Threats in the SWOT Analysis for Freelance Writers

We've been working on a SWOT analysis of your writing business. Because you work alone, this is partly an analysis of you personally, as a writer and as a business person. That's the SW, the Strengths and Weaknesses, part of SWOT. Then we looked outside, at what's going on in your particular business environment. The positive things out there are the Opportunities. Now, let's look at the negative external things, the Threats.

Image: "Security Plan – Excel Threats Matrix" by Ivan Walsh on Flickr.com, under Creative Commons Attribution License. Thanks, Ivan, for sharing this.

Don't Go Overboard With Threats

Honestly, it would be very easy to list hundreds of threats. Freelance writing is by its nature an insecure occupation, and even the most confident know that there are monsters under the bed.

The only threats that matter are the ones that (a) will have serious consequences if they do happen, and (b) are actually relevant to you and your work.

For example, there is always the threat that the leading Japanese fashion magazine (a fake example) will stop accepting freelance work. If you don't write about fashion and don't write for a Japanese audience, this isn't relevant. There's also the threat that your internet connection will cost you $5 more per month in the next year. Is this big enough to worry about? Maybe yes, maybe no, but the point is, if it's not going to have a serious consequence, ignore it.

The reason you are writing down the Threats is mainly so you can guard against them and cut your losses.

Typical Threats for Freelance Writers, Prompts

Everyone is individual, but here are some prompts for common Threats:

- My major client will fold or take all its work inhouse
- I will be sued for defamation
- I will become disabled or in some way unable to work
- The press trips I rely on to support my writing will be cancelled.

These are to get you started, but if you end up with a long list of Threats, take a critical look at them. Only write the ones that you feel you need to guard against, on your SWOT matrix.

Next we'll look at the SWOT matrix from a couple of angles, including Opportunities as discussed by the members of the panel at the POMA 2009 business meeting.