Definitive Business Plan, Second Edition, The

Be a SWOT

You should not begin your written plan with an analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – the infamous SWOT analysis. This belongs later in the document (see Chapters 6 and 11); however, now is a good time in the planning process to give the matter some preliminary consideration.

• Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors over which you have some control or influence.

• Opportunities and threats are external issues that you cannot control.

For example, an outstanding management team is a strength, unless it belongs to your competitors in which case it is a threat. The boxes on page 48 list ten areas where you might find strengths and weaknesses or opportunities and threats. The lists are a bit over-simplified ...