Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing a series of posts outlining nine steps that will help you create the perfect name for your company, product, service, e-book, or app. This article is Part 1 of the series, focusing on creating your Statement of Purpose.

Your idea is your pride and joy. You may think about it so much that you’ve been dreaming about it! Likely, you’ve spent countless hours buried in the details of your future company, from funding possibilities to hiring staff to the color of your logo.

However, when you’re so mired in the particulars of the business, you may find it difficult to explain just what your company does to outsiders succinctly. You may find that your 15-second elevator pitch becomes a long-winded deep dive into how awesome and revolutionary your product is. Despite knowing the company inside and out, you may simply have trouble summarizing your eureka moment to others. In fact, others may be the most help in you learning how to come up with a brand name.

If you find yourself sympathizing with the above scenario, it’s time for you to sit down and create a simple Statement of Purpose.

What is a Statement of Purpose?

Your business idea, at its core, needs to be easily summarized in one sentence. Investors and even friends do not have the time nor the patience to sit through lengthy explanations about what exactly your company does. Your Statement of Purpose should be one sentence that states what your business does, what makes it unique, and why people should care. You want to use as few words as possible in the statement, while still conveying your unique selling proposition.

What isn’t a Statement of Purpose?

Your Statement of Purpose is not as broad as a mission statement, which details what the business aims to do now and in the future. Nor should it be the world’s longest run-on sentence as you try to fit as many ideas as you can into one sentence. Instead, when writing your Statement of Purpose, think of what your venture offers customers, and how you plan to impact their lives. Keep it simple!

Statement of Purpose Formula

There are many methods and even elaborate strategies for developing your Statement of Purpose (sometimes also known as Value Proposition or Unique Selling Proposition). Here’s a simple formula, in case you’re new to the concept:

[Great Business Name] helps [audience] [core benefits].

Example of a Statement of Purpose

Let’s say you had a brilliant idea for an app that connects pet-sitters to people with pets. The app will be simple, giving pet owners a chance to browse sitters in their neighborhood, contact them in-app, and review their work for other users to see. The same interface would exist on the pet-sitter’s side, allowing them to share their experiences with pet owners.

The Statement of Purpose may be something like: “WoofWatchers helps connect pet owners and pet sitters, helping them find the perfect match for their pet-sitting needs in a trusted, peer-reviewed marketplace.

Putting Your Statement of Purpose to Action

After you take the time to sit down and funnel your thousands of thoughts about your business into a one-sentence, clear Statement of Purpose, you can use your new unique selling proposition to pitch to investors, share with curious friends, post on social media, craft the perfect name for your company… and, of course, you will find that having a strong statement of purpose is enormously helpful in developing an excellent business name!

In the next article of this series, we’ll learn how to take your Statement of Purpose and apply it to finding your business’ target demographic.