When it comes to creating a vision statement, most people realize it has to do with their purpose and heart-felt reasons why they are in business but it can be difficult to boil down into a few phrases or statements. Today, I’m going to break it down into a really simple structure for you. What is a Vision Statement? Let’s start with exactly what it is. Your vision statement has a couple of really important purposes in your business. First, similar to your mission statement, it should serve as a guide for all that you do with your business. While your mission statement describes what you do, your vision statement outlines why you do it. Think of it as the greater good that you do to serve humanity with your business or organization. As an example, here’s mine: Help others maximize their God-given gifts through their businesses or organizations. Clearly Communicate the Heart of Your Business The second reason you have a vision statement is to clearly convey to others why you do what you do. It shows the human side of your business and the heart behind why you do what you. Since people want to do business with other people, not businesses, they want to know who you are, what you do, why you do it, and they want to know they can trust you. Your vision statement is one way to convey why you need to serve others with your business. When you delve into branding, your mission, vision, and values are the mighty three pieces from which all branding and messaging springs.
Steps to Create Your Vision Statement Ok, let’s move on to how you create it. First, spend some time brainstorming (by yourself, with a coach, or friend). Write down or tell them the purpose of your business very conversationally – like you’re speaking to your best friend. Tell them why what you do is helpful to humanity + emotions that draw you to this business + the part of your heart that makes you want to get out of bed and work on this every day.
Don’t get frustrated if this takes awhile to put into concrete language. Fitting something emotional into a statement or two that fully encapsulates why you’re drawn to your business for the greater good is pretty difficult.
Second, go back and revise this to make sure it’s clear to others – also difficult – but definitely doable.
After you revise it, share it with a few different people, separately, and ask them to communicate back to you what they think you’re telling them. This will let you know if you’ve really clarified it the way you think you have.
Next, after you receive their feedback, you will want to refine it even more to make it really concise and polished.
Some may be able to whittle this down into one sentence. For others, it may be two-to-three sentences. As long as it condenses your ultimate reason with one or two of your core values that you live out by offering what your business does as clearly and succinctly as possible, you’re in good shape.
Practical Applications From the practical side, where are you going to use this, and how? This should definitely be displayed on your website to help people quickly get to know you and your culture. Since a prospect may Google you, it’s a good idea to share this in more places than only your website. It is great to include in marketing materials, as part of a long description of your business on social media, or as a theme for social media posts you create.
It is a key message point to use when you are presenting to a group, a sales presentation, or at a networking event. You might share your vision statement or you may again use it as a compass for your messaging and talking points. Let people know more about who you are and why you are in your business. Boiling your vision statement down to a concrete statement or two keeps you from stumbling trying to tell people what you really mean. You need to know this inside and out, forward and backward, and incorporate it into your branding and messaging consistently and constantly.
Why Do I Need This Again? As I mention at the beginning of this blog, it should be a guide for you, as is your mission statement, and when you are considering offering something new or doing something differently, you should be able to come back to this vision statement and make sure it still rings true with whatever you plan to add or change. If it doesn’t, should you really do it? A vision statement gives you boundaries so that you and your audience know exactly what to expect and not expect from your business. This helps you hone in on your niche and ensures that everything you do is never strays from what you set out to do.
This will help you clearly articulate your heart for others and how your business is the instrument that accomplishes this. People will understand you and want to get to know you more. In essence, you have just done a great job at establishing trust, and when people trust you, they will be ready to buy from you. So what are you waiting for?! Get out there and create your awesome vision statement. If you need some help, I am here for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and set up a session with me to get this fleshed out, polished, and ready to use.
Once you accomplish this, you will be well on your way to building a strong foundation for your business to take off and grow.
Bonus for All the Over Achievers Out There For those of you who stuck with me here to the end, I have a special nugget. This one goes out to all of you over-achievers who demand absolute polish in all you do – have a specific story ready to share about what led you to want to do your business: what sparked it. Not only will you have the structure in place but people will see you are more than words when you provide evidence of a story that demonstrates how this has played out in the life of your business. Not only that but everyone loves stories and it’s a soft way to sell who you are and your values.
