A business mission statement is the backbone to your business and its success!

I shared why your business needs a mission statement, but now you may be wondering where to start.

It can be an overwhelming task trying to condense your business goals and philosophy into one simplified statement. If the idea overwhelms you, let me help.

What is a Mission Statement?

A mission statement is a statement reflecting the heart of your business, including its philosophy and vision.

It is what defines who you are and how your business runs.

It seems like such an easy task and yet when I sat down to write about the heart and soul of my own business, it felt daunting, and with good reason.

How to write a mission statement for your brand or business in Five Steps

1. Ask Yourself These Questions to Start Brainstorming

Forbes starts this process by asking four simple questions that can jump start your brainstorming. This guided brainstorming can lay the roadmap for a future mission statement.

• What do we do?
• How do we do it?
• Whom do we do it for?
• What value are we bringing?

Not only are these questions great for getting you on the right track for creating your business’ mission statement, but your mission statement should also answer all four of those questions.

This is a great way to check back to see if your mission statement is complete; does it answer these four questions?

2. Look at Examples

Whether you’re a solopreneur or running a small business with a few employees, there are businesses that are bigger and more established  than yours. These businesses (in and out of your industry) can be a tremendous help in getting ideas for your own mission statement.

Here are just a few examples:

Chick-fil-A: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

Target: “We fulfill the needs and fuel the potential of our guests. That means making Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional experiences—consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand promise.”

Starbucks: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

Noonday Jewelry: “Noonday Collection is a socially responsible business that uses fashion to create meaningful opportunities around the world.”

By looking at those examples, you can see how different companies proclaimed their mission. This will better help you to proclaim yours–in your own voice.

Look up a few websites that are within your industry or in complimentary industries of your niche. Take a look at their mission statement or brand messaging on their website. What core themes can you see?

Remember that looking at other company’s examples, it’s important to never plagiarize some one else’s mission statement. I find the best way to make sure you aren’t accidentally copying someone else’s words is to close out of any windows that contain someone else’s mission statements before starting to draft your own.

By starting this process answering those four questions above about your business, it will be easy to maintain your own voice throughout this drafting process.

3. Draft Your Mission Statement

If you’ve ever had writer’s block, you know that sometimes the hardest part of writing is just starting.

Just start writing.

This is just a draft. This isn’t your final mission statement. This is a collection of your answers to those four important questions with the knowledge you gained by looking at other business’ examples.

Don’t worry about being concise here. Don’t worry about the perfect wording or the ideal client. Just start writing and answering those questions.

There is no required formula for a mission statement, however I find that this “formula” is a great starting point for my web design clients who are trying to hone in on their mission statement during our process working together.

Here is a simple structure to guide you while drafting a few mission statements:

My business does [action] to help [ideal customer] do [desired result].

The verbs in the statement above can easily be switched out to something that is more in line with your specific services. For example:

I coach [action] creative entrepreneurs [ideal customer] to scale and grow [desired result] their online businesses.

The next step is often overlooked but so important.

Now that you’ve drafted a few mission statements, put it away.

Don’t think about your mission statement for a few days and then come back to it with clear thinking.

4. Review and Revise

Now you can be nit picky with your mission statement.

Cross out any extra words. Use a thesaurus to make sure the words you have chosen are the right fit for your brand.

Your language should be direct while maintaining your voice.

Your mission statement should be concise without extra wordiness.

The supplemental pages on your website will help to expand upon your mission statement but for now, keep it simple and direct.

Get Feedback

Constructive criticism is key to getting your mission statement right.

Consider asking someone who knows you well, a peer, and someone you admire in business (they don’t necessarily need to be in your niche).

Ask someone these questions about your mission statement:

1. Does it answer the four questions (What do you do? How do you do it?Whom do you do it for? What value are you bringing?)?
2. Is it concise and direct?
3. Does it leave out any pertinent information that would help someone understand your business?

You may receive some conflicting advice from your core group. That’s okay.

Go with your gut. You will hopefully gain a few ideas you had not yet considered. You shouldn’t take what any of these people say to be law, after all this is your business.

Think of this core group as your board of advisors. They can help you see things from different perspectives.

Create your Final Draft

Write the final draft of your mission statement. At this point, you have brainstormed and looked at other examples.

You’ve revised and looked for constructive feedback. This is actually the easiest step!