When was the last time you and your business stopped to understand your competition?

• Understand their strengths
• Realize their weaknesses
• Does their existence pose a threat to you?

Was that one of the things you were going to do this year? Remember, back in January… it was the first or second day of the year, and this was the year that you were really going to go gangbusters…

Oh, you didn’t do anything about it?

Okay, well, the good news is that we still have nearly three quarters left. Stop for a minute and write down 10 good things you have done this year for your business. Maybe you landed a big client? Or maybe you eliminated a large expense. List them out, soak in the glory, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Now, write down 10 things you hope to accomplish this year. Master a new skill? Or enter a new market?

How do your past successes this year, and your upcoming accomplishments look when compared to your competitions’ strengths, weaknesses and threats? Are you not going far enough? Perhaps it is necessary to focus your goals on efforts that will more closely combat them. Or maybe you need to work harder on carving out your very small, specialty niche.