Looking at this title, you’re probably thinking that a business plan is enough,
why suffer through a mission statement?

A mission statement helps you further define your small business’ worth in
society. Without sounding too dramatic, a mission statement allows you to
see why you are is the business that you are.

Your personal mission statement will reflect how your financial goals are
interlaced with a social function in society. Perhaps you are providing a
service that society needs in order to solve some woe, or that the product
that you are providing will help others in some way. By finding this
connection, you can further enhance your business and make it something
that society needs, rather than just a route for you to make money.

Ask yourself a few questions: What are you doing and why are you doing it,
as well as what personal values are supported by this business. This is easily
separated into three groups: purpose, business, and values.

Your purpose is the reason why you are starting this business in the first
place. Is there a societal need or a social cause? It’s funny how the easy
answer of trying to make money just doesn’t fit into the mission statement.
It sounds too easy, too superficial. Find something bigger than money for
your business.

Then you can talk about what services and goods your business will provide.
This is can be as simple as listing the overall goal of your business, or relying
on specifics to detail the actual business plan.

In the next part, you will want to define the values that support this work
that you are doing. To get out of vague terminology, what drive you to do
this work? If you are starting a home based writing business, then you could
say that you are committed to providing intelligent, moral, and ethic writing
for businesses that care about their customers. You want to dig deep in this
section to find out what is driving you to excellence in your work.

And this mission statement should be free of big words and financial ideas.
You should be reflected simply upon your mission for your business. This
will be helpful in the days when you are frustrated or need to make a
decision. Referring back to the original reason for beginning your business
and what is driving you can lead to perfect answers.

Post your mission statement somewhere in your office and refer to it often.
You’ll be surprised at the motivation that it provides to a company of one.