Why Do You Do What You Do?

Why do you do what you do?

Small business owners operate their business for many different reasons…

“I love to serve people”
“I want to be my own boss”
“I want to provide jobs to my community”
“I want to build something for my family”
“I truly believe in my product or service”

The mission statement for my bridal boutique reads as follows:

We will offer beautiful, quality special-occasion wear in a manner that delights, serves, and blesses our customers, our co-workers, and our community. We will operate our business in a God-honoring way; bless our employees and community as we are blessed; and treat each customer as they want to be treated.

Do you have a mission statement for your business that keeps your goals in front of you? It doesn’t need to be flowery or pithy; just a concise statement of the reasons that you are in business and your goals for that business.

I know of a business owner, we’ll call him “Ray”, who gets very nervous when the words “mission”, “vision”, “goals” and their synonyms are mentioned. He thinks these terms require long full-day meetings of people sitting around a table and discussing; Ray doesn’t like to discuss, he likes to do!

I challenge Ray and others like him to take 5 minutes a day for the next week and just jot down some thoughts about why he is in business and what he wants that business to accomplish. What excites him? Is it offering a flexible job to a single mom, is it donating to a local charity, is it the feeling he gets at the end of a good day?

Everyone's mission statement will be different, because everyone is different, and so are our businesses and our goals. That's OK. And...your mission statment may look different in a few years as your business changes and grows.

Next...what to do with this Mission Statement...