Before you grow your business, you need an honest picture of where you are right now.
Not where you hope you are. Not where you were five years ago. And not where you assume things are because revenue went up last year.
Growth decisions made without clarity tend to be expensive. They lead to overhiring, underpricing, cash flow stress, and a constant feeling of being busy without getting ahead. That’s why stepping back to evaluate your business on paper, not just in your head is one of the most important first steps before scaling.
There are several frameworks that can help bring that clarity. None of them are perfect, and you don’t need to use all of them. The value comes from slowing down long enough to look at your business from a higher level.
SWOT: The Classic Starting Point
SWOT analysis is the most widely used framework, and for good reason. It forces you to look at four areas that affect every business:
When done well, a SWOT gives you a clear snapshot of what’s working, what isn’t, and what’s happening around you in the market. It can highlight areas where you’re relying too heavily on the owner, where margins are vulnerable, or where opportunities exist that you’re not yet positioned to take advantage of.
The key is honesty. A SWOT that only lists strengths and vague threats doesn’t help you make better decisions.
SOAR: A Future Oriented View
SOAR is similar to SWOT but shifts the focus toward the future. Instead of weaknesses and threats, it looks at:
This framework is useful when a business is stable but unsure what’s next. It helps owners articulate where they want to go and what success actually looks like, rather than getting stuck only on current limitations.
Some people prefer SOAR because it reframes challenges as opportunities. Others feel it glosses over real problems. In practice, it works best when paired with financial reality aspirations are only helpful if the business can support them.
PEST (and PESTLE): Understanding External Forces
While SWOT and SOAR look at both internal and external factors, PEST focuses entirely on what’s happening outside your business. It examines:
This type of analysis is especially helpful in times of change. Interest rates, labor markets, regulatory shifts, automation, and AI all affect how businesses operate and grow. You may not be able to control these forces, but ignoring them doesn’t make them go away.
SCOPE: A More Strategic Lens
SCOPE planning expands on SWOT by going deeper into how a business actually grows. It looks at:
This framework helps connect today’s reality with tomorrow’s strategy. It’s useful when owners know they want to grow but aren’t sure whether the business is structurally ready to support that growth.
Porter’s Five Forces: Looking at Competition
If competition is a major concern, Porter’s Five Forces offers a more detailed way to evaluate market pressure. It looks at:
This framework helps explain why growth feels harder in some industries than others and why pricing pressure exists even when demand seems strong.
Turning Insight Into Action
Frameworks don’t grow businesses decisions do.
The real value of any analysis is writing it down, stepping back, and using it to align your actions with your goals. Growth works best when it’s intentional, financially supported, and tied to a clear strategy rather than constant reaction.
That’s why in the Grow Profit Scale programs, we use a one page business plan to pull these insights together into something practical and actionable. It keeps owners focused on what matters most and helps translate analysis into progress.
If you’re ready to grow, start by getting clear. Everything else becomes easier once you can see the whole picture.
