Launchers are go-getters. They have a dream and want to build it. When you start your business, you think through important aspects such as your mission, core values, and departmental processes.
However, rarely do entrepreneurs take the time to slow down and write down essential pieces of information. Just as important as it is to think through these items, it’s just as vital to write them down.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or overly time consuming. Here are a few documents to create and questions to ask as you begin your launch:
Documents to Create
Mission Statement
This can be short, one or two sentences, that encompasses what your company will accomplish.
For example, Amazon’s mission statement: “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.”
Facebook’s mission statement is: “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”
Core Values
Core values are operating philosophies that will guide team members’ conduct and your company’s relationship with customers.
Ask anyone who has been to Disney and they will tell you the experience there is unlike any other theme park. Disney has been intentional about their core values: safety, courtesy, show, efficiency. When you visit, you can see these values in action.
Make your core values true to you and your business, otherwise your lofty goals may not be attainable. Create these early on to give you the track to run on.
Strategic Plans
Project where you are going in one, three, and five years. This document doesn’t have to be overly detailed, but come up with a one-page summary stating where and how you’d like to grow as an organization.
You don’t have to end exactly where you project, but having a direction to revisit quarterly (monthly if you’re a new startup) will help you determine if you are veering too far off track.
Questions to Ask
Here are a few questions to ask as you get started developing these documents:
What are the values already guiding your day-to-day interactions?
How are you making decisions?
What choices and values are influencing what business partners and customers you want?
Make your mission, values, and projections authentic to you and the team. There isn’t a right or wrong culture, but if it’s not authentic or you can’t live it out, it’s not a good match.
Know the direction you are headed and before you know it, you will be set apart from the competition.