If you are thinking about giving it a go on your own, you would be well ahead of the game by inventorying what you have to offer and deal with. A good ol’ tool to use to evaluate yourself before throwing yourself into any new thing, whether it be a job, career, relationship, or business, is to perform your own personal SWOT analysis.
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis which can be used to inventory your innate gifts and potential challenges you may face along the way.
Get four pieces of paper (or open 4 blank documents if you are more digitally inclined) and at the top of the first page title it, “Strengths”, title the other pages Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats accordingly.
STRENGTHS
Start on this page and list all of your strengths. All the things you consider your superpowers, gifts, and abilities, those things that come easily to you. Ask yourself, when people are attracted to you and ask you for help, what are they asking for? (These are powerful clues regarding your special abilities.)
WEAKNESSES
Making a list of your weaknesses may sound depressing at first, but this is actually a list of all the things that do not resonate with you. Of course, you could do them, if you had to, but you would rather not do them. This list represents the tasks that are best left in the hands of others. So, you know, even if you have to do them yourself in the beginning, you will be looking to bring someone on-board that would excel, maybe even love to do these activities.
OPPORTUNITIES
You see them every day, jobs to apply for, possibilities for advancement in your career, invitations to support or invest, franchises, shortfalls in marketplaces, maybe your own fresh new ideas or inventions are ripe for the picking. They are all around you. Which ones are you aware of? What opportunities could you take advantage of or be a part of?
How could you increase productivity, reduce expenses, generate more cash flow, or expand your marketplace or influence?
Be aware of and examine the opportunities that would otherwise speed past you without notice (but do not let your examination of opportunities distract you from your primary tasks. Keep the reigns tight on this one, lest it becomes a weakness).
THREATS
What is the wall or the roadblocks that stand between you and what you desire? What challenges might be keeping you from achieving your highest and best?
This list is like a roadmap. You know there are certain obstacles in your way, and you know well what and where they are. It’s up to you to find ways around them or methods to break through them. You might be able to assemble a team or find the wherewithal to disempower them enough, that you can walk right past them with little or no impedance to your journey.
Once you have this list of SWOT details, it can help you navigate the path, empowered by your strengths, ready to seize opportunities at the right time and place, and unhindered by weaknesses or threats.