Why a Mission Statement is Critical

Do you have a mission statement? Most entrepreneurs don’t, and many of those who do don’t have a clear mission. People tend to get overwhelmed by the idea of creating a mission statement and are confused by exactly what it is.

A mission statement is crucial for the success of your business. It is the foundation of what you do. It defines your who, what and how; who is your target audience, what are your values, what are you offering your customers, how are you offering it, how your customers benefit, and how you are different from everyone else in your industry (in other words, what makes you unique in a way that attracts your ideal customer to do business with you rather than your competition). Your statement needs to be clear and concise so that you remember it and your customers easily understand it.

Your mission statement acts as your guide and helps to keep you focused on your purpose and your goals. Without a clear mission, you will be prone to distractions or what is often referred to as the ‘dangling carrot’ or ‘shiny object’ syndrome.

Here are some exercises to help you design your mission statement:

• Think about why you chose the particular profession you are in.
• Assess your interests and experiences over the course of your life – do they relate to your business or the reason you were drawn to that industry?
• Recognize your personal values and how they fit into what you do in your business.
• Write out your story of how you were lead down this particular path.
• Describe what you offer or want to offer your customers/clients (what is your product or service and what do you offer that goes beyond the tangible product or service).
• Explain how your customers benefit from what you have to offer, in other words, what is the problem they have and how do you solve it.
• Define what makes you unique – how do you differentiate yourself from others in the same or similar type of business as you.
• Choose the key points from the above exercises and combine them into a paragraph of three to five sentences.
• Shrink your paragraph down into one clear and concise sentence that defines who your help, what you do to help them, and how you help them.
• Make sure your statement clearly differentiates your business from others.
• Memorize your statement.
• Live it!

about

Catherine M. White

Catherine M. White, founder of Accelerated Results 365, is an author, speaker and innovator. She works with high performance clients to strategically develop effective business processes for continued high level success using her signature system, P.O.W.E.R.R., designed specifically for visionaries, and entrepreneurs. This program leads to authoritative breakthroughs by creating innovative tools that enable businesses to catapult past the competition.