Brainstorm Your Brand: Vision and Mission Statement

I can hear you ask­ing, do I real­ly have to cre­ate a vision and mis­sion state­ment when It’s just me? The answer is yes if you want to build a thriv­ing, sus­tain­able busi­ness. When I first start­ed back in 2008, I was advised by one of my coach­es that you can have a hob­by or you can have a busi­ness, it’s your decision.

Whichev­er you choose is up to you. But, if you choose to cre­ate a busi­ness you need to start with a sol­id foun­da­tion. Brand­ing gives you that foun­da­tion to build on. A big part of your brand­ing is know­ing exact­ly Why you’re in busi­ness and What you want your busi­ness to be known for, that’s where defin­ing your vision and mis­sion state­ments becomes essential.

Your Vision Statement

Begin with your vision state­ment. A vision state­ment is a short sen­tence of what you see for your busi­ness. As a solo busi­ness own­er, this falls to you. But, if you’re a micro busi­ness own­er and have a part­ner or small team then you’ll want to get their input as well.

For exam­ple, here at Tay­lor­ber­ry Designs, our vision is that by help­ing solo and micro-busi­ness own­ers learn about the impor­tance of design and brand­ing we can help them cre­ate trans­for­ma­tion for them­selves and their busi­ness­es. So our vision state­ment is: Togeth­er Let’s Cre­ate Some Trans­for­ma­tion. Because we envi­sion trans­for­ma­tion as the guid­ing light of any suc­cess­ful brand.

When I think of vision, two com­pa­nies come to mind. Lul­ule­mon and Pen­zeys Spices. Both com­pa­nies have a vision of mak­ing the world a bet­ter place. Lululemon’s vision is, “Be Human, Be Well, and Be Plan­et.” Each one is a vision with­in itself. And, they all come togeth­er to cre­ate a whole com­pa­ny phi­los­o­phy. Their vision has grown through­out their busi­ness, but one con­sis­tent theme has always been in place, inclu­sion, health, and tak­ing care of the planet.

Pen­zeys Spices’ vision is, “We are try­ing to make the world a bet­ter place.” Spices come from across the globe but con­nect every­one through food and food con­nects us through com­mu­ni­ty. For them, see­ing glob­al com­mu­ni­ties come togeth­er real­ly can make the world just a lit­tle better.

So what do you see as the guid­ing light for your busi­ness? What is the Big Why of your busi­ness?
How can you artic­u­late that so it res­onates with your core val­ues? Don’t be afraid to dream big and have lofty aspi­ra­tions for your busi­ness. Try­ing to reach those aspi­ra­tions is what will keep you mov­ing forward.

Your Mission Statement

Now that you have your vision for your brand, it’s time to cre­ate your mis­sion state­ment. Your mis­sion state­ment is dif­fer­ent than your vision state­ment. Although a lot of brands com­bine the two. Your mis­sion state­ment can be thought of as the What of your busi­ness. What do you want your brand and busi­ness to accom­plish or ulti­mate­ly be known for?

For Tay­lor­ber­ry Designs our mis­sion state­ment is: to use the pow­er of cre­ativ­i­ty, to bring about trans­for­ma­tive change, even at the small­est lev­el. We want to help solo and micro-busi­ness­es dis­cov­er who they are and what they have to offer the world.

Both Lul­ule­mon and Pen­zeys Spices’ mis­sion revolves around social impact, com­mu­ni­ty, and sus­tain­abil­i­ty. Both com­pa­nies want to leave the world a bet­ter place.

What is your mis­sion? What mis­sion is your brand and busi­ness on? What is it that you want your busi­ness to be known for? Like your vision state­ment, your mis­sion state­ment should incor­po­rate your core val­ues and become a foun­da­tion for your busi­ness philosophy.

Reflections of Your Brand

But here’s a lit­tle some­thing to ponder…your vision and your mis­sion state­ment are not your brand. Just like your logo and your sig­na­ture prod­uct are not your brand. They are reflec­tions of your brand. Hav­ing a vision and mis­sion state­ment in place that reflects your brand will set the foun­da­tion for all your brand­ing, mar­ket­ing, and mes­sag­ing going forward. 

A well-defined vision and mis­sion state­ment will allow you to cre­ate a brand that speaks to your core audi­ence in a lan­guage they res­onate with. It will let them know right off the bat whether or not you’re a busi­ness they want to engage with.

Keep in mind, you’re not look­ing to attract every­one out there. It’s o.k. and even prefer­able if some peo­ple don’t inter­act with your brand. You’re look­ing to build a tribe of rav­ing fans who are already seek­ing the type of trans­for­ma­tion you pro­vide. Fans who’ll come to know, like, and trust you as their go-to expert.

Your vision and mis­sion state­ments will be one of the first things that attract them to you. As you con­sis­tent­ly build on that mes­sage, your tribe will become more engaged and more attract­ed to what you’re offer­ing. But, con­sis­ten­cy is key. In this era of dis­trac­tion, you need to build on one con­sis­tent mes­sage at a time. You don’t want your tribe dis­tract­ed or guess­ing because that will have them look­ing some­where else.

So today before you do any­thing else, brain­storm your brand’s vision and mis­sion state­ments. If you need help with this be sure to reach out. You can con­tact us at: teamtaylorberry@taylorberrydesigns.com, fill out the form on our reach-out page, or leave us a mes­sage at: 302–603-3193.

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