What is business SWOT analysis and how to work with it

Even a successful business requires constant analytics, let alone startups. New opportunities are constantly emerging to be exploited and new threats to be avoided. One of the most affordable ways to break down your business brainchild is through a SWOT analysis. You can do it yourself without leaving the reading of our article. So let’s go!

What is SWOT Analysis?

It is an abbreviation that stands for: S, or Strengths; W, or Weaknesses; O, or Opportunities; T, or Threats. All four of these factors make up a table to be filled out.

External factors are opportunities and threats. They depend on the external environment that surrounds your business. These are competitors and suppliers, the state of the market and the dollar exchange rate, finances in the country and the demand for certain goods. And what’s interesting is that you can still influence them. It may not be the same as the internal factors, but you can. Look: your business has internal factors – these are its strengths and weaknesses. You can control and influence them. These are your employees, the corporate culture of the company, the customer base and partners, your company’s reputation in the market, intellectual property, and the like.

Why do you need a SWOT analysis?

This method solves several problems at once:

  • helps to better understand what business processes are going on in your company;
  • makes it easier to see and do business,
  • gives impetus to changes for the better;
  • helps to better understand the needs of customers, suppliers, staff.

In short, it makes the life of a businessman easier, and doing business more conscious.

Who can benefit from a SWOT analysis?

By and large, absolutely everyone. Startups and young businessmen will be able to calculate all the risks, identify their advantages and disadvantages and overtake competitors who will not know all this. Existing businessmen should conduct such an analysis at least once a year. Even if things are going well, the market is changing, the situation in the country is changing, and it is foolish to believe that your business will always stay afloat. SWOT analysis helps not only to sort out the current state of affairs, but also to predict the coming events.