A Bit About Novel Concepts

In 2008 I was teaching business courses at Northwest Christian University. I had been teaching an introductory business course for 8 years and decided to create a new way to deliver the material through the use of story. I applied for a sabbatical and was awarded 9 months of support to develop on-line curriculum using storytelling to teach the principles and practices of small business ownership. 

Once I had the concept to use a story to give my students a real-life peek at how chaotic and risky small businesses could be, I began dreaming of a character. Her name was Bailey and she was set to inherit a bookstore from an uncle she never knew. Once I let myself go with the idea, all sorts of characters came forth to help me paint a picture of the troubles and excitement of owning a business. My students could follow Bailey’s learning curve as she met with an accountant, an attorney, a marketer, potential employees, and a banker.

I quickly learned that the fabric of the story could not handle too much technical information without becoming contrived. Therefore, I developed workbook assignments to accompany the novel and to record the students’ progress. The use of storytelling to introduce complex and unfamiliar material worked wonderfully well for the students. They loved it!

Anticipating that I would want to continue to develop curriculum using this approach, 

I created a small business of my own as a way to house my work independent of my role as professor. The name for my business came from my accountant when he heard of my idea for writing Bailey’s story. He exclaimed, “Wow. That’s a novel concept.”