The importance of writing a mission and vision statement for your pole-based organization

Mission and vision statements are often associated with non-profit organizations but can be useful in for-profit organizations of all sizes (even individuals!) and all industries too. Keep reading for more information on what these statements are and how they can be useful to your pole-based business.

What is a mission statement?

Your mission statement basically is your reason for being or who you are.

If you’re a pole teacher for instance, this goes beyond “teaching pole” and should reflect how you specifically serve your students or your community with your unique talents through your business. Are you working to empower a specific demographic? Help people discover something about themselves or break through roadblocks in their bodies or their lives?

If you’re a performer, what specifically do you bring to a show or an event? Sure, you’re amazing at your apparatus, but what really sets you apart?

Sometimes this is a simple statement, but it may also be several statements collected as values or principles that define parts of how your business operates currently and interacts with any customers, stakeholders, students, or general members of your community. It is almost always a written statement that you might publish publicly or keep privately for your owners and employees or key contractors.

What is a vision statement?

If your mission statement is focused on the current state of your business, then your vision statement is more forward looking and aspirational. This is where you define what your business wants to become.

The IPIA’s vision for instance is “a successful, inclusive and sustainable pole industry.” This statement recognizes that our industry isn’t yet all those things to everyone, everywhere and is working towards a future when that is universally true.

Like the mission statement this is also a written statement that you could share or keep private depending on your business.

Why are these statements important?

Defining your mission and your vision is an important part of understanding why you’re starting a business in the first place. If you can’t answer who you are (your mission statement) then you really won’t know where you’re going in the future (your vision statement).

Defining these statements and understanding your underlying values as an organization can help guide not just you as the business owner but also guide your employees. In fact, it can help you find the best people to work in your business too! If the values of a business don’t align with a potential employee, it’s best to know that information as soon as possible!

These statements can also help you create a strategy for your business and develop relevant goals as well as measurements against reaching those goals.

As your business grows and changes, you may want to review your mission and vision to see if it’s changed to reflect the way the world has changed. Reviewing every few years can help with multi-year strategic planning too. It’s normal for businesses to evolve!

Writing down these statements even if you don’t ever publish or share them is a critical part of this process.

How to write a mission and vision statement

Consider using a tool like a SWOT analysis to help you understand more fully what you want your business to do, if this is a new business or even if this is an existing business.

If you don’t want to use something as formal, ask yourself some of these (or all of these!) questions:

• What kind of business are we? This is our basic service — such as teaching pole– but also how do we teach/what’s important about us?
• Who do we serve as a business? This is our specific demographic. And how do we serve them?
• Is our location important? Maybe we are online or serve a specific area that has unique challenges or needs.
• Is when we started our business important? Are we reflecting current events or a unique need at this moment in time.
• What are my goals with this business?
• What are my personal goals with this business as the business owner?
• How does my business change the world, or at least my part of the world for the better?

Take these answers and try to boil down to a simple statement of who you are and where you want your business go grow.

If you didn’t start your business with a mission and vision statement, it’s not too late to review what you’re doing and think more critically about the state of your business!

Writing things down can be powerful and contribute to helping you succeed in your goals. It can also be important to communicate your values to all the people involved in your business including your customers so you can all be in alignment. Good luck creating your mission and vision statements for your pole-based business!