How to Create an Effective Vision Statement for Your Business: For Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

How to Create an Effective Vision Statement for Your Business: For Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
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Create Your Vision Statement

First, decide what you want your vision statement to express. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, the vision statement can include elements regarding your vision for yourself, for those directly affected by your business, and for society as a whole. If you are an entrepreneur with multiple businesses, you might do a vision statement for each business plus a personal vision statement for yourself overall. Also decide whether you are creating your vision statement for your eyes only or whether you will include it in promotional materials or post it in your place of business for others to see.

Then begin brainstorming the wording to use in your vision statement. If you have business partners or employees, involve some of them in the process. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Why did you create this business in the first place? (Note the question is not about why you went into business for yourself but rather why you chose this specific business.)

  • What is the market or societal need you were trying to fill?

  • If you were to fully accomplish meeting that need, who would benefit and how? What difference would it actually make?

  • What would it look like if you and your business were wildly successful?

Create a draft of your vision statement. Remember to write it in the present tense, as if you have accomplished all you aim for with your business and are describing how things are as a result. This will help you and your team to visualize achieving your vision and ties in with current thinking about accomplishing goals based on the law of attraction (LOA).

Use positive terminology. Find any instance of the words “no” or “not” and of words that start with “un-” or “non-” and flip them around.

For instance, instead of saying “There are no barriers for women who seek leadership positions,” say “Women and men excel in their positions and advance to leadership positions.”

Consider financial results, results for yourself, and results for your employees, customers and others you interact with. Social entrepreneurs will also want to address any impact intended for society, animals, the planet, or any other direct or indirect beneficiaries of your business activities.

Ask some colleagues, friends and family members to review your statement and give you feedback. Have them describe the impressions that come to them as they read it, and determine whether those impressions are consistent with what you are trying to say.

Based on their input, tweak your vision statement until you are satisfied with in, then consider it done. Share it with others as you see fit, and keep it handy so you will refer to it regularly.

Learn more about the value of creating your vision, mission and values statements.

This post is part of the series: Create Vision, Mission and Values Statements

Learn how a vision statement, mission statement, and guiding values can help you achieve success as an entrepreneur or small business owner, and how to create your own.

  1. Create Your Mission, Vision And Values Statements
  2. Creating an Effective Vision Statement
  3. Tips for Creating a Mission Statement
  4. Advice for Creating an Effective Values Statement