Welcome to another episode of The Consistency Corner Podcast - this week I'm chatting all about the mission, the vision and the values of your brand - and why they are so important. Now, if you've been in business for a while and you've already done this work, I still want you to tune in! I will be chatting with you about why you need to revisit these as your business grows and evolves so that you continue to build a brand that lasts. 

Press play below to listen to the episode in full:

So what is the difference between a mission statement and your vision? 

A mission statement focuses on today and what an organization does to achieve it, whereas a vision statement will focus on the future and what the organization wants to become. Your mission statement is something that you share with both your internal and external audience, so your team as well as your customers, but your vision is normally something that is just shared internally. It's just for you and your team. 

How do we figure out what our vision and our mission statement are?

To determine both of these, you need to brainstorm and answer five questions.
Those questions are: 

1. Who am I serving? Write about that person. 

2. What problem am I serving? 

3. How do I uniquely approach the problem? 

4. Why is this important? Remember this is from the customer's perspective, not your own. 

5. What value do I add for my customer?

Once you've answered those questions, you should have a lot written down. Use that to determine your own mission statement and your own brand vision, remembering that it can change as your business evolves and grows, but this is a great place to start.

What are your brand values and why are they important?

Your values are the legs that your mission statement stands on - they are the pillars that keep that mission statement grounded. And again, your values can evolve, but you want to think about what they are today and define them. To figure out your values, we're going to start with another brain dump, but this time with four questions. They are: what do you always say? What is important to you? What do you want to teach your kids? and number four, what do you want to be known for? 

So again, this brain dump is gonna give you a lot of words... don't be afraid to look up the brand values of other companies for inspiration as well. After a couple of days or a week has passed come back to your list and edit and refine... then choose 3 - 6 themes and write out your values (they can be one word or sentences - keep in mind, if you have a team you'll need to communicate them with your team easily, so you might need to consider that when defining them!) 

... now why is it important to write out your brand values as a small business?

Because here's the thing, no matter your product suite, your pricing structure, the size of your team or the number of clients that you serve, your values should be a filter for your business decisions. They impact EVERYTHING that you do and the business you create. Yes, they are that important. 

You'll find when you consistently use your mission and your values more and the language from those statements in the copy and in your content, you'll start attracting the right people. You start connecting with the right community, your energy will be in alignment which will feel good and then you'll start to get the results that you're looking for out of your business.

If you'd like to come and work on your brand values or mission statement during one of my co-working sessions, I'd love to personally invite you to the next one. Join The Consistency Corner Community for a virtual co-working session - we'd love to have you! Learn more and RSVP to save your seat.
https://www.theconsistencycorner.com/community