
So you've been tasked with doing a S.W.O.T Analysis, and your first thought was:
"What the hell is a SWOT Analysis!??"
Well this post will not only explain it, but it will BUILD OUT a customized SWOT Analysis for you (which you can then download and pretend it's your own).
What is a SWOT Analysis?
It stands for:
Strengths.
Weaknesses.
Opportunities.
Threats.
A SWOT Analysis is a simple exercise you should do maybe twice per year on your business.
It will tell you:
- What are the major threats to your business.
- What trends you should be paying attention to.
- Figure out where you should be focusing your time.
Step 1.) Find Your Strengths:

The first step in a SWOT Analysis should be finding your strengths. You can write out a huge list of these, but below are my 3 favorite
"Strength" questions to ask.
1.) What can our company do better than ANYONE else out there??
Ex: "We have a better store location than any other burger stand in Pittsburgh."
Ex: "Our cold email templates work 75% better than our competitors."
Ex: "We have a patented way of manufacturing purses for cheaper than anyone."
2.) What do OTHER people think our strengths are??
Ex: "They think we have the best tasting burger in the neighborhood."
Ex: "People like our weird style because it's more fun than typical business jargon."
Ex: "They see we have higher Amazon ratings than other purses."
3.) What unique resources do you have available to you??
Ex: "Our storefront has the most patio seating of any place downtown."
Ex: "We have weirdo writers who do things differently, and are more entertaining."
Ex: "We are backed by Nordstrom's venture capital branch and have unlimited funding."
Step 2.) Find Your Weaknesses:

Where are you weak in your business? Being brutally honest here is very important! Below are my 3 favorite
"Weakness" questions to ask:
1.) What do we do a POOR job of??
Ex: "We suck at social media compared to our competitors."
Ex: "We don't have any sales people actively drumming up new customers."
Ex: "Our purses don't have the same "prestige" as brands like Gucci or Coach."
2.) What do OTHER people think our weaknesses are??
Ex: "We have lower Yelp ratings than the other local burger joints."
Ex: "They think our wacky style makes us unprofessional and not useful in the B2B world."
Ex: "People still buy more expensive purses because they have more "prestige" than ours."
3.) What does our ACCOUNTANT think our biggest problem is??
Ex: "While we have a great location, the rent keeps going up every year, biting into profits."
Ex: "We only sell one major product, and aren't diversified."
Ex: "We are selling purses for really low profit margins, and need to increase the price."
Step 3.) Find Your Opportunities:

This step helps us figure out what trends or opportunities will be around in the near future. Here are my 3 favorite
"Opportunity" questions to ask:
1.) What LONG SHOT OPPORTUNITIES could we take??
Ex: "We could buy the open storefront next to us and make a convenience store."
Ex: "We could offer "Product Refreshes" for people selling products on Amazon."
Ex: "We can showcase how our purses are all organic and contain no animal material."
2.) What NEW TRENDS are catching on??
Ex: "Healthy food and gluten-free buns are being requested all the time."
Ex: "A more casual style is catching on in the B2B business world, and no one is teaching it."
Ex: "More and more people are looking online at reviews before purchasing, and we have super high reviews."
3.) What NEW PRODUCTS or services could we sell??
Ex: "Gluten free and Vegetarian burgers would sell very well in this city."
Ex: "We could do live in-person trainings in major cities to teach people about cold emailing."
Ex: "We are backed by Nordstrom's venture capital branch and have unlimited funding."
Step 4.) Find Your Threats:

The final step in a SWOT Analysis is figuring out the threats you face in the near future. Here's are 3 of my favorite
"Threat" questions to ask:
1.) What should we be AFRAID of in the next 6 months??
Ex: "Burgers have a bad rap as unhealthy, and that's all we sell in an increasingly health conscious city."
Ex: "We only sell digital information that isn't proprietary."
Ex: "If Amazon drops us from the listings, we would lose 80% of our business instantly."
2.) What MAJOR TRENDS are we not utilizing??
Ex: "People more and more are finding about restaurants from social media, but we have none."
Ex: "People are paying more for experience-based and in-person events than ever before."
Ex: "Many brands do well with influencer marketing, but we're doing none of that."
3.) Where can our COMPETITION crush us??
Ex: "If a healthy restaurant opened up near us, it would bite into our lunchtime crowd."
Ex: "If someone promotes the same information much better than us, they could steal business."
Ex: "If a well known brand like Armani or Gucci makes a lower-price-point purse, it could hurt us badly."
SWOT Analysis Examples:
Burger Store in Pittsburg:
Strengths: Best location in the city for a burger.
Weaknesses: No healthy options on the menu, and no social media.
Opportunities: Add healthy options to the menu.
Threats: People skip the burgers looking for healthier meal options.
Actions To Take: Add at least 1 vegetarian option, 1 healthy option, and start social media accounts.
Cold Emailing Writing Service Company:
Strengths: Our cold email templates work 75% better than our competitors.
Weaknesses: We don’t have any sales people actively drumming up new customers.
Opportunities: We could offer “Product Refreshes” for people selling products on Amazon.
Threats: We only sell digital information that isn’t proprietary.
Actions To Take: Start actively holding classes for sales teams on how to write high converting cold emails.
Low Priced Purse Company:
Strengths: We have a patented way of manufacturing purses for cheaper than anyone.
Weaknesses: Our purses don’t have the same “prestige” as brands like Gucci or Coach.
Opportunities: We can showcase how our purses are all organic and contain no animal material.
Threats: If Amazon drops us from the listings, we would lose 80% of our business instantly.
Actions To Take: Start actively promoting our purses to sustainability organizations and start building our brand outside Amazon.
Free SWOT Analysis Template:
Here's is a free template you can use at a meeting to perform a SWOT Analysis:

Click the template above. You can then make a copy of this SWOT Analysis template as a Google Doc, Word Document, or PDF.
I sincerely hope you learned and enjoyed these SWOT Analysis examples and templates!
Signup to the newsletter:
This free newsletter sends you more great:
- Tips on how to perform better.
- Tricks on psychology that sell more.
- Free tools that automate your work.
...all this directly to your inbox. For free. Sign up!