Whata��s your mission? Ita��s time to begin writing your business plan for 2015. In the next few blogs, I want to give you a few tips on creating various parts of your business plan. One of the important, but often-left-out parts of a business plan is your mission statement. What it is? Ita��s literally your mission in your business.
Mission statements answer the questions:
Why are you in this business?
What do you want to accomplish?
How are you going to achieve your mission?
Whata��s important to you?
Why Have a Mission Statement?
To keep yourself on track.
To decide what you will and wona��t do.
To state who you work with (and to think about who you wouldna��t work with).
For time management
For clarity and focus
To use as a springboard to your marketing
Mission statements should be:
a�? Well-defined
a�? Restrictive
a�? Complementary with your company statement (and the company statement should be reflected in any branch office/associate statements)
Mission statements are:
a�? Not lightly changed (usually stay the same through your
yearsa�� business plans)
a�? Written in the present tense
a�? Do not contain objectives or goals
a�? Not tied to time
Mission Statements Are Not Objectives or Goals
Mission statements are not quantifiable. Leave out any numbers a�� they go into your objectives. Following is an example: A person may write, a�?I am a profitable agent. I will make a profit of $50,000 every year.a�? The first part of the statement, a�?I am a profitable agenta�? has a place in a mission statement. But the last part of the statement is an objective, or quantifiable end result, and should be placed in another section of your plan. The mission statement is broader; it guides you as you make long-term decisions. The above offers some valuable tips on writing mission statements.
Mission Statements Arena��t Changed Lightly
Because mission statements are really statements of you as a businessperson, these statements are not lightly changed a�� just as you would not lightly change yourself. That does not mean that you might not work over time on how your statement is constructed, but it does mean that you do not change the essence of the statement, the specialties, the ideals a�� without considerable thought.
Mission Statements a�� In the Present
Statements should be written in the present tense. These statements convey you at your best a�� how you see yourself as a real estate professional. Because you may not have actually attained the picture you have in mind, you may be writing about yourself as you see yourself in the future. To cement that thought in your mind, use present tense verbs as you create your statement.
How to Use your Mission Statement
a�? To reflect back and forth throughout your business plan (Are
your actions congruent with your plan?)
a�? In your officea��framed in your entry
a�? In your marketing materials
a�? In your Professional Portfolio
a�? In your pre-first visiting listing and buyer packages
a�? In your email signatures
a�? On your website
Mission statements first clarify for you whata��s important, your focus, and your limitations. Then, they help consumers choose you. Use the parameters above to create your mission statement. It’s a basis for a successful business plan.
Resources
There are several examples of mission statements in both of my business planning resources: Both the managers’ and the agents’ resource are now online at Beyond the Basics of Business Planning. You can go back as often as you want and choose some–or all of the planning documents. Webinars walk you through the planning process.
Also, both my complimentary webinars on business planning are on my website. Click here to view them.
