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Throughout all my years in education i have never enjoyed writing essays or any content in that matter, i have always had to work very hard at my writing skills, so when it came to writing about myself in the dreaded 50 word pen portrait, i thought the best way to begin was to research the topic and find the best way to attack it!

As a typical student my first port of call was Google. When searching "pen portrait" some results came up but nothing that i felt was strong enough to help guide me, or give me a good enough in-site to the various tactical ways they should be drafted. So my next natural progression was to start viewing other online sites and see how they drafted their pen portraits.

I wanted to view websites of people who i looked up to within the design industry so i decided to start with the masterful Jason Santa Maria.

Jason Santa Maria

I've chosen to write about Jason Santa Maria's pen portrait as I feel it has a good layout and is very much business based. He starts of with a very straight forward line stating he is a graphic designer and where he is based. He then continues the main section of his pen portrait by stating his business status, his business accomplishments, what projects he's currently involved with and his client base. I feel this pen portrait is perfect for what stage he is at in his very accomplished career and its also very suitable for his target audience that his site is aimed at. It give's me "the student" a small in-site on how class this guy is and the prospective client i great view on how much of an experienced professional, that Jason is.

Chris Spooner

ChrisSpooner.com was an obvious choice for me, as i love his blogs, his tutorials and all the other bits he does, so why not check out his pen portrait? Chris's pen portrait was exceptionally short but summed up who he is relatively well. Chris states "I'm a creative Designer, avid Blogger and I'm generally crazy about pretty colours and shapes". Chris then goes on to discuss other things about him rather simply and straight to the point. He states this his site is his personal slice of the web where he posts "ramblings, random life and the odd video. Basically anything that doesn't fit on my other blogs". Chris's writing is straight to the point, no "mumbo jumbo", and is very easily read, he keeps it light and quirky which i think is very important to creating a successful pen portrait.

Meagan Fisher

Meagan Fisher is an influential person, a inspirational designer and of course a woman. So I obviously felt that her pen portrait was a must read. Meagan describes herself in the 3rd person and keeps her introduction short and sweet. Meagan structures her text around, introducing her self, what she does for a living, and what the site we are viewing is all about, all in 22 words. She then diverges more in to her career, the conferences she's spoken at and her current life. I really enjoyed the structuring of Meagan's text and how simple she has said it, its down to earth and likeable, but unfortunately not condensed to 50 words!

My Structure

After reading and researching different texts, i now feel like i want to create a happy medium of all the points i loved, using this balance i hope to create my perfect pen portrait. (Expressingly and admittedly i do feel confused as half of the pen portraits i have read, they referred to themselves in the 3rd person, i don't know if this is correct or not, but i feel i will try it this way to begin.)

The main points i want to target are:

My personality
Where i began
My future aspirations

THE OUTCOME

My Pen Portrait

"Alex has become intrigued with web design and infused with enthusiasm, with a passion to succeed and to learn and create. This was subsequently sparked after creating her first website over a long mundane summer. This chance has led to a hopeful career with an inspiring, creative and optimistic future."

References:

About - Owltastic - writing about web design by Meagan Fisher
null, 12/10/2011, About - Owltastic - writing about web design by Meagan Fisher [Owltastic - writing about web design by Meagan Fisher], [online]. Available: http://owltastic.com/about-meagan-fisher/ [12/10/2011].

About Chris Spooner * ChrisSpooner.com
null, 12/10/2011, About Chris Spooner * ChrisSpooner.com [The Personal Blog of Chris Spooner], [online]. Available: http://www.chrisspooner.com/about [12/10/2011].

About Me | Jason Santa Maria
Jason Santa Maria, 12/10/2011, About Me | Jason Santa Maria [Jason Santa Maria], [online]. Available: http://jasonsantamaria.com/about/ [12/10/2011].

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Throughout all my years in education i have never enjoyed writing essays or any content in that matter, i have always had to work very hard at my writing skills, so when it came to writing about myself in the dreaded 50 word pen portrait, i thought the best way to begin was to research the topic and find the best way to attack it!

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Mission Statement Presentation - Week 4 onwards

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Mission Statement Presentation - Week 4 onwards

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Aims & Objectives

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Market Research Presentation - Week 4 onwards

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Market Research Presentation - Week 4 onwards

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Open this document to see who your team members are. Follow the instructions using all of the resources found to the right of this document to help you along the way.

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Info sheet - Creating an effective agenda

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Info sheet - Creating an effective agenda

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Work through this PPT on Communication and the next on Formal Meetings and then use the supporting documents below to draft an agenda, set up a meeting and make minutes for your 1st meeting deciding on a product that you will design as a memento for A2 leavers featruing the Coleg Gwent logo.

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Work through this PPT on Communication and the next on Formal Meetings and then use the supporting documents below to draft an agenda, set up a meeting and make minutes for your 1st meeting deciding on a product that you will design as a memento for A2 leavers featruing the Coleg Gwent logo.

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Team Roles - WEEK 3 - Complete activities found to the right of this powerpoint

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Team Roles - WEEK 3 - Complete activities found to the right of this powerpoint

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Week 3 - Friday 23rd Sept.
Work through this powerpoint in your new team and decide who will do what and why. Create your own group Padlet after watching the video tutorial below and start to store you meeting documents and any work you do individually so it is available to all of you, all of the time

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You Tube Tutorial

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Week 1 - to be completed and saved into WBQ.

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Week 1 - to be completed, convert the PDF and edit. Save into WBQ.

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Unsure what to do next, check this presentation!

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Save this into your WBQ folder and complete

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Week 1 - to be completed. Save the PDF report into your WBQ folder.

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enterprise education, impact analysis, business start-up

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Video clip and instructions

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Bplans: Free Business Planning Resources and Templates

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Conducting a SWOT analysis of your business is a lot more fun than it sounds. It won't take much time, and doing it forces you to think about your business in a whole new way.

The point of a SWOT analysis is to help you develop a strong business strategy by making sure you've considered all of your business's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces in the marketplace.

What is a SWOT analysis?

S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is an organized list of your business's greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company (think: reputation, patents, location). You can change them over time but not without some work. Opportunities and threats are external (think: suppliers, competitors, prices)-they are out there in the market, happening whether you like it or not. You can't change them.

Existing businesses can use a SWOT analysis, at any time, to assess a changing environment and respond proactively. In fact, I recommend conducting a strategy review meeting at least once a year that begins with a SWOT analysis.

New businesses should use a SWOT analysis as a part of their planning process. There is no "one size fits all" plan for your business, and thinking about your new business in terms of its unique "SWOTs" will put you on the right track right away, and save you from a lot of headaches later on.

Looking to get started right away? Download our free SWOT Analysis template.

In this article, I will cover the following:

How to conduct a SWOT analysis

Questions to ask during a SWOT analysis

Example of a SWOT analysis

TOWS analysis: Developing strategies for your SWOT analysis

How to conduct a SWOT analysis

To get the most complete, objective results, a SWOT analysis is best conducted by a group of people with different perspectives and stakes in your company. Management, sales, customer service, and even customers can all contribute valid insight. Moreover, the SWOT analysis process is an opportunity to bring your team together and encourage their participation in and adherence to your company's resulting strategy.

A SWOT analysis is typically conducted using a four-square SWOT analysis template, but you could also just make lists for each category. Use the method that makes it easiest for you to organize and understand the results.

I recommend holding a brainstorming session to identify the factors in each of the four categories. Alternatively, you could ask team members to individually complete our free SWOT analysis template, and then meet to discuss and compile the results. As you work through each category, don't be too concerned about elaborating at first; bullet points may be the best way to begin. Just capture the factors you believe are relevant in each of the four areas.

Once you are finished brainstorming, create a final, prioritized version of your SWOT analysis, listing the factors in each category in order of highest priority at the top to lowest priority at the bottom.

Questions to ask during a SWOT analysis

I've compiled some questions below to help you develop each section of your SWOT analysis. There are certainly other questions you could ask; these are just meant to get you started.

Strengths (internal, positive factors)

Strengths describe the positive attributes, tangible and intangible, internal to your organization. They are within your control.

What do you do well?

What internal resources do you have? Think about the following:

Positive attributes of people , such as knowledge, background, education, credentials, network, reputation, or skills.

Tangible assets of the company , such as capital, credit, existing customers or distribution channels, patents, or technology.

What advantages do you have over your competition?

Do you have strong research and development capabilities? Manufacturing facilities?

What other positive aspects, internal to your business, add value or offer you a competitive advantage?

Weaknesses (internal, negative factors)

Weaknesses are aspects of your business that detract from the value you offer or place you at a competitive disadvantage. You need to enhance these areas in order to compete with your best competitor.

What factors that are within your control detract from your ability to obtain or maintain a competitive edge?

What areas need improvement to accomplish your objectives or compete with your strongest competitor?

What does your business lack (for example, expertise or access to skills or technology)?

Does your business have limited resources?

Is your business in a poor location?

Opportunities (external, positive factors)

Opportunities are external attractive factors that represent reasons your business is likely to prosper.

What opportunities exist in your market or the environment that you can benefit from?

Is the perception of your business positive?

Has there been recent market growth or have there been other changes in the market the create an opportunity?

Is the opportunity ongoing, or is there just a window for it? In other words, how critical is your timing?

Threats (external, negative factors)

Threats include external factors beyond your control that could place your strategy, or the business itself, at risk. You have no control over these, but you may benefit by having contingency plans to address them if they should occur.

Who are your existing or potential competitors?

What factors beyond your control could place your business at risk?

Are there challenges created by an unfavorable trend or development that may lead to deteriorating revenues or profits?

What situations might threaten your marketing efforts?

Has there been a significant change in supplier prices or the availability of raw materials?

What about shifts in consumer behavior, the economy, or government regulations that could reduce your sales?

Has a new product or technology been introduced that makes your products, equipment, or services obsolete?

Examples of a SWOT analysis

For illustration, here's a brief SWOT example from a hypothetical, medium-sized computer store in the United States:

See our SWOT analysis examples article for in-depth examples of SWOT analyses for several different industries and business types or download our free SWOT analysis template.

TOWS analysis: Developing strategies from your SWOT analysis

Once you have identified and prioritized your SWOT results, you can use them to develop short-term and long-term strategies for your business. After all, the true value of this exercise is in using the results to maximize the positive influences on your business and minimize the negative ones.

But how do you turn your SWOT results into strategies? One way to do this is to consider how your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats overlap with each other. This is sometimes called a TOWS analysis.

For example, look at the strengths you identified, and then come up with ways to use those strengths to maximize the opportunities (these are strength-opportunity strategies). Then, look at how those same strengths can be used to minimize the threats you identified (these are strength-threats strategies).

Continuing this process, use the opportunities you identified to develop strategies that will minimize the weaknesses (weakness-opportunity strategies) or avoid the threats (weakness-threats strategies).

The following table might help you organize the strategies in each area:

Once you've developed strategies and included them in your strategic plan, be sure to schedule regular review meetings. Use these meetings to talk about why the results of your strategies are different from what you'd planned (because they always will be) and decide what your team will do going forward.

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How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Better Planning - Bplans

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With this simple analysis, you'll better understand your strengths and weaknesses, along with the opportunities and threats you should account for.