Mission and Vision Statements

My absolute FAVORITE part of a business plan is the mission and vision statement of a business. They are like the "I help" statement of your Instagram bio but only for your business plan.

They are the foundational pieces of WHY you started your business. How you are going to change the world. What impact you are going to make.

A lot of people are confused when I say mission AND vision statement and don't quite understand what the difference is.

A mission statement is the formal summary of the goals and ambitions of the business.

The general formula for a mission statement is….

Our mission is to (action verb) ____________ for our (adjective that describes ideal clients) clients/customers who _____________ (what is one of their needs/characteristics?)

A vision statement is the road map for the business that shows where they will be heading in the future.

The general formula for a vision statement is….

Our vision is ____________________ to create (or another action verb) _________________.

A mission statement is more specific. It gives more detail about what exactly the business is currently doing in the present moment to impact the lives of their clients. What products are they offering? In what capacity are they working? What are the goals of the operations?

Like an "I help" statement, a mission statement's best friend is specificity. You want to get specific. It shows that you know what your ideal client needs and that you are catering EXACTLY to that need. I recommend writing a mission statement before you do the market and industry analysis and then going back and revising it after you complete the market and industry analysis, because more than likely, your mission will have changed after you learn more about your industry!

My mission statement for Establiss Writing Agency is: Our mission is to craft writing that creates authentic, emotion-inspired change in industries and communities for our change-making clients who do not fit the conventional mold in their niche.

My mission statement is not as specific as I would like and this is because I do not want it to turn into a run-on sentence. I could add that I do all of this in an online space but I feel that it is unnecessary because not all of my clients interact in online spaces. I am a vessel for my clients and I am here to help them. My mission is to craft writing that helps my clients drive change-- this could mean making waves in their industry and creating shocking sentences and statements that impact people's driving them to work with businesses. It could also mean that I complete a website overhaul to make a client's website different than any other website in their niche. I am here to help change-makers. People who do not fit the conventional mold of their niche and want to have that authentic, emotion-inspired change come from their business. My mission statement perfectly conveys that. And truthfully? No one will really see my mission statement unless they are really interested in reading my business plan!

My vision statement for Establiss Writing Agency is: Our vision is to help change-makers learn to love and write authentically to create widespread change throughout society.

My vision is not nearly as specific as my mission statement and this is okay. I know my vision will also change as my business changes as well! I don't put too much pressure on myself to have a perfect~ vision statement because I know how much a business changes from day to day and week to week. This vision statement feels really good to me right now and doesn't restrict the possibilities of what I can do with my business in the future. Will it change? Absolutely. Does it work for right now? Absolutely.

The key with mission and vision statements is to have flexibility and be willing to change! Your business changes just as often as you do and your statements should reflect that!