Use these small business mission statement examples and helpful tips to create one for your business. Use your statement to guide your team and help show clients what makes you unique.
Creating a company mission statement is important for your income, strategic business direction, happiness, and more. It’s one piece many independent business owners forget about. But it’s not just having a mission statement that matters. It’s also the process of sitting down and figuring out (and consistently revisiting) what’s important to you and your business that will propel you forward.
Jump to:
- What is a mission statement?
- How to write a mission statement
- 25 mission statement examples (with five from independents like you)
- What makes a good mission statement?
- How to use your mission statement
What is a mission statement?
A mission statement defines your company’s purpose in a short sentence or paragraph. Since it’s so short, it seems like it would be easy to come up with, but in reality, the less space you have to define something, the more difficult it can be.
Your mission statement focuses on the reason you went into business. The statement should inspire people who read it, including your customers and employees. For your target audience, it can encourage them to book with you. For your team members, this looks like encouraging them to continue doing their best work. Furthermore, it paints a picture of what people can count on from your business in the long term.
Think of the “what” and the “why” behind your business. What do you offer, and why did you decide to create your company? What is your solution? You don’t necessarily need to mention your products and services. Instead, focus on how those products and services impact your clients and community.
When writing your statement, you might be confused about the difference between mission and vision. A vision statement focuses more on where you want your company to be in the future, while a mission statement is how you get there. Your vision statement may change, but the core mission should generally stay the same.
How to write a mission statement
A well-crafted mission statement should only be 1-3 sentence long, and around 100 words. To create a concise mission statement, you need to consider questions that are core to your goals and purpose.
Ask yourself structural questions to consider like:
- What exactly do you do?
- Who is part of your target market?
- How do you help them?
- What makes your business unique (that is, why should your potential customers choose you)?
Also consider questions tied to your values:
- Why did you start your business in the first place (besides money)
- What keeps you motivated to keep running your business when times get tough?
- Who is this for besides you?
To help you answer these questions, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the purpose of a mission statement and 25 of the best mission statement examples. From iconic brand statements to those from independent business owners like you, these mission statement ideas will get your creative juices flowing.
25 small business mission statement examples you’ll never forget
The best way to learn how to write a mission statement is to study strong examples of mission statements. Learning from successful companies can help you better understand what makes up a mission statement and what you feel after reading one. Explore these 25 ideas below for more inspiration. The first five are from independents just like you.
- Laura Lee Creative, photographer and business consultant: To give people the tools and business systems they need so they can stop sacrificing their life for the sake of being a business owner.
- Emilie Steinmann, copywriter: To support serious CEOs in their quest to gain loyal customers and naturally increase their bottom line by writing captivating copy.
- Christina Scalera, attorney: Our mission is to preserve and improve the special relationships you work so hard to cultivate as an entrepreneur. We believe a solid definition of these relationships through contracts sets a trustworthy foundation, no matter how much or little experience you have.
- Candice Coppola, small business coach: Encouraging creative entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose.
- Sydney Young, HoneyBook Pro and CEO of Creative Bliss: Give you effective strategies to grow your revenue and practical tools to improve your mindset because I know from experience that great businesses are built on both!
- Tea Drops: We create magical tea moments that connect you to what’s important. Whether that be connecting to your friends, community, or even yourself.
- Nike: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.
- Applet: Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
- NASA: Drive advances in science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality and stewardship of Earth
- Cultivate What Matters®: Our mission is to encourage community and provide accountability to help women take action on their meaningful goals. We are better together, friends. Our mission is to help each other cultivate what matters. Powerful goals change lives.
- Google: Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
- Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
- Target: The promise of surprises, fun, ease and inspiration at every turn, no matter when, where or how you shop. That quest to bring joy is at the center of every business decision we make.
- Coca-Cola: To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions.
- Amazon: To be Earth’s most customer-centric company.
- Microsoft: Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
- Adobe: Change the world through digital experiences.
- Southwest Airlines: To connect People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.
- Squarespace: Squarespace makes beautiful products to help people with creative ideas succeed.
- InVision: We’re on a mission to transform the way people work together by helping them collaborate better. Faster. On everything. From anywhere.
- The Walt Disney Company: The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.
- HoneyBook: Empower all who own their independence to build a life of passion and purpose.
- Johnson & Johnson: Good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress.
- Etsy: Our mission is to Keep Commerce Human. People make Etsy possible. We provide a meaningful space for sellers to turn their creative passions into opportunity. We enable buyers to discover unique items made with care. And we treat our employees and our community with respect. We’re here because the world needs less of the same and more of the special.
- Hello Alice: Help all small business owners succeed.
What makes a good small business mission statement?
These effective mission statements include the hallmarks of an impactful mission statement. Check out our handy checklist of mission statement dos and don’ts to make sure your mission statement passes the test.
In general, your mission statement should be relatable, natural, emotional, and specific. It doesn’t need to be highly technical, and you don’t need to include every little detail about your business. Above all, a good mission statement makes the greatest impact concisely.
How to use your mission statement
Once you have your mission statement, it’ll come in handy for a variety of purposes. Internally, you can use it when onboarding new employees and keeping everyone on the same page about your overall purpose.
You can also use it in everyday life as you go about your projects. Include it in your social media profiles and your email signature. Add it to your business website and your client-facing materials like branded brochures. The more people see it, the more it builds your brand and helps clients and partners understand your business. It can also help you build community when it comes to networking and teaching others about what you do.
Need a mission statement?
Looking for a little more help writing a mission statement? Create your own with our free mission statement generator. It’s fast, free, and easy. Just follow the prompts (fill-in-the-blank style) and our handy tool will create a unique mission statement just for your independent business.
We also provide helpful tips and more company mission statement examples to ensure yours captures what makes your business unique. Our clientflow management platform for small businesses will propel you forward in your business.
Start your business off with a path to success
If you’re just starting your business, a vision and mission statement will give you focus. There are also more tools you can use to ensure you’re on the path to success. For example, you’ll want to create a business plan that you can use to understand your market and find funding.
You’ll also need the right tools to manage your clients and projects, such as a clientflow platform. HoneyBook is the leading clientflow platform for independent businesses, so it’s a great option to manage everything in one place. Instead of juggling multiple subscriptions, you can use HoneyBook to capture leads, book clients, manage projects, and view business data.
By setting up your clientflow platform as you’re starting your business, it’ll be easier to grow and scale.
Capture leads, sell services, manage projects, and nurture client relationships from one platform. All that and more with HoneyBook.
