What is a Startup Vision Statement? Here’s Why You Need One

Are you an aspiring business owner? Have you struggled with your startup vision? You are not alone. Many entrepreneurs find this small piece of paper a daunting challenge. I’m sure that you know who you are. And I’m guessing that you have a pretty good idea of what you want your business to become. You probably just can’t put it into the right words – yet.

You as the founder of this business are the best person for the job. Own it. You can create this unique and compelling statement. Believe it. This post is here to just give you a few tips that you can use to compose it. You are the one who can write a statement that accurately reflects what your business stands for and tells the world where you want to go.

What is This “Vision Statement”, Really?

Your startup vision statement is a clear description of what you as a business want to become. It is not just a list of goals but a concise explanation of your objectives that are fueled by your passion. This statement explains not only what you want to achieve, but serves as a kind of pledge to what you are committing to pursue as a business. It will also direct the way that you make decisions for your business. It is the push behind the transformational initiatives that will feed your business for growth.

At its core, the vision statement provides a future reality that you want to achieve by building your business. The vision statement should hit on both the future reality of the business as well as you as the founder. When thinking about your vision for the company, you don’t have to go overboard either. Keep it to 1 year to start. Close your eyes and imagine the life that you want to be living with your business in 1 full calendar year. As you start to depict that reality and believe wholeheartedly in it, you can move forward confidently.

Where Do I Find My Startup Vision?

You are on a path to creating a business for a reason. Your startup vision stems from that reason. As the business founder, you create the startup vision by being the one who fathered it. You almost unconsciously produce it simply by virtue of thinking the business into reality. If you have thought long and hard about whether your business idea is a good one, then you probably already have a startup vision. Now you just have to go back over all that information and find the thread that leads to that vision. It’s in there, don’t doubt it.

Your Plans, Your Vision

You probably have a lot of thoughts swimming around in your head. This can make it seem difficult to capture that vision. If you have all your notes and can plan to sit quietly for a few hours, you are on your way to revealing that hidden gem. Trust in the drive that has brought you this far, and in the plans that this passion has led you to draw up.

Planning for a business entails a lot of research and calculations and economic foresight. From here, you can see how your business will unfold. The smoky edges of your startup vision are where you see that path laid out. Once you catch a glimpse of it, it might be tempting to go all out and see the future as far as when you’re the one who’s gray around the edges. You don’t want to go that far.

First Year Goals

Keep your thoughts focused on where you see your business in a year. Where do you want to be? What do you want to have achieved? Who do you want to become as the leader of the organization? The clear markers that you have set in your business plan draft can help you pinpoint concrete goals for your business within that period. These goals are what you will describe to form the structure of your startup vision statement.

Remember to stay within the first year or thereabouts. This period in the life of your business is a very critical stage. As you go through and pass this stage, you will think more and realize new things about your business. You will make changes for the better as these new ideas come, and this can also change your startup vision. It’s not a bad thing to modify your original vision. As you improve and grow along your entrepreneurial journey, you will see things differently. This is a natural part of the process that strengthens your vision and allows your business to grow and evolve into its fullest potential. As you and your business mature together, it will to cohere into a truly representative statement of who you are as an entity.

Why Do I Need a Vision Statement?

In a nutshell, your vision statement is your guide. It contains the succinct delineation of your road forward. More than this, however, it is a decisive concept. Your startup vision is an active reminder that should propel you and your business team to advance. Without a vision statement, you can easily end up gasping for breath or floundering as wildly as a deep-sea fish out of water.

Concrete Goals

Everyone needs a few solid goals to look forward to. It helps us all to focus our energies, prioritize where we spend our time, and distribute money and other resources for optimal, healthy growth. These goals come from your business plan. They will be the milestones that you will apply yourself towards reaching.

Passionate Drive

Without a passion for your business, you are going to find it difficult to create a compelling vision statement. Your passion is what forms the essence of your startup vision and breathes life into the statement. This passion will add the action element into the vision that makes it an active promise of what the business will become. Without passion, you will likely run out of steam before the first year is up.

If you want to learn How To Create A Vision Statement continue reading this column on www.connorgillivan.com.