External Factors

As a business, some things are under your control, such as who you hire and what products you sell. External factors are the things outside your control, such as the economy, political context, social, legal and technology developments, competition, your customers and other external issues. These various external factors can impact the ability of a business or investment to achieve its strategic goals and objectives and an effective plan needs to consider how external factors can impact the business. Operating a successful business requires an understanding of how to serve customers, regardless of market conditions. Business continuity plans help companies stay running during natural disasters, economic downturns and bad publicity. While some business owners like to believe that they can quickly come up with a “Plan B” to work through a crisis, the world’s best corporate leaders spend time making plans for events they hope will never happen.