Title: External Factors
Headings: External Factors
External Factors
A key area of the planning process involves considering factors that could have an impact on the success of your business.
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Content: External Factors
External Factors
A key area of the planning process involves considering factors that could have an impact on the success of your business. © RMIT University 2017
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Business planning is important for direction and success. A key area of the planning process involves considering factors that could have an impact on the success of your business. These might be external industry or environmental factors or internal factors such as your own strengths and weaknesses. Any of these factors can provide opportunities or pose threats for your business. External factors are those influences, circumstances or situations that a business cannot control that affect the business decisions that the business owner and stakeholders make. The are a large number of external factors can have a direct impact on the ability of your business to achieve its strategic objectives. For example, if the government changes the laws regarding the types and numbers of goods that can be imported and importation costs increase then this may make a big difference to the viability of your online business. It’s important to regularly monitor the macro factors that affect your business and industry and to respond to them in a way that is appropriate to your business. These external macro factors can shape your business’s opportunities and pose potential threats: