You wouldn’t drive across the country from California to New York without a map. And you shouldn’t operate your business without a mission statement.
A mission statement gives you a framework for evaluating opportunities and deciding whether they fit your core business model and strategy.
It can help you define your business and establish your brand, and it can help you (and your employees, contractors, etc.) focus their efforts and suggest ideas that fit with what you’re trying to do.
But what does your mission statement have to do with your branding?
This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.
DAY 3 ACTION STEP
Write your mission statement
The purpose of branding is to communicate the right message through your business’s visuals and other intangible brand components (like tone and terminology).
If you communicate that message well, you’ll increase the likelihood of attracting the right kind of clients and customers.
That message is often summed up best by a mission statement.
A mission statement is a one-sentence summary of your business that tells others what you do, who you help, and how you help them.
A common framework for a mission statement is:
“[Name of your business] does [specific action] to help [ideal client/customer] do [desired result].”
For example: “Elle & Company helps businesses create a stunning first impression online.”
Do you have to stay inside this framework? Of course not! You’re a creative entrepreneur, so take the liberty to get creative with it and make it your own.
Let’s look at another example.
Google’s mission statement is to: Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
This mission statement never mentions search, but rather, leaves room for the company to branch out into other ventures - web analytics, mobile, shopping, videos, photos, maps, office productivity, online storage, and more.
But remember that making the “desired result” piece of your mission statement as specific and actionable as possible will help you as you strive to communicate this message through your brand.
Take some time to brainstorm and write your mission statement on page 6 of your workbook. I left space for you to jot down several options in the middle of the page, along with space at the bottom to write your finalized mission statement.
If you’re having a hard time narrowing it down and finding the right words, don’t get frustrated! Sometimes you need a few days to sit on it. These types of things always fall into place for me at random times (on the interstate, in a meeting, at the post office), and I’d like to think that’s normal.
Once you’ve arrived at a clear and concise mission statement, share it with the Elle & Company Facebook Group to gain some feedback or leave me a comment here on this post (I have a feeling I’m not the only one who would love to read it!).
