Creating visions and values for your business is super important, as it gives you total clarity on your aims. When people invite you for markets, collaborations and other projects, you know exactly what to say yes to and what will help you move forward as a business.
Creating visions and values will help you focus and create new goals. How many followers do you need on social media? Which platforms should you be on? What sales ranges should you create next? Where do you want your business to go, and how should you diversify? Creating visions and values will answer all of these questions and more.
Creating visions and values for your business
We recently created a YouTube video on this exact topic – find out more from Pedddle Founder Nicki here:
Learning is so important within a business; it’s what drives you forward, progresses your skills and levels you up.
Why business values are important
Having business values is crucial because they define all core principles and ethical standards that guide any company’s behavior, decision-making, and interactions both within the company and with potential customers.
Here are 4 reasons why business values are important:
- Setting ethical and working standards
This doesn’t just apply to larger businesses – in your small business, or even if you’re a solo artist or artisan, it’s important to have a set of ethical practices. This emcompasses everything from a set amount of working hours to ensure you don’t get burnt out (much harder to maintain when you work for yourself!) to the kind of businesses you work with and source materials from, to things like your sustainability policies. - Guiding your decision making
Your values offer a framework for all of your future actions. Definining exactly what your business is and what it stands for shows you what your audience is like, which markets align with what you’re selling, which businesses you shoul collaborate with and other projects you should be seeking. - Building trust and credibility
This is important for all other businesses you come into contact with, as well as your customers. When a company is known for its integrity and ethical practices, it enhances its credibility and reputation in the marketplace. - Helping you get organised
Strong values promote a positive work environment. If you’re self-employed, they’ll show you where you need to put your energy and focus, for example elevating prices to afford you more time off to avoid burn-out. If you have employees or hope to one day, defining your business’ values will help you define how employees should interact with the business and one another, and ultimately provide a framework for employee morale and satisfaction.
Customers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on a company’s values, so definining them can help you secure future and repeat custom. Businesses that demonstrate a commitment to values such as sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical practices can foster deeper connections with their customers, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy.
In summary, values are fundamental to creating a cohesive, ethical, and successful business. They provide a foundation for decision-making, foster a positive organisational culture, attract and retain talent, build customer trust, and ultimately drive long-term success and sustainability!
Why is it so important to have clear visions for your business?
Having a clear vision for your business is crucial for several reasons, as it serves as the foundation for strategic planning, decision-making, and overall business success. Creating values and visions are crucial to a cohesive business practice.
Here are 5 key reasons why a clear vision is important:
- Direction and focus:
- What is your business’ ultimate end goal? Do you want to go into other areas, or acheive a certain amount of income? Creating a clear vision or visions, provides a sense of direction and purpose. It outlines where you want your business to go and what you aim to achieve, helping to align efforts and resources towards common goals. You can always change or adapt these in future – one goal at a time!
- Motivation and inspiration:
- A compelling vision can inspire and motivate you, your team, and even your customers. It creates a sense of shared purpose (for example, a focus on environment or sustainability appeals to a mass of people, and is a goal and theme many people can get behind and support). It can energise everyone involved for this reason, fostering a more committed and productive working environment and sales goal.
- Strategy and planning:
- A well-defined vision is essential for effective strategic planning. It helps in setting long-term goals, and therefore ensures that short-term actions are aligned with your long-term aspirations of the business.
- Resilience and adaptability:
- The last few years have shown us all we need to be pretty adaptable! The Covid pandemic and now a UK recession means British businesses have had to be pretty resilient lately! We’ve all had to adapt to battle changing economic circumstances globally. Have a clear business vision provides you with some stability and a sense of purpose at least, which can be particularly valuable during challenging times. It helps maintain your focus and you can then adapt to what you need to do to acheive your goals, whilst staying true to your business’ core objectives.
- Measuring your progress:
- Having a vision allows you to set measurable goals and therefore track your progress. It provides benchmarks against which you can measure achievements, making it easier to assess whether the business is on the right path or needs adjustments. In fact, this is something that can help when selling at markets too – check out this blog on financial planning and product pricing for details.
Not sure how to create a vision statement for your business? Click here for inspo from Wix!
In summary…
Creating visions and values for your business is not just a statement of ambition; it is a practical tool that underpins every aspect of your business operations. It ensures that every action that you will take is purposeful and directed towards achieving the long-term objectives of the business – thereby increasing the chances of sustained success.
Take time to gather your thoughts, make notes and let your imagination run with creating visions and values for your future. Good luck!
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