A SWOT analysis is a key part of the business plan and a well-implemented SWOT is the key to successfully starting and continuing a business. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is important for every business owner to know what these special elements are and what they mean. Internals (factors that can be directly controlled and changed) are strengths and weaknesses. The strengths section always includes the favorable things that are hurting the business and need to be fixed. External factors (factors that cannot be directly controlled and changed) are opportunities and threats. Opportunities are factors beyond a company's control, such as expanding a market in a prosperous location. On the contrary, threats are problems outside the company that can cause problems, for example in competition. As mentioned above, a business owner must use them well in order to carry out a coherent and well-prepared SWOT analysis. I also think it's important to note that internal elements are those that are specific to the company, while external elements are those that are outside of the company's control; they depend on other factors that a company cannot directly influence/modify. SWOTs should be updated regularly to track the company's internal environment, as well as the external environment (new competitors; government regulations, etc.). a well-maintained SWOT will have many benefits for a business in the long run. Businesses need to stay current in order to continue to evolve to adapt to the market; if there is insufficient/outdated analysis of a company's key factors, there will be confusion about what the company does and what it needs... middle of paper ... it doesn't seem well-planned, with all the main factors of a SWOT missing. The overconfidence displayed in his weaknesses section depicts a complete lack of understanding of how a business works. Saying that “there are no weaknesses in my ideas” is okay if it's an ideas-based SWOT analysis, but it's not okay for an ideas-based SWOT analysis. I believe that if Joe doesn't make any changes to his SWOT analysis, his business faces the threat of crashing and burning. Joe would do well to update his SWOT at least once a quarter; he should focus on building the SWOT about his business and not about him. He could also make sure to note any additions daily and evaluate them at the end of a week. This would help him pay more attention to running his business and how his business can scale instantly in good (or bad) conditions..