Doing a SWOT Analysis for Your Business
Any business needs strategic planning to be consistent and grow over time. It’s necessary to take time to analyze your business at its core to find a suitable strategy that helps you achieve your business goals. A SWOT analysis is a great place to start! It is a great business planning tool that may help your small business.
What is a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis serves as a way for business owners to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of their business to uncover the reality of their operation and discover valuable information that helps them come up with improvement and growth strategies.
A SWOT analysis is usually explained graphically with a square divided into four quadrants (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Under each section, you should ask your business some tough questions to better understand how and where you can improve.
Strengths
- What are you good at?
- What sets you apart from competitors?
- What do you do that adds value to your clients?
Weaknesses
- Which areas could use some improvement?
- What things cost you time and money but render no effective results?
- What are the least profitable parts of your business?
- Do competitors do anything better than you?
Opportunities
- Is there a market segment you are not targeting yet but could?
- In which areas of your business could you use the help of technology to improve?
Threats
- What are your major obstacles right now?
- Is there anything happening in the industry or economy that could hurt you?
Answering these questions can help you become a better, more considerate business owner. When you need help growing or starting your business, contact the Economic Development Collaborative to schedule a no-charge appointment with a qualified business advisor. We’re here to help!
