How is business? It is the superficial question many people ask business owners in lieu of the standard how are you . Few really care about or even listen to your response because they know it is just meaningless chi-chat. But do you really know how your business is performing? Meaning more than just sales growth or profitability trends. Have you ever done an in-depth analysis of your business? Here s how you can.
SWOT Analysis
A common and long-standing tool is to list your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). It is a simple concept that makes lots of sense. Knowing your SWOT is important and useful information. Strengths and weaknesses measure internal performance and competence. Opportunities and threats assess the level of risk from external conditions. There are many articles about SWOT, but because this type of analysis is so broad and each business is so unique, it is difficult to describe how to apply it to any specific situation. One simple SWOT method is to divide a sheet of paper into four sections. Draw a vertical line down the center and a horizontal line across the middle of the page. Use the top left section to list your strengths, bottom left for weaknesses, top right for opportunities, and bottom right for threats. Then prioritize the items within each section by importance.
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