Whether you are just starting your business or have been in business for a while, it’s crucial to make sure you have a good foundation in the form of a vision & mission statement to build upon.

While we all want to be off and running as soon as we press go, there is no point in starting off at a sprint, unless we are clear on where we are going. If you want to make the most of your time and resources, it’s always good to start off well prepared.

This is why mapping out and defining our vision and mission can be a fundamental building block to your ongoing success.

Can you see the wood through the trees?

When we are winging it, flying by the seat of our pants – there will initially be a ton of confidence and bravo – yet as time goes on and our energy wanes, we’ll start to notice that we are lost in the woods, and perhaps even going round in circles. This is extremely frustrating as we often feel as though we’re not moving at all, wasting our time, or if advertising also wasting our money.

To resolve it we may jump faster from one idea and project to the next, leaving us exhausted and scatty. Eventually, we’ll be left feeling unmotivated, demoralised and drained.

If you do end up feeling like this at any time, stop now and recalibrate.  It’s not your skills or your marketing that are at fault. You may just need to set your north star and map out the best route to getting you there.

Defining your vision and mission

Your vision, simply said is your north star – your end goal and destination.

While your mission is the ‘what and how’, you do what you do that will get you there.

Your North Star = your Vision

Dictionary Definition:  Vision: noun
– the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be.

The North star is your compass; that guiding force that keeps you on track. It is what helps you to stay on track and dodge any diversions and distractions.

To uncover your North Star ask yourself:

• What will your ideal business and working day look like in 5 years’ time? Jot down a few paragraphs or pages to form a complete picture in your mind, really get clear, and specific and visualise it.  From the size of the business in both employees and staff as well as your ideal clients, expanding services or product range, work/life balance – note it all down.
• Then what value would you like it to bring into your life, your community, and the world?

Bring the gist of it together into a single concise sentence, so that your vision is measurable, realistic and something that you can achieve and work towards.

For instance, my vision might be:

“I aim to help and educate a thousand small businesses, creatives and introverts to authentically market their talents while remaining aligned to their values.”

As you can see it’s measurable and specific, and should I want to branch into other products or services I would run it through this filter to see if it’s a good fit. So, a marketing workshop would be a good idea, but selling ointments would not be.  This vision will work to keep you on track and focused on that ideal destination.

Once you have your vision, print it out and put it up somewhere visible in your workspace. Let it be your guiding light as you move forward with your business, products and services.

Defining Your Mission

The best way to get clear on your mission is to look at the what, the who, and the how as well as your why.

• What: Is what you do, what are the services/ products/ talents that you share with the world?
• Who, is your ideal customer: Are they your current customers? Are they untapped markets? Would you like to change or focus more on a particular niche market or customer? TIP: It’s not everyone, be specific as you can be.
• How: Is it handmade, bespoke, sustainable or online? taught through workshops, training or one-to-one coaching? or brought together by years of experience in unusual jobs? Look at what is unique, and valuable and what is it that makes what you do stand out.
• The Why: Why did you go into business? why do people work with you? It can be a mix of values, motivation, skills and drive. It’s this that will get you out of bed every day and put your best work forward.

Once again, after you have spent some time noting all of this down, as much time as needed. It can also be a good idea if uncertain, to run it past a partner or friend for their feedback. Then finally bring it all together.

An easy template for a mission is:

Give yourself the time to create a solid foundation

By taking the time to reflect, think, and note down your vision and mission, you will visualise and get hyper-clear on your overall goals to both visualise and be inspired by them.

Together it also gives you the perfect mini-elevator pitch to give as an answer when someone asks what you do. Sharing your mission is a much more memorable conversation starter than a simple job title.

The Magic of your vision and mission

The beauty of running your own business is that you can define its direction, success and route. It’s your magic, your uniqueness, your talents, your future, your vision and your own ideal working life that you are dreaming of and working towards.

As a business owner, you can flow, grow and evolve your business in any which way you want. By taking the time upfront to set your North star of where you are growing to, and how you are going to flow in that in that direction.

This is the first step on the journey of marketing your business. By being clear and mapping where you want to go and how you are going to get there you are more likely to actually transform your dream into a reality.

Stay tuned, next we’ll be learning more about your target audience. Need help or guidance at any time, give me a shout.

Big thanks for the use of great images:
Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash
Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash
Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash