Do you know why your company exists or what its overall goals are? If you plan on growing your business or seeing it thrive, it’s important to know why you are there and how your business’ work benefits the world.

Your company’s mission statement is, at its heart, the explanation of why your business exists. The mission statement explains why you started your company and why it continues to be there. It should define what the business does for customers, what it does for its employees, what it does for the company’s owners. Although a company’s mission can evolve somewhat over time, the mission statement should be created with a focus on the present and the future.

Why Should Your Business Have a Mission Statement?

If you created a business plan when you first launched your company, the odds are likely that you already have a mission statement. But many mission statements created to fulfill the requirements of a business plan don’t really go in-depth or create a sense of what a company is or what it stands for. Often, they are quickly dashed off, generic and soon forgotten.

A mission statement should be more than something you write quickly and then forget about. A clearly defined and communicated mission statement can serve as a path that guides your business into the future. By exploring the “why” of your business, you can figure out what types of goals you need to set to help your company achieve or fulfill its mission.

In times of growth, your company’s mission statement can help to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that you are all working towards the same goal. As you put together plans for growth, you can refer back to the mission statement to make sure that what you are planning is in line with who your company is and what it hopes to do.

Your mission statement can also be a tool you use to communicate with customers. Whether your business is new or has been around for years, people want to know what your company does, how it is different from other options and why they should choose to work with you. Your mission statement gives you the opportunity to introduce your company to the world and to let people know what your business’ values are.

You can also use your mission statement to define your company and to establish your corporate culture. When you are hiring new candidates, you can direct them to the mission statement so that they understand who you are from the beginning. Having candidates review your mission statement during the hiring process can help them to decide whether you would be a good match.

How to Put Together a Mission Statement

When creating your company’s mission statement, there are four things to keep in mind: what your company does, how it does it, why it does it and who it’s trying to serve. The “what” of your mission statement might be pretty simple. Your company might create software, offer legal services, provide medical treatment or sell clothing. How your company does what it does can help to define what makes your business different from the competition. Perhaps you offer legal services online, provide medical treatment in patient’s homes or sell custom-fit clothing.

Next, think of why you do what you do. Perhaps you started a custom-fit clothing company because you struggled to find clothing that fits you “off the rack” and because going to a tailor was too expensive. Finally, define who you are trying to serve. What type of customer are you trying to reach? It might be busy families or individuals who don’t have time to go to the doctor’s office or it might be customers who are looking for better clothes shopping experiences.

As you write the mission statement, keep things simple. You want anyone who reads it to be able to understand it without having to use a dictionary. If your business is one with a lot of jargon or industry-specific terms, keep them out of the mission statement if you can. The easiest your mission statement is to read, the easier it will be for anyone to understand.

A mission statement can be the first step towards your company’s growth and ongoing success.

Contact New Direction Capital today to learn more about how our virtual CFO services can help your business grow.