The reading level for this article is Novice

Writing the mission statement for your business can be one of the most important things you can do as a new company owner, especially if there is more than one person working on the business. Often you will have rather different ideas among partners as to the direction and strategy of a company. By answering the following questions collaboratively and creating one document that all involved in the company agree to and sign, you will not only minimize headaches and arguments down the road but also be fully aligned on your goals and be able to work together efficiently.

Here are ten questions your company’s mission statement should answer:

 

Ten Questions Your Mission Statement Should Answer

1. What problem(s) do you solve? What need(s) do you fulfill?

2. What do you sell? How do you make your money? What is your revenue model?

3. How are you unique from everyone else out there? What is your unique selling proposition?

4. Who will you sell to? What is your target market?

5. What are your economic/financial goals?

6. What are your social/community goals?

7. What type of company do you want to create? Are you a lifestyle or high potential company?

8. Where is the company going? What products/services/industries do you plan to venture into?

9. What is your five year strategy? Do you want to sell internationally, build an online store, franchise your business, build certain partnerships, develop additional products?

10. Do you ever plan on selling the company or going public? What is your exit strategy?


It may take weeks and multiple meetings and editing to get the responses to the above questions to be agreed upon by all parties and a single document created that all will sign. While it takes time, I cannot emphasize enough the important of having such a document. As stated above, it will not only dramatically reduce conflict and prevent arguments, but will also align all in your business with the same goals, in turn creating a much more effective team and much more profitable business.

This Business article was written by Ryan P Allis on 2/9/2005

Ryan P. Allis, 20, is the author of Zero to One Million, a guide to building a company to $1 million in sales, and the founder of zeromillion.com. Ryan is also the CEO of Broadwick Corp., a provider of the permission-based email marketing software and CEO of Virante, Inc., a web marketing and search engine optimization firm. Ryan is an economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a Blanchard Scholar. [learn more.