By now, you’ve already explored why understanding your business is essential for choosing the right goals and learned how to conduct a full SWOT analysis using our free SWOT & Action Plan Bundle. This week, we’re taking that work a step further by zooming in on two of the most powerful (and often overlooked) parts of your SWOT analysis: Opportunities and Threats.
These sections aren’t just boxes to fill out. They’re strategic tools that help you grow with confidence and prepare with intention.
Opportunities: Your Roadmap for Smart, Aligned Growth
Opportunities represent the external openings that can support your business growth – trends, partnerships, gaps in the market, new audiences, or new technologies. But simply recognizing opportunity isn’t enough. The real magic happens when you turn those opportunities into strategic decisions that align with your mission and goals for 2026.
Here’s how to make the most of the opportunities you uncovered in your SWOT analysis:
1. Look for Alignment, Not Distraction
Not every opportunity is your opportunity. The right opportunities will support your mission, match your resources, and move you toward the goals you’ve already set.
Ask yourself:
- Does this opportunity support where I want my business to go?
- Do I have the time, skills, or resources to pursue it?
- Will this stretch or strengthen my business in a meaningful way?
If the answer is no, it may be a distraction disguised as growth.
2. Prioritize Based on Impact
When you completed the SWOT worksheet, you may have identified several opportunities. Prioritize them by asking:
- Which opportunity could make the biggest difference this year?
- Which is easiest to implement?
- Which supports a current strength?
The sweet spot? An opportunity that is both high impact and low complexity.
3. Turn Each Opportunity Into a Clear Action Step
We have quoted it before, but we will quote it again: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. And this applies here too! If you don’t set up action steps and deadlines for yourself the likelihood of you following through with your plan is slim. Here are some of examples of what a simple action plan and/or deadline could look like.
A potential collaboration becomes:
“Reach out to X organization by February and propose a spring partnership.”
A trending service in your industry becomes:
“Research demand for __________ and create a test offer by Q2.”
A new social media trend becomes:
“Experiment with 3 Reels per week using this new trend for the next 30 days.”
Creating an action plan is what truly transforms possibilities into progress.
Threats: Prepare, Pivot, and Protect Your Business
Threats represent any external risk that could slow you down or disrupt your progress – market saturation, new competitors, changing regulations, supply chain issues, technology shifts, or even difficult seasons within your industry. Looking for your threats isn’t meant to discourage you (though it might for moment) it is meant to empower you. When you can clearly see what may stand in your way, you can build a plan that keeps your business resilient, steady, and strong.
Here’s how to manage the threats you identified:
1. Identify What You Can Control
You can’t change the economy or stop new competitors from entering your industry.
But you can:
- Improve your customer experience
- Strengthen your messaging
- Build stronger processes
- Diversify your offerings
- Improve retention
When reviewing your list of threats, underline anything you can influence and focus your energy there.
2. Create a “If This Happens, Then I Will…” Plan
This single exercise can transform your confidence and reduce stress.
Examples:
- If a competitor undercuts my pricing, then I will… highlight value, improve retention, or offer premium add-ons.
- If there’s a dip in sales during summer, then I will… plan a spring marketing push or run seasonal promotions.
- If a new regulation impacts my business, then I will… set aside time each quarter to review compliance updates.
Having these pre-planned responses keeps you proactive instead of reactive.
3. Strengthen Areas Where You’re Vulnerable
Your threats often reveal what needs reinforcing within your business.
For example:
- If competitor growth is a threat → Improve customer loyalty.
- If social trends shift quickly → Diversify marketing platforms.
- If you rely heavily on one revenue stream → Create a secondary offer or passive product.
Remember: threats highlight where your business needs stability—not where you’re failing.
Using Opportunities & Threats Together
The real power of a SWOT analysis comes when you connect the dots between opportunities and threats.
Ask yourself:
- Are there opportunities that naturally counter one of my threats?
- Are any threats pointing me toward an opportunity to innovate?
- How can I use my strengths to take advantage of opportunities and defend against threats?
This holistic approach keeps your strategic plan balanced, realistic, and sustainable.
Understanding your opportunities helps you grow with purpose and understanding your threats helps you protect what you’re building. Together, these insights give you clarity that allows you to make aligned decisions all year long – decisions that keep your business moving forward with intention instead of overwhelm. You’ve done the foundational work, you’ve taken an honest look at your business, and now, you’re turning insight into action.
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