February 2025
How to create small business mission and vision statements
Mission and vision statements provide those guardrails for small business owners.
I don’t know about you, but I hate being told what to do.
Maybe it’s the artist in me – as a creative person, I thrive on freedom.
The same might be true for you. Or maybe you just prefer to call the shots because you’re a small business owner (and the shots are yours to call).
Either way, I get it. Freedom is important to us.
But it’s also important to set up guardrails for yourself so the freedom doesn’t become overwhelming.
Mission and vision statements provide those guardrails for small business owners.
They act as the compass to guide your decisions and keep you aligned with your goals.
But they don’t have to be the old-fashioned, stuffy, “follow the rules” cliches you might expect.
Your mission and vision can – and should – be 100% authentic to you and your brand values.
Let’s break it down step by step so you can craft statements that fully resonate with you and where you are in your business so you can put up guardrails that don’t stifle your freedom.
Your mission and vision can – and should – be 100% authentic to you and your brand values.
What your mission statement does
A mission statement defines your brand’s intent.
It serves you both internally and externally by expressing:
- What you do
- Why you do it
- And how you serve your audience
A great mission statement is clear, specific, and simple. It should contain one thought and be concise enough that it fits into a single sentence.
For example:
TED: “Spread ideas.”
Google: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Starbucks: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”
On the surface, these statements look so short you might think they’re relatively easy to come up with, but I can guarantee a lot of time, thought, and deliberation went into each one.
They pack a punch by clearly outlining purpose and intent!
A great mission statement is clear, specific, and simple. It should contain one thought and be concise enough that it fits into a single sentence.
Crafting your mission statement
To create your mission statement, focus on keeping things as simple and clear as possible.
Ask yourself these key questions:
- What do I do?
- Why do I do it?
- How do I do it?
- Who do I serve?
- What is my impact?
You can use this basic formula to get started:
[Action] + [Audience] + [Mechanism] + [Purpose]
Let’s check out a less-than-ideal mission statement and why it doesn’t work.
Pretend that you own a local healthy food delivery company catering to busy families and your this is your mission statement:
“We deliver wholesome, nutritious meals to families who are too busy to cook or don’t have time to find new recipes through a seamless, reliable service to promote convenience and help families live healthier lives by reducing diabetes and long-term health concerns.”
For one thing, this statement is way too long – it uses lots of unnecessary jargon that’s cluttering it up and making it sound sort of unfocused.
It also talks more about the company (in this case a Local Food Delivery company) than it does about the benefit to the audience.
While a mission statement obviously needs to be applicable to the type of business you run, remember that it is also external-facing and people care more about things that have meaning to them.
It’s pretty tough to ask for audience buy-in if they don’t get why they should care.
There are also too many ideas in this example.
The audience is “busy families” but the statement is talking about reducing health concerns like diabetes.
Not only does this goal feel too lofty and misaligned with the outcome this company can actually deliver, but it’s also drawing focus away from the audience the statement claims to serve.
Work on your mission statement until you feel like you have the clearest statement possible without using too many buzzwords or including more than one idea.
Here’s a much better way to write a mission statement for this company using the formula I gave you:
“Delivering {action} fresh meals {mechanism} to busy families {audience} so they have more time to focus on what matters most {purpose}.”
This one clearly focuses on the audience and the purpose they care most about.
Here’s another example:
Let’s say you own a virtual law firm. Your mission statement might be:
“To empower {action} small business owners {audience} with easy legal solutions {mechanism} so they can confidently protect their brands {purpose}.”
Keep in mind that you can mix and match the formula so that it makes sense for your mission.
(No one wants to sound like a robot made their mission statement up!)
A good vision statement is ambitious but realistic – it should paint the picture of something you have to work towards, not an impossible future.
Defining a vision statement
It describes your brand’s long-term goals and aspirations.
Where your mission statement is meant to guide day-to-day operations in the present, the vision statement answers:
- Where are we going?
What do we want to achieve?
What’s the big picture in all of this?
A good vision statement is ambitious but realistic – it should paint the picture of something you have to work towards, not an impossible future.
For example
Amazon: “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
That sounds lofty, but honestly, not that far off at this point, right?
Your vision statement should be concise, unique, and realistic.
Crafting your vision statement
Your vision statement should be concise, unique, and realistic.
Ask yourself these key questions:
- What am I working towards?
- What are my long-term goals?
- What do I envision for the future?
You can use this basic formula to get started:
[Aspiration] + [Focus] + [Goal/Outcome]
A fill-in-the-blank version of this formula might look something like this:
To [achieve/aspire to] [goal/outcome] by [key focus].
For example:
If we revisit our virtual law firm example above, our vision statement might be:
“To become the go-to resource for entrepreneurs {aspiration} seeking simple, effective legal strategies {focus} to grow their businesses {goal/outcome}.”
And for our local healthy food delivery company, our vision statement could be:
“To enable families to spend more time together {aspiration} by making fresh meals available {focus} through same-day delivery options {goal/outcome}.”
Make sure that your vision statement doesn’t get too big or too far-fetched.
For example:
“To eradicate Type 2 diabetes and other systemic diseases by inspiring families to make healthier lifestyle choices with accessible nutritious meals.”
Well this goal is certainly admirable, it’s virtually impossible for a small local food delivery company to believe this would ever be achievable in the near (or really, even the distant) future.
Keep your vision statement as unique and realistic as possible and remember that the magic lies in looking to outcomes your business can actually deliver.
Your mission and vision statements shouldn’t just sound good, they should work together.
Making your vision and mission statements work together
Your mission and vision statements shouldn’t just sound good, they should work together to become the guiding principles for your business by:
- Clarifying your purpose to customers, clients, and employees.
Informing decision-making so you stay aligned with your goals.
Inspiring loyalty by showing your values and aspirations.
- Clarifying your purpose to customers, clients, and employees.
They also help set you apart in a crowded market.
You might find these statements easier to develop if you consider how your mission and vision will work together.
For example:
Remember Starbucks’ mission?
“To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”
Well their vision is:
“To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.”
They’ve ensured their vision and mission are tied with a common thread – to keep their audience at the center of everything they do.
You can see how, when done right, these statements tell your customers the who and why behind your brand while keeping you on track internally.
And that’s ultimately the goal when you’re crafting your own mission and vision statements.
These statements tell your customers the who and why behind your brand while keeping you on track internally.
Go further
If you’ve gotten this far and feel motivated to craft your own statements, get the most out of these exercises with a few extra resources:
✓ Read The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt for 10 questions that will help you move through these activities with more clarity.
✓ Download free mission and vision statement templates from Smartsheet.
✓ Book your consultation for a signature branding process that will help you uncover your brand values so you can effortlessly make future business decisions.