By Rod Ashley, Tafflab CEO and Trustee
Being a pest
Yes, it’s good to be a pest! This information will help you identify several key aspects about your business ideas and plans (PEST) and about yourself (SWOT).
- As you complete the PEST, you should feel more confident about how to get your ideas into action.
- As you complete the SWOT, you should feel more knowledgeable about what you have to offer as a business owner and what you still need to work on.
Look through these pages and complete the tasks over a couple of weeks. Your responses won’t all come at once and you can add to it over time. When you meet your mentor and College Champion to discuss your responses, just remember that there are no right or wrong answers – but the self-knowledge you gain is invaluable in boosting your confidence when you start up a business. A fuller version of the material is on the Tafflab website and it is adapted from my book Improving Your Employability. (3rd ed.) Hodder: 2010. Each College Champion has a copy of this book.
Good luck!
Predicting the future is an inexact science. Lots of factors bring about or influence changes. A helpful way of trying to understand the likely trends and developments in your own business sector is to carry out a PEST analysis. This will help you get a greater understanding of what is happening and where your business is going. Useful sources of information can be other companies’ websites, social media or news items in the media about your sector.
A PEST analysis considers in sequence the various factors which may have an impact upon your sector and your own organisation:
- Political
- Economic
- Social trends and
- Technological
Hence the title. Understanding these can give you a clearer sense of what is happening to the organisation and, through that, a clearer understanding about your own situation in the workplace.
Creating a PEST
Let’s see how such an analysis might inform someone who works in the in the automotive sector (e.g. someone who wants to set up a garage to service electric cars).
Political changes
E.g. legislative changes, requirements to meet developing standards and the likely impact upon society of aims like Net Zero. These include:
- the impact of tariffs on the automotive sector
- sales targets for BEV (battery electric vehicles)
- rollout of charging infrastructure
Economic factors
E.g. the consequences of implementing an economic policy both nationally and internationally.This might have an impact on issues such as:
- the effect of subsidised imports (e.g. from China)
- regional differences in charging infrastructure roll-out
- disposable income in your region
Social trends
Trends include:
- buyers’ concerns (range anxiety)
- changing customer expectations
Technological
Factors include the different servicing requirements of BEVs compared with petrol/diesel vehicles:
- getting to grips with IT / electronics
- manufacturers potentially ‘locking-out’ independent garages
Here is how a PEST might look –
- P
Regulatory and legislative changes
Preparation for and familiarity with BEV products
- E
How many local customers can afford BEVs?
Is there a sufficient profit in proposals?
- S
The changing customer base
Different working hours for staff
- T
IT skill levels
Electronics skill levels
Creating your own PEST
Try devising a PEST for yourself in your own working environment: the details above are in this document which contains a template for your use.
Being a rounded person
People often feel that employers are just looking for is someone who can carry out a specific role or function within the organisation – to wear a particular hat. But none of us ever wears just one hat. Indeed, the self-employed and those with a portfolio career, change hats frequently. Even for those in traditional employment, some jobs require frequent changes. It is all too easy for employees in any field to forget that employers will take the overview of the total contribution to the organisation an individual can bring.
If you are going to start your own business, you will be wearing lots of different hats – sometimes at the same time! (finance manager, customer services, delivery person, making the tea etc. ). Which hats fit you best? Which tasks might you ask a business partner or employee to do because it’s a better fit for their skills?
Becoming a SWOT
To improve the success of your business, you should become a SWOT. This involves analysing your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats so that you can make the most of your business’ development.
All organisations carry out such a review periodically. Start your own SWOT analysis here. Remember that the Strengths and Weaknesses are internal (personal); the Opportunities and Threats are external (the situation in which you find yourself).
You will find it useful to start your own SWOT analysis below. Remember that the Strengths and Weaknesses are internal (personal); the Opportunities and Threats are external (the situation in which you find yourself).
Whatever you write down here today is incomplete. You will need to:
- add to it (particularly over the next few weeks) and also
- take on-board the comments of someone close to you whose views you value about what you can add or modify.
- Check out your thoughts with your mentor and college champion.
I’ve suggested a few points but check if they apply to you:
| S Hard-working | W No personal transport |
| O Strong demand by target market | T Business X |
Questions to ask yourself:
- Are you being accurate?
- Are you being fair to yourself?
- Have you undersold yourself?
- What have you overlooked?
Individual activity
When you have completed your SWOT analysis, ask yourself:
What can I do to convert the negatives into positives?
Put simply, how do I move statements from the right-hand side to the left-hand side? Of course, you will never end up with a blank right side! To do this you need to be aware of your …..
Transferable skills
As you can see, being aware of what you have to offer in terms of skills and qualities is essential. Below is a list of ‘transferable skills’. Don’t let the detail put you off! Having a clear sense of what you have done, of how your experiences have given you these skills and an awareness of your own strengths is a great asset. It will give you a level of self-awareness valued by customers.
As you read through the list, score yourself with a tick on how well-developed these skills are. Jot down also the tasks or experiences which have given you these skills. These may be from your working life or from other activities. E.g., being Secretary of a local charity made you good at ‘investigating available resources’; being a parent requires you to show ‘flexibility and versatility in approach’ or being a group representative shows you are able to ‘listen to others’.
Problem-solving
- define and identify the core of a problem
- investigate available resources
- analyse data / information
- draw conclusions from complex data
- organise complex data
- apply knowledge and theories
- show flexibility and versatility in approach
- use observation / perception skills
- develop imaginative / creative solutions
- use an approach which is sensitive to needs of others
- show resourcefulness
Team work
- listen to others
- be aware of own performance
- observe others’ performance and use perceptions
- lead and motivate others
- show assertiveness (set own agenda)
- co-operate with others
- negotiate and persuade
- criticise constructively
- produce new ideas or proposals
- clarify, test or probe others’ ideas or proposals
- elaborate on own / others’ ideas or proposals
- summarise – bring ideas together
- encourage others
- compromise, mediate and reconcile.
Managing / organising
- identify what tasks need doing and the time scales involved
- evaluate each task
- formulate objectives
- plan work to achieve objectives / targets
- carry out work required
- evaluate and review progress
- cope and deal with change
- deal with pressures
- ensure appropriate resources are available
- organise resources available
- show initiative
- manage time effectively
- demonstrate sustained effort
- make quick, appropriate decisions
- show personal motivation
- execute agreed plans.
Communication (oral and written)
- explain clearly
- deal effectively with conflicting points of view
- develop a logical argument
- present information clearly and effectively
- take account of audience needs
- give appropriate examples
- show enthusiasm and interest
- show critical reasoning
- use appropriate presentation techniques
- listen and query where necessary
- discuss ideas, taking alternatives into account
- defend a point of view
- assess own performance.
Whatever responses you put down for this activity, remember:
- No one is perfect
- Everyone’s skills can be developed
- Recognise and take pride in where you have developed skills
- Identify areas in which you can or should improve.
I look forward to hearing your ideas.