Using SWOT Analysis For Annual Planning
Annually planning for your business is mega important. And given that it’s Q4, y’all better be gettin’ after it! But no worries I am here to help you.
Take a step in the right direction.
One very effective process to utilize as a launching point for you planning, is a SWOT analysis. You can stay pretty high level or you can get super nitty-gritty; whatever floats your boat! But bottom line, you need an exercise to help you dig in around assessing the “health” of your business over this past year, BEFORE building a fresh plan to SLAY 2020.
Here is an overview of the SWOT process:
1. Give yourself a solid 1.5 hours of uninterrupted time to do this exercise
2. There isn’t one way to capture the info. Some of you may prefer pen and a notebook, others love big poster pages on the wall, or online tools such as Trello. Do it your way, just make sure you DO IT!
3. Put on your favorite jams and bust out your beverage of choice; then turn off your damn notifications and FOCUS GRASSHOPPER!
4. For each section of the SWOT, brainstorm a comprehensive list using the questions and prompts below.
Let’s go…
STRENGTHS: What are the positive aspects of your business that are within your control and allow you to have an advantage over your competition? This could include aspects of your team, processes, products, services, financials, etc.
WEAKNESSES: What are the weaker aspects of your business? Sometimes it helps to answer these questions: What can we improve? What feedback do our customers give us about what doesn’t work? What do we need to stop doing?
OPPORTUNITIES: What can you leverage about your business to level-up? What opportunities do you have that are within reach but need some time and attention? What trends, events or connections have potential?
THREATS: What are the likely threats to your business or the things that are working against you? Consider trends, new policies or laws and competition. These can be internal or external forces.
Ready for more?
I hope you find this process a valuable tool to begin your 2020 planning. If you are ready to deep dive and have focused support and tools to build out your plan, consider my new workshop, Roadmap To Success: A 2020 Planning Workshop on November 5th, 2019. The workshop is extremely thorough, interactive and even makes planning FUN! Check it out HERE.
Stay cozy, friends.
- Your Business Co-Pilot
