So what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your business idea?
Strengths:
· What advantages do you have or what do you do better than anyone else?
· What do people in your market see as your strengths?
· What factors mean that you “get the sale”?
Weaknesses:
· What could you improve?
· Are there areas you should avoid?
· What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?
· What factors lose you sales?
Opportunities:
· Where are good opportunities for you?
· What are the interesting trends you can maximise?
Threats:
· What obstacles do you face?
· What is your competition doing that you should be worried about?
· Is changing technology threatening your position?
· Are political or environmental decisions likely to impact your business
· Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?
Once you have completed the SWOT analysis, then you should consider how this knowledge can be used:
1. How can we Use each Strength?
2. How can we Stop each Weakness?
3. How can we Exploit each Opportunity?
4. How can we Defend against each Threat?