Task 1: Business analysis tools

 SWOT and PEST(EL) analyses - what are they and how can they be used?-

S- Strengths (things your company does well, qualities that separate you from your competitors, internal resources such as skilled, knowledgeable staff, tangible assets such as intellectual property, capital, proprietary technologies etc).

W- Weaknesses ( things your company lacks, things your competitors do better than you, resource limitations, unclear unique selling proportion).

O- Opportunities (undeserved markets for specific products, few competitors in your area, emerging need for your products or services, press/media coverage on your company).

T- Threats (emerging competitors, changing regulatory environment, negative press/ media coverage, changing customer attitudes towards your company).

SWOT is used to analyze and evaluate your companies chance in the current business environment, allowing your company to know exactly how it needs to approve, and also what areas your company is strongest in.

PEST(EL)- 

P – Political; all companies have to ensure they follow Government policy, otherwise they may be operating in a possibly illegal manner.

E – Economic; the economical side of things include  – economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of consumers and businesses and so on.

S – Social; you, as a company, have to make sure you do not offend anyone, and make sure you try and be inclusive to everyone. You can also follow trends to be more associated with a certain group of people.

T – Technological; things which have innovated in your industry, as well as the innovation of the overall economy. Not being up to date on technology can be harmful to your operations.

E – Environmental; you must make sure that you don't harm the environment in anyway by abiding to the Governments rules on how big your companies carbon footprint can be. Otherwise, it may become too large and negatively impact the environment.

L – Legal; you have to make certain that your company is completely legal with everything you do, mostly concerning yourself laws in area of fair trade, discrimination, employment, copyright and health and safety.

Current factors are impacting business' and ventures in the UK are-

Some people can be easily offended, and post their negative opinions online which can really hit a business hard, and even be the main reason a business fails.

The Covid-19 virus has hit a lot businesses very hard, a lot have lost all their income and have had to shut down as a result.

What does Brexit mean for the creative industries?- 

It has causes a loss of funding, as many creative companies have stated they have lost around 9-18% of their funding, but along with this, the creative industry will also have to get their resources from local areas which may be more expensive. But, a positive of Brexit is that many local performing arts and entertainment groups will have less competition from other abroad companies that used to come overseas to perform.

Unfortunately, in the UK, cultural policy has been in a rough position as the Government seems to put the creative industry at it's lowest priority, as even just recently they have lowered the funding for the Creative Industry, as well as offering people who are in the creative industry a "chance" to get another job by offering free training in a non-creative sector to encourage them to stop doing whatever they are doing.

Personal SWOT analysis-

S- I studied Drama in high school, and as a result have a fair understanding of how theatres work behind the scenes, as well as how to act and perhaps even teach other people how to act. I also have a good understanding of Stoicism and other similar mindsets which aim to help prevent anxiety and other similar things.

W- I haven't ever obviously started a business of my own so I'm of course a beginner to everything that needs to be done, so I may make a few mistakes along the way but that's necessary to move forward.

O- I believe that there is a decent sized market for my idea, as I know that there is a lot of people in the local area that suffer with low-self esteem or anxiety and such.

T- From what I have seen, there aren't any similar theater companies which focus on mental health, especially not in my local area. But, unfortunately, in the current climate with Covid-19, theaters aren't open - and things seem to be only getting worse in general with theaters as the Government has lowered funding and even strongly try to move people away from the Creative Arts.