• Strengths – What your business does well
• Weaknesses – Where you may be struggling
• Opportunities – External trends or changes you could benefit from
• Threats – External risks that could affect your business

Why it’s useful

Completing a SWOT analysis gives you a clearer picture of where you stand today and helps you plan for tomorrow. You can use it to:

• Shape your marketing strategy
• Focus your business plan
• Identify training or support needs
• Prepare for funding applications
• Talk to advisers with confidence

Step-by-step guidance

1. Get the right people involved

If you have a team, involve key staff members or partners to get a broader view. If you’re a sole trader, try asking a mentor or trusted contact for feedback once you’ve drafted your analysis.

2. Set aside focused time

Block out 30–60 minutes to concentrate on this properly. It’s often helpful to print out the SWOT grid or display it on a shared screen or whiteboard if you’re working with others.

3. Complete each section one at a time

Strengths

Think about what sets your business apart:

• What are you proud of?
• Do you have unique skills, products, services or technology?
• Is your customer service highly rated?
• Do you have strong brand recognition, loyal clients or good supplier relationships?

🡒 Tip: These are internal factors – things you control.

Weaknesses

Be honest with yourself:

• Are there gaps in your offering?
• Do you lack certain skills or resources?
• Are there complaints or negative feedback that keep cropping up?
• Are any areas inefficient or expensive?

🡒 Tip: Weaknesses are also internal – acknowledging them is the first step to improvement.

Opportunities

Now think about the outside world:

• Are there trends you can take advantage of (e.g. sustainability, digital, AI)?
• Is there new funding or support available?
• Could you collaborate or expand into new markets?
• Are your competitors missing something that you could do better?

🡒 Tip: These are external and usually positive – look outwards for inspiration.

Threats

Finally, consider what might get in your way:

• Are competitors gaining ground?
• Are costs rising (e.g. fuel, materials, rent)?
• Are there changes in regulation or customer behaviour?
• Is there uncertainty in your supply chain?

🡒 Tip: These are also external – be aware, not alarmed.