Most of the above are not Mission Statements. They are what marketing people call a USP. That is, a Unique Selling Proposition. A small phrase that uniquely identifies your company with something desirable. Examples of famous USPs; "Visa, it's everywhere you want to be.", "Federal Express - when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight." , "M & Ms - the milk chocolate melts in your mouth not in your hands.", etc. <p>These are very important! USPs are a GREAT way to stand out from the crowd. And that gets important when times get tough. Our USP is "Setting The Gold Standard In Landscape Maintenance". <p>A mission statement, though, is more of a one or two paragraph statement of your purpose and direction you see it taking you AND your company. I don't want to type up all the examples, but a good mission statment should properly balance your goals with your company's goals. It should also convey the image you want to set or the eventual way you want your company to be viewed. <p>For more about USPs, Mission Statements, etc. I would HIGHLY recommend getting the book "Fired Up - the proven priciples of successful entrepreneurs" by Michael Gill and Sheila Patterson. It's an excellent book and has several chapters about just these two topics. The book is mainly for people who are either 1) Just starting a business of their own or 2) Still fairly new in their business. It's packed full of invaluable tips. The chapter on USP in particular is worth it's weight in gold to me. List price is $12 but I found it used at Powells Books for $8. <p>----------<br>Jim Lewis - Lewis Landscape Services<br>http://www.lewislandscape.com