SWOT Analysis for Small Businesses
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats + Trends
Comprehensive Consulting Solutions for Small Businesses has worked through many SWOTs with clients. With our current environment and new normal from COVID-19, we highly suggest that all business owners revisit their SWOT Analysis – or even complete a new SWOT, but either way – make sure and add another T for trends.
Most of our clients have completed a SWOT with the normal points – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, but the big missing is Trends. Sometimes, business owners include the trends in Threats or Opportunities or in internal areas like the Strengths and Weaknesses sections – either approach works.
Just make sure you are accounting for trends – could be within the other sections or within its own area of the SWOT. We will get to Trends more in depth later, but for now – let’s review the basics of a SWOT Analysis.
A SWOT is never a final document, like a business plan, it is a work in progress. It should be updated and reviewed at least once a quarter to account for recent changes, current trends, etc. A SWOT can be very simple or complicated – it all depends on the business owner. We have completed some that are 1 page and others that were several pages long – each business has different needs and each one is unique.
When completing a SWOT, don’t over complicate it – there is not one correct answer and, as mentioned, it is a working document. It will change and improve or time – just like other tasks within a business – the more you practice, the better it becomes!
Many of our clients have questions on examples of each component of the SWOT – since it feels like sometimes, they overlap. And they could – the employee that is amazing and knows everything is a strength, but also could be a weakness if she/he left. Also, there is usually some confusion on strengths being the same as an opportunities or weaknesses and threats being the same.
When you are completing a SWOT, think about Strengths and Weaknesses as internal factors and Opportunities and Threats as external. This usually helps owners distinguish between the categories – since we, as business owners, know what we can control (internal) and what we can’t (external).
Don’t let it all bog you down – just complete or revisit your SWOT as best as you can (if you need help, we are here for you). Here are some examples to, hopefully, make the process a little easier.
Examples of Strengths – the S in SWOT (Internal):
Weaknesses – the W in SWOT (Internal):
Opportunities – the O in SWOT (External):
Threats – the T in SWOT (External):
Trends – the Added T in SWOT (if not added in the other sections above):
SWOT Resources:
Other Blogs to Read:
Please note: the resources listed above aren’t endorsements by us – they are provided only as information. We were not paid by or affiliated with any of the companies listed.
Comprehensive Consulting Solutions
for Small Businesses LLC
Northwest Arkansas (NWA)
12 W Dickson Street #266
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Call: (479) 935-2488
Text: (479) 439-8844
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