As we all know, most boardrooms want immediate action when a downturn in business performance occurs. Unfortunately, it’s generally not quite as simple as that.

Markets are volatile things, particularly nowadays, and it means pinpointing these downturns can be more difficult than ever before.

This is one of the reasons why accounting companies like 3 Wise Bears are so popular nowadays. By keeping on top of your accounts, you can at least spot holes a lot easier – and make things like a PESTLE analysis simpler.

For the purposes of today we are going to focus on external factors when it comes to running your business. Let’s now take a look at four issues that often slip by the net when it comes to scrutinizing performance.

The weather

It might be something of a headline-grabber, but you might be surprised at just how much the weather can impact the performance of a business.

For example, if a winter is particularly warm, a ski company might struggle much more than in previous years. Or, if there was a particularly cloudy and rainy summer, a window blinds company might have similar difficulties.

To some, this might seem like the easy excuse, but there’s no doubt that some businesses are affected by the weather much more than others.

The seasonality

In some ways, this is similar to above. However, all businesses have waves of seasonality, and it’s worth looking at this as a priority before you dig any deeper into your company’s performance.

To coin an example, for a lot of brands December is a particularly slow month. This is because people are off work, and generally having downtime. When one considers the festivities, buying products tends to be at the back of their mind (at least after the 25th December).

The political factors

Like it or not, politics can play a part as well. We’re not going to dive too deep into politics, but suffice to say certain legislation is going to impact some businesses more than others.

If we were to coin a real-life example, it could be with high-interest loans in the UK. Legislation was passed which meant that companies offering such a service were under much tighter regulations – and this had severe effects on the way they operated.

The economy

Finally, let’s leave one of the biggest macro factors until the very end. Granted, the economy is going to vary between nations, but as a whole it would be fair to say that it is struggling at the moment .

For most companies, the repercussions are obvious. Customers just aren’t willing to spend the money that they once were – and they are a lot more conscious about price than they may have been in the past.

It can mean that companies offering more of a budget service can start to grab market share, while it can also mean that markets start to shrink. Either way, this is an external factor which is really difficult to affect.

Do you have aspirations of being an entrepreneur? Many people like the idea of starting their own business ventures, and it is easy to see why as it can be incredibly rewarding to build a successful company from the ground up. As any experienced entrepreneur will tell you, this is no easy feat and it will take much more than a good business idea to succeed. You see many aspiring entrepreneurs make the same mistakes time and time again so it is important to know a few tips which should help you to hit the ground running and hopefully find success in your ventures. Here are a few key tips. Continue reading “Top Tips For Aspiring Entrepreneurs” →

So this week we sat down for a bit of a chat with a former background checks clerk, which is basically just somebody who follows up on the information presented in situations which involve the appointment of professionals. Her job was specifically to make sure employees who are already working for the companies that employed them were sincere in the information they included in their CVs or resumes. A very interesting job indeed, but she had some valuable lessons learned to share with us. Continue reading “Lessons Learned from a Background Checks Clerk” →

As the old saying goes ‘money makes the world go round’ – money affects us all and is at the forefront of our daily lives, so it comes as a surprise that today’s generation of adults are not well equipped at handling their finances.  According to a 2018 study, three quarters of Brits are worried about money, with over half of adults in the UK expressing concern that their mental health is suffering as a result. Worryingly, young adults often feel that they have not been educated enough on financial matters at school. So, how do we improve the situation and teach young people how to manage their money? We’re taking an in-depth look into the issue with the help of company liquidation specialists Business Rescue Expert. Continue reading “The absence of financial literacy in schools: Why money matters for future generations” →

Starting a new business can be hard. What can be just as challenging is trying to build a completely new business website that now has to compete against all the other websites that have been live for years and years. 

Continue reading “3 Ideas To Bring More Traffic To Your New Business Website” →