Why Are You in Business? Creating Your Mission, Vision, and Values Statements
Most large businesses have developed mission, vision, and values statements to guide them and inform stakeholders about their company’s strategic direction. Going through this exercise is a wonderful idea for even the smallest businesses.
A company’s mission statement includes its core purpose and desired impact for employees, customers, owners, and other stakeholders. A vision statement defines what the company wants to be. A values statement describes what the company stands for.
It’s a perfect activity for business owners to answer and remember why they built the business in the first place. It also serves to correct and re-align the business’s trajectory.
Mission Statement
Start by asking what impact you want your business to have on the outside world. Here are some mission statement examples that are frequently quoted:
- Harley-Davidson: More than building machines, we stand for the timeless pursuit of adventure. Freedom for the soul.
- Disney: The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.
- Nike: Nike exists to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Our purpose is to move the world forward through the power of sport—breaking barriers and building community to change the game for all. If you have a body, you are an athlete.
Notice how each one is short and simple to understand. They focus more on the big-picture benefits the company brings to customers and less on how they will do it.
To write your own mission statement, ask yourself what your business’s purpose is and how you will impact your customers’ lives with your products and services.
Vision Statement
A vision statement is big, bold, and futuristic. What do you want your company to be?
Here are a few examples:
- Harley-Davidson: Building our legend and leading our industry through innovation, evolution, and emotion.
- Deloitte: We aspire to be the Standard of Excellence, the first choice of the most sought-after clients and talent.
- Amazon: Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work.
What do you want your company to become? That’s your vision statement.
Values Statements
Values statements are typically a set of adjectives or statements that answer what the company stands for. They can be in the form of leadership principles, core values, or a similar format.
These days, they often include values on environmental, social, climate, global, human rights, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and many other current issues. They can take the form of additional strategic statements on each one of these issues.
Sample values statements can be found in the company’s annual report, as well as in the about or company section of their website.
Here are some examples:
Harley-Davidson Principles:
- Communication – Communicate with purpose, structure, facts and inspiration
- Agility – Accelerate, innovate and thrive in a rapidly changing environment
- Impact – Focus on impact, not process, and be outcome driven
- Simplicity – Pursue the simplest path to achieve each outcome
- Speed – Don’t let perfection get in the way of process and pace
- Culture – Be fair, honest, positive and creative. Strive to win and have fun.
- Courage -Take risks and go against the norm
- Judgment -Think strategically and make informed decisions
- Focus – Focus on a short list of meaningful opportunities that build desirability
- Lean – Maximize impact with limited resources
Coca-Cola Behaviors We Focus on:
- Curious
- Empowered
- Inclusive
- Agile
Merck Values:
- Patients first
- Respect for people
- Ethics and integrity
- Innovation and scientific excellence
Your mission, vision, and values statements will help you communicate the qualities of your business. When hiring, it can help you determine if a candidate’s individual values align with the core corporate values, and with customer acquisition when prospects see what your company is about. It can also help you remember your roots and why you work so hard every day.
We’d love to hear from you when you write up your mission, vision, and values statements!
Our Latest Insight
Here are five business strategies to help you regroup, reassess, and rejuvenate your business halfway through 2026. Celebrate Your Accomplishments Take time to pat yourself on the back and congratulate the people around you for the goals you’ve reached and the efforts your team has made on your behalf. You might be shocked when you think about how far you’ve come. Maybe you’ve hired another team member and your team is the largest it’s ever been; perhaps you’ve reached record revenue goals; possibly you’ve solved a complex supply chain problem. We all could use more praise and more celebrations in our lives. Perhaps you can organize a party, or if you are not the partying type, a quiet word individually with your team can go a long way, maybe more than you know. Take a Vacation If you’re feeling quite burned out, the best thing you can do is stop and take a breather. There’s nothing better to rekindle your creative juices than to get away from the business for a while. Summertime is when most people take a vacation, so if your business is not having its busy season, this might be a good time to go away, even if for a little while. If you’re anxious about being away from your business, you’re not alone. In your annual planning process, plan for and block out your vacation way ahead of time. Book the reservations with no refunds several months in advance so that you won’t chicken out at the last minute. There is life beyond your business, and you will be a better business owner when you take regular breaks away. Schedule a Mid-Year Review How has your business fared for the first half of 2026 compared to the goals you set at the beginning of the year? Are you on track to reach your goals? Should you design a course correction or are you on track? Maybe you’re even ahead of plan! You can make this process as informal or formal as you want. Some businesses hold retreats; you may simply need some quiet time on a weekend when all your family is busy doing something else. Be Selective About the Projects You Start Is your plate too full? Entrepreneurs that wear many hats would probably say “yes” to that question, so the next question is do you have to do it all at once? Ask yourself what you can afford to stop doing that doesn’t make sense. Is there a project or two that can wait? If so, decide to stop stressing about not getting it done and give yourself permission to put it on the back burner for now. Play Big Maybe you’re not playing big enough. You might be busy, but are you busy with the things that will take your business to the next level? Do the thing you’re afraid to say “yes” to; the thing that you know will transform your business and get you closer to your dreams. If you’re putting off a project that you know will pay back handsomely, then shelve everything you’re working on and start on the one that will reap the most rewards. It could be a new product or service line, a new ad campaign, a new hire, a new joint venture, new financing, or even a new partner, which is very big indeed. You likely know what it is you need to do; your gut has been telling you for a while now. Just get it started, and it will then become easier. Summertime is a great time to regroup, re-energize, and refresh your business. Try one of these five tips to spice up your summer as well as your business success.
Understanding What Payment Processing Fees Actually Include A typical business transaction involves more than just the swipe of a card. Several participants play a role in moving funds from the customer’s bank account to the merchant’s account. Processing costs generally include three core components: Interchange fees: Charges set by card networks and paid to the issuing bank for handling the transaction Assessment fees: Network charges collected by companies such as Visa or Mastercard for using their infrastructure Gateway or service fees: Costs paid to payment processors that manage authorization, settlement, and reporting. Each component contributes to the total amount deducted from every purchase. Together, they form the full cost of credit card processing services. While the percentages vary depending on card type, industry, and transaction method, many companies pay somewhere between 2-3% for each sale. The Real Cost Per Transaction A 2% charge might appear minor at first glance. The true impact becomes clearer when owners translate percentages into actual dollars. Consider a company generating $500,000 in annual card revenue. A 2.9% rate results in roughly $14,500 paid in processing charges. Increase annual revenue to $1 million and the cost rises to about $29,000. These numbers illustrate how credit card processing fees quietly accumulate. When organizations rely heavily on electronic payments, the yearly burden can rival other major operating expenses. Understanding this total cost helps leaders treat processing charges as a controllable financial factor rather than an unavoidable background expense. Why High Volume Businesses Feel the Pressure Most Industries with frequent transactions often experience the greatest impact from credit card processing. Restaurants, retail stores, subscription services, and e-commerce operations typically process large volumes every day. Even small adjustments in rates can produce meaningful savings in these environments. A reduction of half a percentage point may translate into thousands of dollars over the course of a year. The challenge lies in visibility. When costs are spread across hundreds of deposits and statements, they can easily blend into normal accounting activity. Businesses that examine their merchant reports regularly gain a clearer understanding of how these charges influence profitability. Practical Ways to Reduce Processing Costs Entrepreneurs cannot eliminate payment processing entirely, yet several practical steps can help reduce unnecessary expenses. Review merchant statements carefully to identify hidden charges or unnecessary service add-ons Negotiate rates with processors once transaction volume increases Encourage debit payments or lower cost methods when appropriate Evaluate whether the current provider still offers competitive credit card processing services Small adjustments can create noticeable financial improvement over time. Regular monitoring also helps ensure fees remain aligned with the organization’s current transaction profile. Strengthen Financial Visibility and Protect Your Margins Processing costs represent one of many operational expenses that quietly affect profitability. Strong financial oversight allows leaders to recognize patterns, evaluate vendor relationships, and make adjustments when necessary. First Steps Financial supports entrepreneurs through fractional bookkeeping and financial consultation designed to improve visibility across operating expenses, including credit card processing fees. Clear reporting and organized records help owners understand where money is going and where improvements may exist. If you want clearer insight into your financial data and assistance in evaluating payment processing expenses, reach out today to start the conversation.
The Hidden Cost of Poor Income Categorization Many business owners overlook a critical distinction between revenue growth and profit visibility. A coaching business that expands into digital courses might celebrate new revenue, only to discover later that customer acquisition costs for the course channel exceed those for one-on-one services by 300 percent. Without tracking multiple streams of income separately, this inefficiency remains invisible until it's already consumed months of resources. Payment processors compound this problem. Payment platforms often batch deposits from multiple sources into single transfers. Marketing expenses, software subscriptions, and fulfillment charges blur together in expense accounts. The result: financial statements that show impressive top-line growth while actual profitability deteriorates undetected. Expense allocation errors are particularly insidious. When a single advertising campaign drives sales across three revenue channels, business owners often make a false choice: assign the entire campaign cost to one channel, or divide it equally across all three. Both approaches distort reality, preventing accurate comparison of which channel actually generated the best return on that investment. multiple income streams Designing a Financial Architecture for Clarity Sophisticated businesses separate income sources at the categorization level, not just in monthly reports. This means distinct income accounts for each revenue channel. Consulting fees, product sales, course revenue, subscription income, and affiliate earnings each occupy their own account. This granular approach serves multiple purposes beyond simple tracking. It enables accurate gross margin analysis for each channel. A high-revenue offering might carry dramatically different profit margins than a lower-volume stream. Without this distinction, margin improvements in one area mask deterioration in another. Monthly profit and loss statements should break down revenue, direct costs, and allocated overhead by channel. Direct costs attach to specific streams: fulfillment expenses for physical products, hosting for digital courses, or subcontractors for consulting projects. Allocated overhead requires more thoughtfulness. If you spend $3,000 monthly on business insurance that protects all operations equally, you might allocate proportionally to each channel based on revenue percentage. This structured approach transforms accounting from a compliance burden into a strategic tool. Entrepreneurs can identify which channels justify expanded investment and which consume attention without generating proportional returns. The Strategic Evaluation Framework for Multiple Streams of Income Armed with accurate financial data, you can make informed decisions about which streams of income deserve continued development. Performance evaluation should consider not just revenue, but also: Growth trajectory Profit margins Scalability, and Alignment with your long-term vision A channel generating consistent revenue with minimal oversight warrants different treatment than one requiring constant attention for modest returns. Similarly, high-margin offerings deserve different strategic prioritization than high-volume, low-margin streams. Sometimes the best decision is discontinuation. Eliminating underperforming offerings frees resources, reduces administrative burden, and allows focus on your strongest opportunities. Build Financial Clarity That Supports Growth Whether you operate two revenue channels or ten, financial clarity remains non-negotiable. The complexity introduced by multiple streams of income isn't solved by working harder or hoping for better results. It's solved through intentional structure and consistent execution. First Steps Financial helps entrepreneurs strengthen their financial systems through fractional bookkeeping and financial consultation services designed for growing organizations. Clear reporting and organized accounting structures provide the insight needed to manage expanding revenue streams with confidence. If you want greater clarity around your income channels and accounting structure, connect with us to start building a system that supports your growth.
