If you ever created a business plan, you’re probably familiar with the term SWOT Analysis, but here’s how designers can use it for their projects. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. It’s a process first developed at Harvard Business School in the early 1950s. To run a SWOT Analysis requires four “areas,” such as four pads of paper or perhaps a board divided into four quadrants, each labelled Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. Regardless of the medium you use, the process goes like this. By asking questions, you place the answers under one of the four categories. The first two categories, Strengths and Weaknesses, are internal matters you can control. The second two, Opportunities and Threats are external matters that are out of your control. SWOT Analysis for a freelance web design business. Here are some example questions and answers you might use when doing a SWOT Analysis for a home-based web design business. 1) Strengths: Questions you could ask: What are the strengths of the business? What advantages does the business have? What does the business do well? What resources does the business have? What do other people think of the business? Possible answers: The designer running the business is fast and proficient at creating web sites. The designer can use many different design applications. The designer is very experienced with WordPress. The designer knows some coding languages. The designer is great at time management. The business has many connections with writers, photographers, coders, etc. 2) Weaknesses: Questions you could ask: What disadvantages does the business have? What improvements can the business make? What skills is the designer lacking or knows but isn’t very good at? Are there any parts of web design the business should avoid? What objections might clients have towards the business? Possible answers: The designer lacks development skills. English is the designer’s second language, which may complicate communication with clients. The designer has weak administrative skills. The designer is Introverted. 3) Opportunities: Questions you could ask: What options are there for the business to grow? Are there new technologies emerging you can take advantage of? Is there a shift happening in the economy? Are social patterns changing? Possible answers: Few talented web designers in the local area. Knowledge of a particular field or industry can allow the business to niche. Clients are seeking sustainable products with low environmental impact. 4) Threats: Questions you could ask: What risks or potential hurdles does the business face? What obstacles does the designer face? What is the competition doing? Will new technologies threaten your business? Possible answers: Inexpensive DIY website builders can potentially lure clients away. More people learning web design could become competitors. Services offered by competitors may lure clients away from the business. Of course, this is a very simplified SWOT Analysis of a freelance web design business. If you were doing this for your own business, I would expect many more items listed under each section, but you get the idea. Once you’ve filled out the four categories, you can then use the information to form a strategy for your business to grow and succeed. And who knows, your SWOT Analysis may inspire a change in direction you might not have considered before. That’s the power of performing a SWOT Analysis. But a SWOT analysis isn’t just used for business plans. You can apply it to products, services, design strategies, and so much more. Using a SWOT Analysis as part of your design strategy. As a designer, you can use SWOT Analysis for many things, such as. Determining if a client is a right fit for you. Figuring out how to tackle a design project. Vetting potential candidates to hire as contractors. During design strategy sessions with clients And many more. Let’s look further into how a SWOT Analysis can he