Mission statements are a key part of starting a business.
They outline the purpose of your business and what you hope to accomplish. Through this, it serves as a foundation to grow and advance operations.
Without it, employees and customers may not know the direction you're headed and what your advantage is over competitors.
Keep reading to find examples of inspiring mission statements and how to create a perfect one for your business.
What's the Key in All Inspiring Mission Statements?
Let's start by looking at some of the most famous companies around the world.
Facebook created a mission statement in 2004 that states its purpose is to "give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together."
Amazon's mission is to "serve consumers through online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience."
Nike says they aim to "bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
Although these companies are vastly different, their mission statements have similar key elements. Each of them shows the value of the business, what they hope to accomplish, and how they're going about reaching those goals.
Mission statements achieve these goals through short and relatively general sentences. They should be specific enough to show how your approach is different compared to competitors, yet broad enough that it can include all of your future opportunities and pursuits.
How Inspiring Mission Statements Are Made
To begin drafting your own mission statement, you'll want to first think about the story of your company. Just like any other story, this includes presenting a problem and solving it through certain means.
This means knowing the purpose of your business for customers and how you'll go about offering solutions. Often, business plan templates for startups will get you thinking in the right direction (plus, you'll need a business plan at some point).
Additionally, you should identify what makes your business unique or different. This will help transform a bland mission statement into an inspiring and unique one.
The Format of a Mission Statement
Mission statements are typically present tense, inclusive by using the term "we", and are only a few sentences.
First, you'll want a sentence that says what value your business has. This may be education, service-based, or whatever applies to your case.
Then, you'll want to show what makes your company different by offering reasonable and inspiring solutions to customers. Amazon, for example, focuses on selection, price, and convenience.
These are reasonable guidelines for how Amazon conducts business. It gives a structure to how they go about business, as it outlines what the key elements of operations should include.
Bringing inspiration into your mission statement involves finding a balance between reasonable solutions and optimistic future goals. Facebook does this by saying they will bring the world together.
In general, you want your mission statement to be memorable, like a tag line or a motto. Spend time editing, revising, and polishing it to fit the needs of your business now and in the foreseeable future.
If a time comes when your business outgrows its mission statement, you can revise it to better reflect your goals.
Make It Your Own
Inspiring mission statements are ones that provide a unique way to meet customer needs while leaving room for future growth.
Take note of what successful companies do, follow these tips, and give yourself time to make plenty of edits. Once you have something that feels right, run it by your employees or mentors to see what they think.
In the meantime, keep reading our blog for more business tips.
