Creating Your Business Profile
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Are you ready to begin planning your website?
I hope you have mission and vision statements for your business, because if you don’t, it’s going to be very difficult to come up with a meaningful way to describe it on your website, or even to figure out what your website should be about.
First, let’s explore the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement.
Mission statements are present-based statements designed to convey a sense of why the company exists to both members of the company and the external community.
Vision statements are future-based and are meant to inspire and give direction to the employees of the company, rather than to customers.
Source: Business News Daily
According to Tim Berry of Bplans, your business mission statement should answer the following questions:
- Who is your company?
- What do you do? What do you stand for? And why do you do it?
- Do you want to make a profit, or is it enough to just make a living?
- What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them?
- Do you solve a problem for your customers?
- What kind of internal work environment do you want for your employees?
While answering these questions, you may find it helpful to refer to Berry’s article, How to Write a Mission Statement in 5 Easy Steps.
Susan Ward, Small Business Canada Expert, offers this simple template for crafting your vision statement:
Five years from now, (my company name) will ___________________ by ________________________.
Just remember, the vision statement is for your internal use, so don’t be afraid to dream!
Once you have a clear picture of your business and your goals for the future, you’ll be ready for the next step.
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Another fabulous article Janet. Thanks for your knowledge.
My pleasure, Candace! Are you planning to work your way through the series?
Great breakdown. I love how you simplified the ideas – they can sometimes be hard to wrap
your head around. 🙂
I’m glad it was helpful, Suzanna. My goal with this new series is to simplify the entire process of planning a website to eliminate the obstacles that can crop up during the project.
This is great, Janet! It is so crucial that small business owners know what their business is all about. Some SMB owners fall into their business without a clear focus on what they offer customers and have to scramble to figure it out and then may even have to revamp certain areas because it’s not part of their mission statement. It’s so sad. Thanks for sharing.
For sure! You need to have a clear focus at any given moment, even though your focus will likely evolve over time. I was talking to some colleagues earlier today about the number of people who set out to do X but end up doing Y when an unexpected opportunity or new discovery comes along. And that’s okay, as long as you’re aware of the transition and aren’t just jumping around aimlessly.
Such a detailed post! You always give me food for thought, Janet!
Thanks, Sarah! I was worried it might not be meaty enough. 🙂