Six months ago, when I was still toying with the idea of really working on a blog and a YouTube channel, I was having trouble figuring out what to discuss. There are so many options that fall under the umbrella of “production company,” and, as one of our mentors, Sean Cannell, states, “If you try to reach everyone, you reach no one.”

When I brought up my conundrum to good friend and client, Matthew Rodrigues, he simply said, “What’s your mission statement?” That knocked me off my feet for a moment. While I had a clear vision for Rantze + Raves, I had (embarrassingly) never pinpointed our goals into a mission statement. Sheepishly I explained to Matt I had not actually written one out. “Well there’s your problem,” he said. “Write one out and then align all your content under that mission.”

It was both a “duh” as well as an “a-ha” moment.

Of course! Such a simple task can transform your business. For some reason, clearly writing down your purpose (and posting it somewhere visible), filters out the bullshit and helps you carve a very clear path to your goals.

So we wrote one. We keep it in the office and here it is:

“We help brands and creatives express themselves by translating ideas into a visual medium.”

Here’s how taking the time to write a mission statement could help you streamline your business:

1. It gives you a launch pad for branding:

     You have to know who you are (you the brand) and where you want to go before you can even begin to visually brand yourself. Once you write out a clear purpose and goal, you’ll know who you are speaking to as well as what brand story you want to tell.

2. Social media:

Some brands have a company mission statement, and then they do a social media mission statement under the same umbrella. This gets rid of the question, “What sort of content do we post?” For example, if you are a handbag company, you’re not going to post about your trip to the zoo. However, if your trip to the zoo was a photoshoot with your handbags, that aligns with your brand. Make sense? Think of social media platforms– such as Instagram– as a way for potential clients to visualize your brand story.

3. Decision making and action:

Should we take on that client? Should we begin to manufacture that new line? Should we collaborate with that brand?

As an entrepreneur you have to make decisions quickly every day. Think of your mission statement as a destination. If you wanted to go to Hawaii, your first action wouldn’t be to rent a car, it would be to buy a plane ticket. Because you have that destination in mind, there are clear steps that need to happen in order to get there.

You guys are off and running. I can hear the wheels turning.

If you want to hear more about mission statements, please check out our latest episode of #sheraves here.