Before you begin
Strengths and weaknesses
Your passion and enthusiasm will go a long way to making your business idea flourish. Here are some other practical steps you can take before you start your business to develop your idea further. Time for homework
What’s a SWOT analysis? A SWOT is a quick way of finding out how workable a business idea is by analysing its internal strengths and weaknesses (S and W) and matching these to its external opportunities and threats (O and T). Putting these facts and ideas into one place will let you see the bigger picture at a glance. Here’s a step-by-step guide how to do it:
Researching your idea and potential competitors could make all the difference when you launch and market your business later. So think about: • How many other businesses offer the same service or product? A flick through your local directory will give you a basic idea, or visit www.yell.com • Is it practical to pursue your idea? • Has your idea already been developed by someone else?
1. Create a template on a page like the one above, labelling each section: strengths, weaknesses,
• How is your idea original or better than existing
opportunities and threats.
products or services? 2. In the top left section, fill in all the strengths of your
Preliminary planning: do a SWOT
idea, yourself or your workforce. Think about
Now it’s time to look at your idea in a bit more depth.
questions like:
What might help you at this early stage is to create a simple, clear snapshot of what you can deliver, and to find out if others will be as enthusiastic about your idea as you are. You can do this with a SWOT analysis.
• What are you best at? For example, are you strong on customer service? • What’s unique about your idea? • Is your product or service exclusive to you? • Have you got access to a skilled and innovative workforce?
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