Explain the advice and guidance available for pre-business and how slept analysis is useful.

Next is legal. It is very important that a business operates within the law as if they don’t, it can lead to serious consequences. There is the civil law. This is the relationship between two parties (for instance, the employer and employee). Civil law can be administered in a number of ways, by European Union which deals with issues in the UK. The UK government which pass laws that businesses must follow. And lastly, Watchdogs who administer law in certain industries. Businesses are largely affected by 3 areas of civil law; the Competition law. This prevents large businesses exploiting its customers for instance the Competition Act 1980 and Fair Trading Act 1973. There is Employment law which is designed to protect workers. Examples include, Employment Act 1980, 1982, 1989 and the Race Relations Act 1976. Lastly, the Consumer protection laws which is used to protect the customers. For instance, Sale of Goods Act 1987 and Consumer Safety Act 1978.

Then there is environmental and ethics. First there are environmental costs. Environmentalists are concerned with businesses when controlling their negative externalities. For instance, water and air pollution, waste disposal and destruction of the environment. The government will try and control these factors; they do this by making the polluter pay tax and giving rewards to firms who are environmentally friendly. They will also provide education to firms so that they are aware of the issues. Furthermore, some pressure groups may take these issues into their own hands. They may set out to protest against a particular firm, in hope they change their negative externalities. In addition, the entrepreneur will need to consider ethics. Ethics are a set of social principles that govern or influence how we behave. This means there are other issues that can effect sales and profit. Being an ethical business is considered a marketing tool which can improve sales. This is because people will want to buy products where they have been made ethically. Furthermore, being ethical towards the workers will make them happy. This means they will be motivated to work harder and will benefit the business.

The next factor is SLEPT analysis is political factors. Any change in the government will affect the political balance of a country and as such will impact upon the business. Therefore, the entrepreneur need to be aware of political factors that could affect their business. For example, the minimum wage is always changing, therefore they would need to change their wages for their staff to ensure they are keeping within political factors.

The last factor in SLEPT analysis is technological factors. Technology is always changing therefore the business will need to keep up to date and incorporate the new tech into their business to be profitable. For instance, they may need to provide an online shopping service.