Creating a mission statement can help you focus your business effort and do a lot of good in bringing your workforce together behind a common theme. The key to success is not just creating a mission statement, it's living the mission statement.

A mission statement identifies the major purpose that you fulfill when providing products and services to customers. Your mission statement should:

• Include the reason for your business
• Identify your firm's unique 'value added'
• Reflect your firm's core business activity
• Provide a focus
• Identify the purpose you fulfill

• Stakeholders - Those people who are directly affected by the company's successes and failures. Stakeholders could be employees, internal customers, organizational customers, external customers.
• Products and Services - Items that you produce for your customers. Products and services might include consulting, training, products or services for individual use, products or services for business use.
• Value Added - The key advantage you provide over the competition. Why would a customer come to your company for service? What makes your company special?

The [your company name] meets the [your products and services] needs of [stakeholders] by [value added].

Step Three -- Refine the Mission Statement

Is it too wordy? Is it brief and to the point? Will employees remember it? Would it make sense to your stakeholders? Is it a true mission statement and not a goal? Does it inspire your organization? Does it describe your business focus and effort? Is it unique?

Step Four -- Make It Visible Post the mission statement for easy review by all employees and customers.

Step Five -- Live it! This step will be easy if you've involved your entire group in the process.

Denise O'Berry

With more than two decades of operational and management experience, Denise O'Berry has developed a sharp eye for how businesses get bloated with inefficiencies, cross-purposes and miscommunication -- and how they can retool for a sleeker, smoother, strategically focused organization.

An entrepreneur who quickly built her own successful consulting business, she helps other small business owners set priorities, take action to grow their business and create the balance they want between life and work. Her clients have ranged from telecommunications giants like Verizon to Mom-and-Pop retail shops with a primary focus on those having 10 or fewer employees and up to $2.5 million in annual sales.

Denise frequently speaks to professional organizations, is the author of three booklets, and several "how-to" manuals. She writes a weekly small business column, hosts an online small business owners forum and is called upon regularly by publications such as Entrepreneur, Bank Rate Small Business, Florida Trend, Inc., various newspapers, radio and television to provide expert comments on small business issues.