um found that was it it tapped into something that was kind of deep inside of me, longing to understand my own sort of story. Um and so I was, you know, about 10 years ago was when I finally decided that everything kind of in my life kind of came to a point where I said, you know what, now is the time. And I packed up uh uh my life in Ireland, all my family, friends. Um, a long relationship had ended. Um I had left behind uh you know a long relationship with drinking as well. And I kind of said, this is a time for a whole new start. And um I had nothing, I had no job, no place to stay, no, you know, I had one or two contacts over here. Um, but I just came over and the the will I had and the um energy I brought with me to make this work, it everything figured itself out in three months. I got my job, my visa, my place to stay, a relationship, it all kind of fell into place immediately. Um so now here I am in Los Angeles, and I've been transitioning full-time into writing. I write streamplays and novels, and um uh the business I started last year, I now help um business owners tell their stories. I think what I'm finding is that a lot of business owners have often forgotten why they do what they do and or they don't have a full understanding of it. And what I'm finding is that helping them to write their origin stories really helps connect them with the people that they're trying to attract.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

So, why does a brand need an origin story?

SPEAKER_00 6:27

It's very hard to differentiate one service from the other. Um, I think uh most people have a website, and I think the understanding was that once I have a website, I'll be fine. Um and so, you know, you can fill up a website with stock images and a brief description of kind of like the service you offer, and that's fine. But I know whenever I'm searching for something that I look for my connection to that service. If I'm gonna spend time building a relationship with that provider, whatever it is, I want to know who they are, why they do what they do, and what makes them kind of like special. Because um I know that how much I know how much work I put into doing my job, and I want to, and I and I know how important it is to me. And I want to know that whoever I work with um feels that way about their business too, that there's more beyond just profit, more beyond just um uh doing a job because they happen to be good at it or because it was handed down to them. It's it's it's it's about telling that little unique piece of their history that connects them to the job that they do, that will connect them to the people who are trying to find them.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

So it's more of an not really an association, but you know, resonating with the brand on both sides for both the customer and the business.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah. I mean, if you think about the if you think about the customer journey, I think that's I think that's a really important kind of thing to take in mind. If you think about a story or you know, if you think about a book or a great book or a great movie, it takes you on a journey, you know, uh, you're taken into a world. And that's what that's what I try to try to replicate with the stories that I write for the brands. It's let's take your clients or your potential clients on the journey of your business. What's it like to work with you? Um, what what what changes will they expect to experience? Like if you think about um the the two T's I like to think about are like transportation, take them into your world, take them into the journey that you'll take them on, and then it's transformation. And it's what will happen to them when they go on a journey with you. And I think that's there's that's the power of a great story um for a brand is doing those two things. When you can do those two things well, I think a uh a person will uh a client will feel like, you know what, this is more than just a transaction. I'm I I'm investing in a in a change in change. Um, and and I think that's what kind of like really seals the deal with um a lot of a lot of business um uh owners and their clients is do I feel like I'm actually changing something by this? I think that's where the most successful partnerships and relationships happen.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

So, what's the first step in the process of creating somebody's origin story?

SPEAKER_00 9:39

I take them through a series of questions that uh brings them back to a time that they may have even forgotten. Um, for some people, it could be a moment in childhood that really impacted them, which uh changed forever their uh view of the world and how the world works and maybe how cruel the world can be, or how you know um how much adventure is possible in the world. Um, it could be, you know, watching a family member go through a particularly bad divorce 20 years later turns them into a you know a family lawyer, or it could be um somebody who saw a family member um with terrible financial struggles turns them into uh a financial advisor years later. So it's about taking them back to that moment when uh that they may have forgotten, they may not, but it's about fleshing out that moment where that sparked a seed for them becoming who they are. Because here's the thing like uh if they if a client knows that you or your family has gone through the through the thing that you're gonna help them with, they'll trust you more.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yeah. Reminds me of my daughter, because uh she just graduated from college uh two weeks ago with a degree in psychology. And I was like, wow, you're finally gonna understand why your parents are crazy. So uh yeah, it was funny that and she was like she's very adamant about wanting to help help children, specifically in the mental health space. So it's funny that you mentioned that. That's my association to an origin story, there is what my my daughter's own experience is. You know, her dad's a serial entrepreneur and her mom works for you know an airline company. So there's you know, two polar uh, you know, opposites on parent, the parental side, but it's crazy how our experiences can really shape you know our potential future too.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

No, absolutely. Yeah. And you know, um we're we're always absorbing information. And here's the thing, like we don't immediately we don't always immediately know what that means. It can take a long time for that to sort of settle and to to um to to settle into us and then to kind of like come out back back out into the world again. The beauty that I kind of see is we don't always uh know when the the the influences that that you know the the things that we see in the world and experience in the world that influence us, we don't always know how and when they're gonna express themselves. And that can take sometimes, you know, half a lifetime. And the beauty of what I do is that uh seeing that moment of realization sometimes on on the on my clients' kind of faces when they put the I help them put the connect the pieces and they kind of understand something more about themselves and their business, and they're able to take that to their staff and their partners and talk more fully about um what it is that the the their brand or business stands for, and the type of deep, deeper level service that they can offer, and that comes across when they're speaking to their customers, you know. Um, it it kind of just creates this wonderful kind of a feeling of warmth, connection, and inclusion. Um, and I think that's what it's all about. Like, you know, it's about warming up a business into something that feels a bit more human.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah, I love that. Well, Kevin, man, it's so uh great to finally connect with you here and better understand. Now I know what an origin story is. So I feel a little bit smarter today on here. As a storyteller by trade, I probably should know what an origin story is, but it's great to really unpack it and understand you know, this is an actual thing that is important and relevant for brands to be able to have. So love what you're doing, love what you're up to. And again, I appreciate you taking some time to hang out with me for a few minutes here. Any final thoughts for our listeners on creating their origin story?

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Um, well, I don't know. Hit me up if you're ever in trouble and you want to understand more about yourself. Um, hit me up. I'll be happy to have a chat with you. Um, but understand that uh your story, some people say that their story isn't big enough or important enough or tragic enough. There's always something. No matter what you've gone through, it's yours, it's unique, and it will connect people. The people who need to find you will connect you through it. Yep, absolutely. Thanks again, Kevin. I appreciate your time. All right, thanks, Sebastian.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story Podcast. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios.