what are some of the external factors that affect a business?

Answer 1

State of the economy in general and your market in particular.
How similar businesses are being valued.
Interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, and government policy on taxation and spending.
Ethics/pressure groups. Public Holidays, riots, war, floods, etc
How many potential purchasers are interested in the business.
References for reference checks.
Bad debts or when payments have not come in.
Bad publicity - Unsatisfied customers because thy will spread their experience with lots of other people.
After sales service rendered by third party providers.
Competitors - how many there are in the market place, how easy is it for new entrants to compete, the market share of competitors and their access to more money and better marketing and technology.
Technological factors such as the introduction of new technology, products becoming obsolete, services becoming more efficient, power shortages, computer viruses, and new ways of working.

Answer 2

We have a mechanics workshop and there are many external factors that affect us - we specialise in air conditioning and heating - the Summer Heat has people booking in all the time for a/c regasses or getting their a/c working - in the Winter people dont seem overly bothered if their car heaters dont work so the Summer or warmer months of the year give us more business. School holidays or public holidays and long weekends usually sees us go quiet for up to a week before the event we have less bookings as people are saving their money for other family related activites. We also do a lot of work for car sales businesses - if they go quiet (not selling cars) we go quiet.

Answer 3

I wish more people would ask this question before even contemplating starting a business! It is fairly easy to do a quick S.W.O.T, analysis before you start up. S.W.O.T. = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - which is self-explanatory. Draw 4 blocks - each representing one of the above aspects, and fill in the details, eg.: Strengths: what do you consider your and your business' strong points; weaknesses: what do you consider your and your business' weak points, etc. If you find some spaces with few answers, work on those until you find a balance between the 4 blocks. This should give you a clear indication if your business will succeed, or not, how long it would take to become financially viable, etc. It gives you a good overview of the potential of your business. Good luck!

Answer 4

1) advertisement
2) local competition
3) the money needed to maintain your business thru the slow times.
4) the information and communication needed to maintain your clientele base (to keep them coming back to you)
5) try to maintain your payback of loan and etc.
6) the maintaining of supplies needed for your work.
7) your location and your insurance needs for your protection
8) this list is just a few things that are needed to keep your business up and running. there are many things that you are just going to have to learn as you go..........