Micro-business owners are entrepreneurs with a passion for their products and services but frequently face external financial oppression due to their size. The lack of capital sources and income fluctuation can cause internal doubts, fears, and assaults on their energy level and spirit. For example, more than 50% of micro-businesses experienced financial sustainability threats during the first few months of the COVID-19 crisis in 2022, attesting to their unique vulnerability to economic disruption in times of stress. However, microbusiness susceptibility to increased threat levels imposed by external business environment changes extends far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently threats have been posed by their impeded ability to adapt to technological, financial, environmental, and large business disruptions.
A Tool to Break the Hold on Micro Business
Fortunately, larger organizations use well-defined pathways just as available to micros to overcome these predicaments. One of the business tools used by larger businesses to assist in business strategic and tactical planning is a Mission Statement. Mission statements are ubiquitous in larger organizations though they are not universal in smaller firms and are often used only as a management tool rather than a necessary component to survival and growth.
The mission statement has been defined as simply a statement of what a firm makes to a statement of the firm’s business, considering its highest philosophical ideals. Some similarly view the mission statement as a purpose statement targeting the stakeholders, including workers, communities, customers, and leaders. The target audience is of primary importance as the mission statement’s principal use is in strategic planning. With this use in mind, the most compelling statements have been found to include elements of organizational philosophy, cultural stories of the business origin, ideology, and often a strategic statement of vision.
How to Write a Mission Statement
If you are a micro business owner, you need to create a mission statement that includes a statement of your philosophy, your story, a glimpse of your vision of the future, and how you will do that. Do not create it on your own. Get some trusted stakeholders like family members, clients, or customers who have experiences in different market sectors, bankers, accountants, other business owners, and staff members. Then tell them your story. Ask them what is unique and compelling about your story. Ask them what elements of your business most excite them and why. Tell them your philosophy of why you do what you do. Ask them how they describe what you do to others. Then write a statement and share it with them. Make it succinct.
One of the most succinct mission statements I have ever read covers all the bases and comes to us from TED of TED talks:
“Spread ideas.”
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