Renee Matlock, the owner of The Private Practice Coach, shares with clients her wealth of experience, gained over 30 years of building a profitable, multi-disciplinary private practice.
BLOG: Do You SWOT?
Do You SWOT?
A simple way to analyze your business is to complete a SWOT analysis to assist you in developing and achieving your business goals. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
As part of this process, a list is compiled of the internal (strengths/weakness) and external (opportunities/threats) factors that impact your practice. I complete a SWOT analysis annually and this process guides me in setting business goals. It can be a great start to developing your marketing plan. A SWOT analysis can also be completed when you are planning to introduce a new product or service.
Here are some further definitions and examples:
Strength: Positive, internal factor; Example: Expertise in a particular area, reputation in the marketplace.
Weakness: Negative, internal factor; Example: Location of your business, poor cash flow.
Opportunity: Positive, internal factor; Example: New market (telepractice), a joint venture.
Threat: Negative, external factor; Example: New competitor, changing revenue source (insurance reimbursement).
Be realistic and objective in completing your analysis. Keep it short and simple and you will be well on your way to using this strategic tool to analyze and grow your business. Isn’t it time for you to SWOT?
