Spirit of the Brand
Passion, Purpose, People
Exercise #1
So... I was planning on having you do another Canva skills lab for this exercise, BUT, you're going to be getting a decent graphic designer workout in our next modules, so I'm letting you off the hook.
You're welcome. 🙃
Get out your journal or notebook and write out the following lists:
Passion (my what): what do I LIVE to do?
Purpose (my why): why do I love to do it?
People (my who): who are my people?
Taking a look at what you wrote, I want you to write:
3 'We Believe' Statements
'We Believe', can also be 'I Believe'.
Consider what sounds true for you and your business. These statements will serve as a personal manifesto for your business's purpose. You don't have to use these publicly, but it is a good exercise to get ideas flowing before we look at Mission + Vision.
You can use your passion, purpose, people notes, your circled list from our self-audit exercise, and your who do, for, how, so that.
My 3 'We Believes' are:
We believe in the powerful intersection of vision, purpose and passion to create brands and experiences that inspire change.
We believe in creating a culture of conversations that matter, through immersive design experiences online and in-person.
We believe in equity, inclusivity, and the importance of speaking up for ‘where you care’, alongside sales and marketing, as a responsible way of doing purpose-full business in a change-hungry world.
I did choose to use these on my home page, because it felt on-brand to share them with my audience. They feel bold, unapologetic and progressive; which are part of my brand voice/tone. We'll get into that in Module 3.
Notice that for me it felt right to use we, instead of I.
One reason I did this is because part of my vision for the business is that one day there will be other people on the team, and I want my 'we believe' manifesto to serve as the company culture for that team, for hiring, for expanding, for knowing who would be good for potential partnerships.
Ideal Clients
Exercise #2
Again in your journal of notebook, answer the following questions about your ideal client. This will take a little deeper with what we wrote about 'Our People', in Exercise #1.
WHAT ARE THE DEEPEST DREAMS & DESIRES OF YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS? we’re looking for the deep motive here, not the service they look for.
WHAT ARE THEIR DEEPEST FEARS & WORRIES? and don't forget: do your research here, guessing can mislead you.
WHAT IS THEIR BIGGEST FRUSTRATION AND DESIRE, AS IT RELATES TO YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE? Now is the time to recheck your area of expertise and your clients' problems. Is there an overlap? You might wanna go to that direction then!
WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE FOR YOUR CLIENT? you researched their problems before, now is the time to pick one.
WHY DOES YOUR IDEAL CLIENT WANT TO BUY YOUR SERVICE? what outcome do they want when they decide to work with you?
WHAT OUTCOMES CAN CUSTOMERS EXPECT AFTER WORKING WITH YOU? can be hands on tools or spiritual - just make sure you're on the same page In order to stand out, you might wanna check where to stand out from. You've done your research on your clients. Now it's time to see what others came up with!
Vision + Mission Statement
At this point you have created a lot of resource material for writing your vision and mission statement.
So... based on all the exercises you've done, what is your vision?
Below are some 'write of passage', if you need the lead ins (adjust as needed):
Writes of Passage
__insert business name__ is known for its ability to...
And is able to serve its clients by...
In a way that feels...
YOUR “WHY” = YOUR PURPOSE = YOUR MISSION
Your “why” is your purpose and your purpose is your mission. So get your notes from the passion, purpose, people exercise, and read through your 'why'.
While your elevator pitch states who you are, what you do, and who you do it for—your mission statement takes it a couple layers deeper. It’s the reason why your business exists.
The purpose of your business is to solve a problem for your ideal customer. You can refer back to it often to stay focused and make decisions that align with my purpose.
Think of your mission statement as your compass for making big business decisions and creating content, offerings, etc... When in doubt, return to your mission statement to stay on course with your purpose.
IT ALSO SERVES TO:
1. INSPIRE YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE. For your business to survive and thrive, it needs to earn money. There’s no way around that. To earn money, your business needs people to buy. And people buy from people. So let your mission statement be human. Sprinkle in some of your brand’s personality and inspire others with a sense of shared purpose. By doing so, your customers will reward you with their loyalty.
2. STATE WHAT PROBLEM YOU SOLVE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS. While earning money is definitely important for your business, it doesn’t have to be your mission. In fact, I advise against focusing your mission statement on money. Money solves a problem for you. But what problem do you solve for your customers? Maybe you help them save time or make an impact in their community.
3. CREATE INFLUENCE BY SHOWING HOW YOU BENEFIT OTHERS. As Darren Rowse of ProBlogger says, “great influencers use their influence for the benefit of other people.” This has a stark resemblance to one of the #1 rules of copywriting: put the customer first. That said, keep the problem you solve for your customers top of mind as you create your mission statement.
WRITING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT
Get your who do, for, how, so that statement, aka your up-leveled elevator pitch, to use as your main writing resource, as well as your ideal client notes, your brand voice/tone list, and any of the work from previous exercises that you feel might help.
In a statement, and try not to overthink it, elaborate on:
What you do for your customers: your business exists to solve a problem for your customers.
Why you do what you do: people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
How you do what you do: pinpoint the areas that set you apart from other businesses.
Let your answers to these questions, using your brand voice and key words, settle into a purpose-driven mission statement for your business.
Once you are done, write it on a post-it or scrap of paper, and share it in the discussion feed.
