Why Your Small Business Needs a SWOT Analysis
We say this all the time:
To build and run a successful business, you should go behind the scenes of your systems and analyze them regularly.
While there are many ways of analyzing your business, today we’re talking about a SWOT analysis and how your small business can significantly benefit from one.
What is a SWOT Analysis?
A SWOT Analysis is an amazing way to take a deep look at your small business.
Simply put, a SWOT analysis is a compilation of your business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
You may conduct a SWOT analysis on your business as a whole or choose to apply it to an individual project that you’re working on, such as a product or service launch.
Using this technique to analyze your business can help you gain full clarity and awareness of all the different factors in your business as well as help you make future business decisions.
Let’s dive deeper into each part of the SWOT analysis.
STRENGTHS
What are some things that your business is really good at? What is your business known for? What do your clients or customers rave about when it comes to your business?
Your strengths are internal factors that make your business stand out from the crowd.
Examples of strengths in your business or project may be:
Outstanding customer service
Luxurious client experience
Supporting backed-end systems
WEAKNESSES
Your weaknesses are those internal factors that your company lacks or others in your niche or industry do better than you.
Examples of weaknesses in your business or project may be:
No team
Lack of systems
Unclear on what sets you apart, or your unique selling proposition
OPPORTUNITIES
What are some things that could give your business or project a competitive advantage? These are your opportunities.
Examples of opportunities in your business or project may be:
Not being able to keep up with the number of program sign-ups
Creating a product or service that has never been offered before
THREATS
Threats are external factors that can potentially have a negative impact on your business or project and hinder growth or success.
This part of the SWOT Analysis is important. Planning what could go wrong when launching a business or offer is just as important as projecting any setbacks or threats.
Examples of threats in your business or project may be:
Your main social media platform falling off the face of the Earth
Not requiring clients to sign a contract for your program
Why your small business needs a swot analysis
Although SWOT analysis is very popular in the corporate environment, they are also highly beneficial for any small business.
To accurately map out your small business's future, you must first evaluate all of its departments which includes taking a deeper look at all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
But mapping out the future of your business is just one of the reasons why your small business will benefit from a SWOT Analysis:
You’ll also gain massive clarity around the ins and outs of your business
You’ll be able to make better decisions as the CEO
You don’t just have to use a SWOT Analysis for your entire business. You can also use it for social media campaigns, a new product line that you’re launching, or your current system for onboarding clients.
Not only will you have a clear understanding of your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, but you’ll be able to outline a plan and timeline to reach your goals faster and develop potential solutions.
Did we convince you to do a SWOT analysis? We hope so.
When and how do you complete a SWOT Analysis?
1. Choose a method.
Open up a Google doc, grab a notebook, do it on a whiteboard - this part is up to you. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s always accessible for you and other team members who can benefit from having it.
2. Create 4 quadrants.
You can divide your paper into 4 quadrants or create a table in your Google doc with four sections. You’ll title the sections as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
3. Get real.
As your listing out things in each section, it’s important that you’re honest about where your business is currently at, not where you want it to be.
To avoid “CEO bias,” we recommend conducting a SWOT analysis with another person or team member who is very familiar with your business.
4. Execute.
Once you’ve identified your strengths and weakness as well as your opportunities and threats, it’s time to execute.
Keep doing more of your strengths, find ways to improve your weaknesses, see how you can take advantage of opportunities, and project any threats that could arise.
Why a SWOT analysis is a must for your small business, the recap
A SWOT analysis can give you a clear idea of where your business is currently at and how it can improve in the future.
By listing out your small business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you’ll also be able to make better decisions for your business or individual projects which can give it a competitive advantage.
Will you be completing a SWOT analysis for your small business? What are some of the strengths you’d include? Let us know in the comments below!
