Oops! Don’t forget your mission and vision statements

Ready to create something fun?

Well, my friend, you’re totally in the right place. 

When you’re creating a business, it’s easy to get distracted and jump into the fun bits.

You want a logo, beautiful colours and a gorgeous mood board. But before you get sidetracked by rainbows, you must establish the why and purpose behind your business. 

Before a graphic designer begins the branding process for you and any business, we need to talk about your mission and vision statements.

These two statements are the foundation of what creates a strong brand. 

But you can’t leave your purpose and future floating around in your head. Write them down and let the world and your employees (if you have or will have them) know. 

So everything about your brand aligns from the beginning and for the years to follow. 

When you’re in the branding process, the goal is a beautiful business design that’s on-point and reflects your personality. 

But a brand without a mission and vision statement is like an empty fortune cookie. It looks beautiful on the outside, but it’s hollow on the inside without meaning or purpose.

What’s the difference between a vision and a mission statement?

A business’s mission statement is your purpose. It tells the world your business exists and why. It focuses on what your business currently does.

A vision statement looks towards the future and is a guide for what you want to achieve for years to come. 

Here’s the thing, your branding process can’t begin without your business mission and vision in place. 

When created properly, mission and vision statements are powerful tools that shape the foundation and path of your business. They’re inspiring declarations about you and your purpose. You can powerfully communicate your business’s intentions and maintain the consistency of your business.

Mission and vision statements are critical for branding

Mission and vision statements are an important part of your business’s brand.

Everything you do in your business, from branding, communication and marketing, needs to align with your mission and vision statements. 

They are essential elements of your brand and the essence of where your graphic designer produces your branding. They form a clever starting point for building a solid brand foundation.

Graphic designers need to know your mission and vision statements to create visuals for your brand. Understanding your purpose and direction means we can design something that will work for years to come as a business grows.

Ready to write your mission and vision statements? 

Learn a simple method of how to write each below.

1. Describe what your business does

Now you’ve realigned yourself with your purpose. I want you to think about what your business does. Nothing fancy here. A single sentence about what product or service you provide. 

• Design logos
• Write copy
• Sell mascara
• Sell baby bibs

2.Write down your values

Your business values are what you live by. And they’re a large part of your branding and mission statement. 

Writing your values allows you to add to your above sentence. 

Here are some example values.

• Quality
• Accountability
• Reliability
• Knowledgeable
• Fun

Now, if you were to add these values to your above sentence, they’ll look like the blow. 

• I design fun, quality logos 
• I write copy that you can count on
• I sell quality mascara designed with years of industry knowledge
• I sell reliable and fun baby bibs 

3.  Why you do what you do and who you do it for

Now for the fun part. You add your why and who you serve to your sentence. 

I can’t tell you your why because it’s yours, and you know who your target audience is. But here are two examples of completed mission statements adding to the above examples.

• I (or business name) sell fun baby bibs you can trust so mums can reduce the clothing mess while their baby looks fantastic.

• I (or business name) design fun quality logos for female business owners so they have a symbol that’s aligned with their business and lasts a lifetime.

Let’s see this example broken down in the graphic below:

How to write your vision statement

Now you’ve got your mission statement written down. It’s time to look at the future of your business. The vision of what you want to create, do and achieve. 

First, begin by thinking about the sights and goals of your business. What do you want to create, achieve and do?

Having business goals helps you look into the future and create a vision statement to stand by and grow into.

1. What influence do you want your business to have on others? 

Depending on what your business does, how do you want to influence and help other people? Is there a cause you want to help? Are there things you want to help others achieve?

2. Where do you see your business going in the next 3-5 years? 

To ensure you can create a focused and forward-thinking vision, decide where you want your business to go in the next 3 – 5 years. Do you want employees? Want to grow in an international market? Or, do you want to help more people achieve something in particular?

3. What do you want your business to do and achieve in the future?

 Now, look into the big picture. What are your dreams of accomplishment in a longer future? Do you want to help all mothers in the world? Do you want something inspiring to happen?

 There isn’t a rulebook for your vision statement. But answering the above three questions will help you write it. A vision statement is short and often fewer words than your mission. It’s a sentence (or two) about the future of your business and its impact on others. 

 Think about being concise, inspiring and broad.

 Let’s look at the above examples again, so you have an idea of how to write your vision

• To create clothing mess-free and easier mealtimes for all mothers and babies. 
• To help all female businee owners build strong branding they are proud of, so they can achieve sucess and happiness.

Let’s see this example broken down in the graphic below:

There you have it, my friends,

It’s not enough to name your values and put them on your website. Or to have your mission and vision statements vaguely hovering in your mind.

As business owners, we must have our vision and mission statements outside the fortune cookie.

Everything you do in your business, from marketing, communications and design, must align and reinforce your mission and vision statements.

Write them down, type them and put them out into the world.

So the foundations of your business are solid, and your branding aligns with you.

Hey there… need a little more help to write your mission and vision statement?

I hope this blog encourages you to get your purpose and direction out of your brain and into the world. So you have a complete fortune cookie representing your business’s prophecy. 

I’ve created a free worksheet with oodles of tips, questions and prompts that will help you write your mission and vision statements in no time.

Or, if you’re ready to begin the branding process, jump over here because I’ve got a brand package to suit you.