A Quick & Easy Business Development Exercise Every Freelancer Should Do Regularly
I'd done a few SWOTs in various jobs I'd had, but I never really found them all that useful. Then a few years ago, I wrote a blog post about SWOTs for a client, and I realised just how beneficial they could be when they were done properly.
I'd done a few SWOTs in various jobs I'd had, but I never really found them all that useful. Then a few years ago, I wrote a blog post about SWOTs for a client, and I realised just how beneficial they could be when they were done properly.
It's something I encourage people to do on my annual "Build a Business That Makes You Happy Challenge", but it's something freelancers should be making time for at least once a year, if not more often.
If you’ve never completed a SWOT before, the idea is straightforward. You make four lists: strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T).
Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your business - things that are influenced by you. For example, skills and traits you have or don’t have that could help or hinder your success.
Opportunities and threats are external factors that could influence your success. For example, opportunities could include opportunities to learn (training and mentoring) or opportunities to increase income (upselling or cross-selling).
Threats could be suddenly losing your biggest client or getting suspended from a platform you rely on for enquiries.
I know completing a SWOT can be tough. We either don’t want to big up our strengths or we don’t want to admit our flaws, and we don’t always think about what opportunities are available to us or what could threaten our business.
So to help you get started, here are a few examples for each section.
Strengths
- Skills (e.g. writing, design, sales, networking, tech, public speaking)
- Experience (e.g. proven track record, lots of testimonials, positive statistics, past success)
- Assets (e.g high-converting website, existing email list, large number of social media followers)
- Traits (e.g good at sticking to a routine, good time management, people warm to you quickly, pick new things up easily, resilient, good at setting boundaries).
Try to think of things you wouldn’t necessarily see as a strength because they come easily to you. If you’re still struggling, look at client feedback.
Weaknesses
Categories for weaknesses are pretty similar to strengths, but rather than things you are strong in, these are areas you are lacking in or things that need work.
- Skills you don’t have or need to develop (e.g. writing, design, sales, networking, tech, public speaking)
- Experience (haven’t done this type of work before, no social proof, failed at something similar in the past)
- Assets (website is crap, no email list)
- Traits (not good at seeing things through, get distracted easily, love to procrastinate, regularly suffer from imposter syndrome, overthink things, find it hard to say no to people).
Nobody likes to think about their weak areas, but understanding what we need to work on or where we’re lacking can help us figure out what help to get or where we need to find workarounds.
Opportunities
Think about your goals. What could increase your chances of success?
- Books or courses
- Training or coaching
- Events, webinars or communities
- External support (hiring or working with someone who has the skills you don’t have)
- One-to-one consultations or mentoring
- Ways to increase average client value (upselling, retainer packages, cross-selling)
- Systems you could improve (asking for referrals and testimonials)
- Marketing activity you don’t currently do (email, video, podcast, networking, direct mail)
- Different ways to promote yourself (speaking events, guesting on podcasts, paid advertising)
- Exchange of services
- Utilising your network (or asking for favours)
- New platforms, software or technology
Write down as many opportunities as you can think of. You don’t have to act on them all, but give yourself options.
Make sure you know what’s out there and who could help you if and when you need it. Look for people you trust or who have a proven track record and find out what support they offer.
Threats
What things could jeopardise your chances of achieving your goal?
Do you rely on one client for a large percentage of your income? Would losing them mean you would have to put your goal on hold?
Do all your enquiries come from one source? What would happen if this platform disappeared or the enquiries dried up?
Do you receive government funding? What would happen if this ended?
Could AI be a threat? Or the cost of living crisis? Or upcoming changes to legislation?
Think about political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. What could have a significant impact on you, your business and your goals?
What next?
Completing your SWOT is only step one. The real value comes from analysing your lists and deciding what to act on. How will you utilise those strengths, overcome or bypass those weaknesses, maximise the right opportunities, and minimise the threats to your success (or at least reduce the impact)?
Go back through your SWOT and use it to start forming your action plan.
💪🏻Strengths
- How can you use these to help you achieve your goals?
- How can you develop or build on these strengths?
😩 Weaknesses
- How can you minimise these weaknesses?
- How will you stop these weaknesses from holding you back?
👀 Opportunities
- Which of these will you take advantage of (and when)?
- How can you maximise these opportunities?
💀Threats
- How can you reduce the likelihood of these things happening?
- What will you do to minimise the impact?
Doing this activity once or twice a year can help you focus on the right things, moving you closer towards your goals. And if you need help with this, why not book a 90-minute starter session with me, and we'll work on it together.
Lisa Slater
Lisa Slater
