After the high of starting entrepreneurship has subsided, most entrepreneurs hit a place where they find their business stagnating. Most are often unaware of what prevents them from reaching their full potential. They may feel held back but fail to comprehend what they are doing wrong. Considering these feelings to be qualms of the nerves, rather than a reading of the business environment, they tend to dismiss these feelings and train themselves to get accustomed to them. However, is that the right approach?
As an entrepreneur, you are the driving force of the enterprise, these instincts are what differentiate you as a leader of your own business. So learning to trust the business environment and having an open attitude is critical to success in business.
Defining Business Environment
Arthur M. Weimer famously described the business environment as something that “encompasses the climate or set of conditions, economic, social, political, or institutional, in which business operations are conducted.” In other words, a business environment is an environment or atmosphere surrounding the enterprise that doesn’t directly affect the business. However, adopting a level of awareness about the business environment is instrumental to an entrepreneur’s success.
The Relationship Between Business Environment and Success
Succeeding and growing an enterprise is the ultimate aim of every entrepreneur. Unfortunately, even after establishing their enterprise, most entrepreneurs fail to grow it to its full potential. Once they build their business and achieve the first of their milestones, they become complacent and stop developing. This is the phase most entrepreneurs struggle to grow out of.
Although entrepreneurs can successfully establish an enterprise, they are bound to encounter challenges when developing or expanding the business. To think that hard work and dedication are the only factors needed to succeed in business is naive. An entrepreneur needs to be passionate about their endeavour, but passion is only one of several factors that contribute to the success of a business. The business environment is the most important factor that influences the success of an entrepreneur. So let’s find out how a business environment can help entrepreneurs succeed.
How Can the Business Environment Make You Successful?
Being vigilant of one’s surroundings is always considered to be an excellent practice. Paying attention to your environmental setting can save you from all kinds of danger. Imagine what would happen if people didn’t pay attention while crossing roads. Similarly, a business comes with its own set of hazards, and paying attention to the business environment is just as important.
Entrepreneurs who want to succeed in business and expand their enterprise should keep a pulse on their business environment. They need to be updated about the latest market and consumer trends and technological advancements happening around them. Further, they should also be aware of the social, political and economic changes. Regulation is another aspect to keep track of; any changes in rules regarding licenses or taxes can affect your business. These factors may directly or indirectly affect your business. Many times, keeping a pulse on the business environment also leads to more opportunities. Let’s discuss how entrepreneurs can make their business successful by studying the business environment.
How to Use the Business Environment to Your Benefit?
Identifying Business Opportunities
A business cannot fulfil its potential by selling products and services alone. Yes, having excellent sales is an indicator of success, but there is a catch. Making large volumes of sales at the moment doesn’t necessarily ensure ongoing or continued success. Tomorrow, when customers change their preferences, these sales can drop. A business can only be deemed successful if it consistently maintains impressive results. So, how can an entrepreneur ensure consistent sales? This is where the awareness of the business environment comes into play.
An entrepreneur can engage in new business opportunities by paying attention to their business environment. For example, Amazon, one of the largest e-commerce platforms, started as an online retailer for physical bookstores. They advertised themselves as the “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore”. Imagine the opportunity they would’ve let slip if they didn’t analyze their business environment to recognize the business opportunity of going into e-commerce.
Identifying Threats and Warnings Ahead of Time
An entrepreneur can not only identify opportunities but also threats by analyzing their business environment. An entrepreneur can predict market changes by analyzing their business environment. Imagine what would have happened if Samsung and LG had failed to identify the market shift from black-and-white televisions to LCD televisions. They might have even gone bankrupt if they were too late to notice declining interest towards black and white TVs. So, paying attention to the business environment can bail you out of a crisis. A similar example is the once popular giant Kodak, which held sway in global markets with photography, but failed to be alarmed when cameras began to digitalize, and eventually had to file for bankruptcy in 2012.
Efficient Strategy Formulation
Excellent sales and customer service doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. In order to succeed, an entrepreneur needs to think ahead of their competitors. An entrepreneur should be able to grab business opportunities with both hands before their competitors catch wind of them. To do this, they should have a keen awareness of their business environment.
This way, entrepreneurs can grab business opportunities before their competitors and steer clear of mistakes. So, early access to information can help form an efficient strategy that keeps entrepreneurs ahead of the curve.
By paying apt attention to the business environment, entrepreneurs can effortlessly boost the growth and stability of the business. If there isn’t any significant progress in the enterprise, evaluate the current business environment and analyze the mistakes and the opportunities. Reflecting on these trends can help entrepreneurs arrive at an effective solution for business growth.
Ignoring the business environment is as good as digging your own grave. So be adaptable and change according to the business environment. Change is not always bad and can be extremely beneficial if you learn how to make the most of it!
