Your mission statement helps guide your work

Hey Reader,

Quick question. When a new opportunity lands in your inbox (a collaboration, a new service idea, a shiny tool everyone swears by), how do you decide if it is a yes?

For a lot of business owners, the answer is a gut feeling. And sometimes that works. But sometimes it leads to a calendar full of things that have nothing to do with where you actually want your business to go.

That is where a mission statement comes in. It is not a fancy line you write once and bury on your About page. It is a filter. It tells you (and everyone you work with) what you do, who you do it for, and why it matters. When something does not fit through that filter, it becomes a lot easier to say no.

I actually keep two versions of mine. A longer one that walks through everything Studio117 Creative stands for, and a concise one I can share in a sentence or two. The concise one is the one I come back to when I am deciding what to take on next.

If you have been putting off writing yours, start with these three questions:

1. What do you do? Describe it in plain language, the way you would explain it to a friend.
2. Who do you do it for? Be specific about the people you serve.
3. Why does it matter? What changes for them because of your work?

Then try to pull those answers into one or two sentences. Here is the test: can you say it in one breath without it sounding like a corporate brochure?

Need proof that short can be powerful? Here is one from a family photographer:

One sentence, and you know exactly what they do (capture real family moments), who it is for (parents), and why it matters (a story that lasts long after the kids are grown).

This week's post walks you through everything: what a mission statement is, why your business needs one, how to write yours step by step, and a collection of mission statement examples from small businesses (plus a few well known companies for good measure).

​Learn how to write your mission statement (with examples)​

Read through a few examples, notice what makes them clear, and then take 15 minutes this week to draft yours. It does not have to be perfect. It just has to be yours.

P.S. Once you have a draft, hit reply and send it my way. I would love to see what you come up with.