Developing Your SOHO Mission Statement

If someone asked you what your business is about, can you tell them in a brief, clear and concise way inn which it’s powerful? Would you say “I sell shoes” or would you say “I manufacture various types of shoes for distribution to major wholesalers across the United States”. Again, which statement would you use?

The Mission Statement part of your action plan should define your business. SOHO’s can benefit from having a defined mission statement. It is professional and it reaffirms the goals and objectives of your small business. It also reminds you on what your business is all about and how your business will serve people or other businesses.

Some SOHO businesses die because they lose focus of their mission. They started off good but they never wrote down a mission statement. The money flowed and the clients came but all of a sudden, a downturn happened in their business and they couldn’t make it back out of the ditch. The problem was that they never defined their mission statement.

Structure brings success and many SOHO businesses don’t have structure. Along with the Executive part of your action plan, the mission statement is the next important item that you can create and adhere to.

Let’s say that you manufacture shoes out of your SOHO. How would you write your mission statement? Let’s try to formulate a mission statement for Joes’ Shoe Manufacturing Company

Joe’s Old Mission Statement: “We manufacture shoes”.

Joes New Mission Statement: “Joes Shoe Manufacturing Company specializes in the manufacturing of fine quality leather shoes for men and women in various and special sizes for distribution to various shoe outlets throughout the United States and Europe. When you see the insignia of excellence in our shoes, you know that you are buying the finest footwear in the world through our company.

The second mission statement introduces the company and its operation or specialty, the target market and adjacent markets, the geographical reach of your operation and the trademark or brand identification of your business.

Try writing out your mission statement on a piece of paper. Mission statements also change due to the direction of your company. This is what the action plan for SOHO’s are all about. It shows you possibilities and angles that you never saw before in your business.