Company Values: Examples + How To Create Your List

Something that we hope never goes out of style is the development of core values for a business. Although defining those values can be a challenge, especially when your business is only run by one or two people, it’s important that the values of your business can stand independently from your own personal values. Let’s talk about what those are and share impactful company values examples to help your business.

What are brand values?

These, ideally, are the north star of your business — the guiding pillars and propositions that help a business dictate what they stand for, what they do, and the difference they want to make. 

These could, in the simplest example of things, help a company figure out if their emails should be more fun and witty or more luxurious and high-end. They can also help you determine where you need to place more emphasis and intention within your client experience.  However, company values are most impactful when they lead a business during pivotal moments — what will they do and how will they respond if the worst-case scenario happens? What is the legacy they want to leave behind?

Or, in a more everyday application, company values will lead a company in deciding what offers to create, how to do their marketing, and how to stand out from their competition.

Do company values overlap with personal values?

Working primarily with entrepreneurs, our answer is usually yes! If the founder and lead decision maker disagrees, at their core, with what their business believes in, it will make it so hard to run the business, feel good about what you’re doing, and honestly, to not burn out.

What people usually overlook, though, is the needed overlap between your own personal values, what your company values, and — have you guessed it yet — what your audience values. The bread and butter — and just good feelings, and amazing results — will be right there in the center of that overlap.

Benefits of company values

• Company values give your business something to lean on when answers are unclear. If you’re struggling with a decision as a business owner or entrepreneur, go back to your values and if you don’t have them written up yet, take some time to establish what they are (and think about why!).
• Brand values help you differentiate yourself from the competition because no other business, even if they offer the exact same thing, should have the same set of core beliefs.
• They establish a company culture — is the environment kind, creative, chaotic, challenging, ambitious, healing? There is so much that your business could be and feel like so use your brand values to set the tone for your entire team, then be sure to emphasize them internally as guiding lights for their work and their own external-facing interactions.
• Values will inform your brand identity — if you don’t have a logo yet or are about to re-brand, use brand values to shape the colors, textures, fonts, and visuals for your company.
• Brand values build loyalty. That overlap we talked about with personal values, company values, and your customers’ values? When they do so strategically, you’ll find the people who will support your business and brand through and through. When people feel deeply connected to a brand’s mission (and that brand delivers on it!), that loyalty will be for life.
• The values of your company will naturally lead to clear boundaries. If one of your values is to respect time and create space for spontaneity, then your clients will see that, know that. This means they will not be surprised when you have a strict rule not to reply to emails on weekends.
• Your entire brand message can be built around your values — what do you make people feel, how will you be remembered? This can come through so organically and authentically when you’ve accurately captured your brand’s values.

Company Values Examples

One rule of thumb, though, first, that is different from many of the online recommendations you’ll see — values aren’t just one word. Values are an action. To “be inclusive” or to “create sustainable products.” Don’t just say “Innovation,” “Authentic,” or “Different” — define how you’ll be those things and add an action verb to the statement. We also like to create statements that can be applied to both business and life so they flow seamlessly through both.

Short examples

• Treat others well
• Create on an even-keeled pace without rush
• Build work we’re proud of
• The trend or same-old-thing isn’t always the right thing
• Don’t sacrifice personal priorities for rushed work — give yourself grace
• Obsess over the details
• Innovate passionately
• Earn trust
• Be curious
• Dig deeper
• Use “no” well

Real company values examples by Hone Creative Studio

Bloomin Mamas

The Brand’s Why: To holistically support the hearts, minds and bodies of mamas and their babies. The brand’s values are Empower, Nurture & Community. We utilized her values to help guide some brand development and client experience goals for her practice: 

• Empower: This value proposition is built on a desire to empower mothers to trust themselves more – to pull back from the noisy world and lean into their own intuitions. We used this value proposition to thoughtfully guide her client experience – mapping client PDFs she could create that would encourage these mothers with data, knowledge and resources on how to trust themselves and care for their babies. 

• Nurture: We used this lens as we moved through website strategy, copy and design – mapping a really clean, concise and clear user experience. We placed emphasis on their struggles and the noisiness of the world before diving into the ways that Laura can support. Her social content strategy is more geared towards reminding mamas how long it takes to heal after having a baby, sharing recipes to support specific phases of post-birth life (while also showing Laura creating these meals for clients), and quotes that fill the hearts and souls of new mamas that they are not alone.

• Community: We used this value proposition to guide her social content – sharing stories about villages past, resonating with the idea that it didn’t used to be this hard and you didn’t used to have to do it alone. Laura’s work is an active solution to this issue! Social content and in-person resources that help connect her clients with other service providers in the community that can help provide meaningful postpartum services and support. 

Floralia Therapy & Wellness 

The Brand’s Why: To support, challenge and see women through their own inner healing. The brand’s values are Collaboration, Empowerment & Imperfection. We utilized her values to help guide some brand development goals for the practice. 

• Collaboration: We identified other practitioners for her to connect and build community with – in an effort to start a network of aligned practitioners who believed in offering support in similar ways. Her group has now grown to multiple events a year, and created a network for women-focused providers in her area. Creating this network of other value-aligned providers allowed her to feel collaborative in her approach to women’s care. 

• Empowerment: We identified some resources she could create to onboard her clients with – sharing information about other local practitioners, teaching about grounding tools and techniques, and connecting them with valuable resources they would need along their healing journey. Putting this information at their fingertips allowed them to feel empowered. 

• Imperfection: Her value on imperfection and humanness is expressed across her social channels, as she shares her own healing journey. She aims to debunk the idea that therapists have it all together – making her more approachable and resonant to her clients, and the other therapists that follow her online. 

Mango Moon 

The Brand’s Why: To encourage confidence, inspire self-expression and showcase the unique individuality of children everywhere. Their values are: High Quality, Creativity, Inclusivity. We utilized their values to help guide some brand development goals for their boutique and social content: 

• Creativity: This comes through in a variety of in-person touchpoints including process-based art decorating their storefront, allowing several children to design the shopping bags, and more. We emphasized the value proposition that “all children are artists,” while valuing their work in such a big way. Their social content strategy was set to include quotes from children about how outfits they picked out themselves make them feel, and also to showcase simple process-based art projects they could do at home utilizing recycled materials.

• High Quality & Ethically-Made: This value allows us to emphasize sharing social content that connects them with the brands they sell: showcasing their durability, how the clothes are made, where the materials come from, etc. 

• Inclusivity: Their value of inclusivity and individuality allowed us to place a strong emphasis on showcasing diversity in shades, shapes and sizes in their brand photoshoots and social content. We identified several holidays that their social team should acknowledge, and to what degree, on their social channels to connect with their diverse audience.

Values that lead into influential brand identities

At Hone, as a brand and web design studio, we know the most impactful brand identities stem from well-thought-out company values. And these values are more than just pretty statements, they are a core element of the foundation of your brand. If you’re thinking about rebranding or starting a company, build your list first or ask an expert to help you. 

Digging deep makes room for the most meaningful connections — sharing your brand’s heart with your clients allows them to feel seen, understood, and at home with you.