20 Sample Vision Statement for the New Startup

There is normally a lengthy list of things you need to consider when starting a business and, if you don’t manage them properly, your excitement can quickly turn into overwhelm. What can support you to stay inspired and on the right track when starting out? You guessed it: this is your vision statement. A vision statement is like a photograph of your future business, which gives your business shape and direction.

If you were to take a photo of your future business now, what would it look like? What do you want your business to be recognized for one day? You need to have a crystal clear vision when you start out, otherwise you can get easily lost in deciding the best way forward. When you are making strategic decisions for your business and even daily operation decisions, your vision statement will give you the inspiration and targeted direction you need.

If you don’t aim for anything, you might not hit anything. The more specific and clear you are, the better your chances are at seeing your vision turn into reality. The importance of a vision statement cannot be overlooked; not only does it provide long term direction and guidance, but it also gives you the inspiration and the necessary energy to keep going when you feeling lost.

Always keep your vision statement alive by revisiting it regularly and communicating your vision with other members of the team, to inspire and motivate them as well. Write your vision statement in the present tense and make sure that it is clear, concise and most importantly inspiring!

There are many different types of vision statements and there is not a wrong or right way to do it. The most important is that you resonate with it, it inspires you and is clear enough to give you targeted direction.

Here are examples of 20 different vision statement for the new startup:

1. Disney – To make people happy.

2. Oxfam – A just world without poverty.

3. Ikea – To create a better every day life for the many people.

4. Microsoft – A computer on every desk and in every home; all running Microsoft software.

5. Nike – Current: To be the number one athletic company in the world.

6. Wal-Mart – Become a $125 billion company by the year 2000.

7. Ford – To become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services.

8. Microsoft – At Microsoft, our mission and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.

9. Avon – To be the company that best understands and satisfies the product, service and self-fulfillment needs of women—globally.

11. Nike – in 1960s: Crush Adidas.

12. Philip Morris – in 1950s: Knock off RJR as the number one tobacco  company in the world.

13. Giro Sport Design – To become the Nike of the cycling industry.

14. Stanford University – To become the Harvard of the West.

15. Reach for Success  – To become the next Tony Robbins in self development.

16. Sony – Become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products.

17. GE – Become number one or two in every market we serve and revolutionize this company to have the strengths of a big company combined with the leanness and agility of a small company.

18. US Armies Vision – To transform ourselves into a newer, leaner Army positioned for the 21st century.

19. Coca Cola – To achieve sustainable growth, we have established a vision with clear goals:

Profit: Maximizing return to share owners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.

People: Being a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

Portfolio: Bringing to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples; desires and needs.

Partners: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty.

Planet: Being a responsible global citizen that makes a difference.

20. Heinz – Our VISION, quite simply, is to be: ”The World’s Premier Food Company, Offering Nutritious, Superior Tasting Foods To People Everywhere.” Being the premier food company does not mean being the biggest but it does mean being the best in terms of consumer value, customer service, employee talent, and consistent and predictable growth.

Are you ready to write yours?

Remember, once you reach your vision, it needs to be changed. General Motors overtook Ford as #1 automotive company in the world because once Ford’s goal was reached, they never updated it. Keep your vision statement alive and visibly in front of you, revisit it and let it help direct your actions and activities. This is the fun part: this is where you get to dream really big and allow your imagination to fly as high as you want.

Don’t hold back, let your creative juices flow and give yourself permission to explore what is possible for your business.

To your success!

Here are the big mistakes you’re up against and the solutions to turn them around fast: 3 Dumbass Start-up Mistakes That You’re Probably Making

Featured photo credit: David H. Chu via Flickr

Kirstin O’Donovan is the founder of TopResultsCoaching and author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Time Management’. - http://www.topresultscoaching.com/ Kirstin is a Productivity coach, who specializes in helping individuals gain control over their time, to feel more productive and organized. Kirstin is committed to empowering others to live a life that they desire and build a mindset that will supports seeing their dreams and desires turn into reality. Want 7 Simple Strategies to Triple Your Productivity? - Free Access to E-Course -@topresultscoaching.com

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The 4-Hour Chef – Cheat Day Sample: Tequila Hot Chocolate

For those of you waiting on the iOS version of the free 4-Hour Chef teaser app, and for anyone who’d like a cheat day experiment this weekend, I offer the following: Tobacco-infused Tequila Hot Chocolate.

It’s absurd, decadent, and more delicious than you can imagine. Here’s the kicker: I usually hate tequila, so this was a revelation.

PLEASE NOTE: This is intended as a really fun DIY project and a rocking cheat drink, not as a time-saving cocktail. There are times for efficiency, and there are times to explore and enjoy life unhurried.

This is the latter, and it’s for FUN. Notice the last part of the subtitle for The 4-Hour Chef, which is “The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life.”

“There is more to life than increasing its speed,” as Mahatma Gandhi once said.

If you choose to tackle this challenge, share your experience in the comments!

This spectacular drink was taught to me by Craig Schoettler, the executive chef at The Aviary in Chicago, without a doubt the most awe-inspiring “bar-less cocktail kitchen” in the world.

To set the scene: There are 30+ types of ice, and the customers are prevented from harassing the bartenders by a cage barricade. Perhaps you’d like an Old Fashioned served in an ice dinosaur egg? It’s prepared with a syringe, and you drink it after shattering the bourbon-filled casing with a miniature slingshot attached to the glass. Or how about a botanical-infused whiskey that changes colors like a chameleon over the course of 30 minutes? They have that, too.

Of course, you’d expect nothing less from the owners, who also run Alinea, the highest-ranked restaurant in the United States. Bartending through the lens of world-class chefs is otherworldly…

This recipe has been modified to fit a few standard measurements. This takes it from super insanely awesome (The Aviary) to merely very insanely awesome.

Want to see what all this looks like before you get started?

Here’s a video of my very first attempt, uncensored and unprofessional. It ain’t pretty, and that’s the point–even you, as a novice, can make something incredible if you’re willing to fumble a little. Below the video, you’ll find all the instructions you need:

As with all recipes, read through the entire thing before you get started or even go shopping! This will prevent hiccups and guarantee a better (and tastier) buzz.

FOR THE CIGAR MILK:
945 ml / 4 cups Whole milk
40 g / ¼ cup Sugar
1 big pinch / ¼ tsp. Salt
1 Cigar (something cheap is fine)

FOR THE HOT CHOCOLATE BASE:
475 ml / 2 cups Whole milk
40 g / ¼ cup Sugar
1 pinch Salt
100 g / 3½ oz. Bittersweet chocolate, such as Alpaco 66% cacao, chopped

FOR THE BOOZE:
90 ml/g / 3 fl. oz. Tequila, preferably Fortaleza Blanco
10 ml/g / 2 tsp. Fernet-Branca

MAKES: 2 drinks, plus enough cigar milk for more
HANDS-ON TIME: Approx. 20 mins.
TOTAL TIME: Approx. 1 hr. 30 mins., max (30-60 min. of letting the cigar smoke)

FOR STANDARD HOME METHOD:
• A large baking pan or a roasting pan
• A smaller baking pan for the milk, sugar, and salt

FOR TIM’S GHETTO METHOD (seen in the above video):
• A largish cereal or soup bowl
• A large stock pot
• A candle lighter or butane/lighter torch

FOR BOTH:
• A cigar
• Aluminum foil
• A saucepan or skillet (or both, if you want to melt the chocolate separately)
• An immersion blender, ideally with a cream-whipping attachment or milk frother
• Ice trays (for freezing extra cigar milk for later)

STEP 1:

Make the cigar milk foam. You have two choices: the standard home method or the Tim ghetto method.

Standard home method:
• In a baking pan, mix the milk, sugar, and salt.
• Set the pan inside a larger metal baking or roasting pan (choose a disposable one or something you don’t mind smelling like cigars).
• Split the cigar in half lengthwise and place it on a piece of aluminum foil in the larger pan.
• Light the cigar with a candle lighter or a butane lighter/torch, then quickly cover both pans with a piece of aluminum foil. Let smoke for one hour.

Tim ghetto method:
• Mix the milk, sugar, and salt in a largish cereal or soup bowl.
• Put this bowl inside a stockpot. I prefer a large and cheap stockpot (don’t forget to buy a lid!) that I use mostly for cooking sous-vide and lobsters.
• Split the cigar in half lengthwise and place it on a piece of aluminum foil at the bottom of the stockpot.
• Light the cigar with a candle lighter or a butane lighter/torch (remember canisters), cover the pot, and let smoke for 30–45 minutes. Thirty minutes is plenty, in my experience.
• Later, to de-stench your stockpot, just clean it out and leave a bowl of white wine vinegar mixed with peppermint oil inside, covered, for 1–2 hours.

Step 2
While the milk is smoking, make the hot chocolate base. In a saucepan or skillet, combine the milk, sugar, and salt and bring to a simmer.

Step 3
Remove from heat and slowly add the chocolate. I like to put the chips in a separate skillet and slide them in. Do NOT add them by hand, as scalding milk can splash upward and Phantom of the Opera your hands. Stir until chocolate is melted, then cover and set aside.

Step 4
Foam the cigar milk: Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it to just below a simmer or a light simmer. Use an immersion blender—ideally one fitted with the cream-whipping attachment or a milk frother—to blend until foamy. No attachment? Just blend for 45 seconds, then wait 2–3 minutes for the bubbles to surface.

Step 5
Combine the tequila and Fernet-Branca into one of your serving cups, then pour half of it into the other. You can use a scale, but I just eyeball it. Into each cup, pour about 7 fluid ounces (210 milliliters) of the hot chocolate base and top with some of the cigar milk foam.

Serve warm and love life.

If you don’t finish the cigar milk, freeze it in ice trays to surprise future guests with unusual iced coffee.

Enjoy!

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The 4-Hour Chef is available for a limited time at 50-80% off list price. Read all the details of the book and learn more here (as well as download the free app for Kindle Fire).

Posted on December 1st, 2011

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