Task 3: Trends

Start with the title with unit number, your name and title: Trends affecting business
Write a brief introduction- what are trends?
Social trends
What are they? (Population changes, household and families, Labour market, Education,
increasing travel for work)
Then explain how the social trends impact a start-up business.
Write about a minimum of three social trends, using a new heading for each trend, e.g
Labour Market- People want to work remotely rather than going physically to a place of
work.
How is this impacting a start up businesses?
Technological trends
What are they?
What are the recent developments in Technology in business? Increasing use of IT and web
development e.g. social media, websites, tiktok
Explain a minimum three technological trends, using a new heading for each trend,
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the technology for a business?
Explain how the new technology will impact a start-up business.
Environmental Trends
What are they? (Recycling, renewable energy, waste management, eco-friendly products)
Explain a minimum three environmental trends, using a new heading for each trend.
Explain how they are impacting a start up businesses
Ethical trends
What is it?
Explain a minimum of three ethical trends, using a new heading for each trend, e.g.child
labour, inadequate pay, carbon footprint, supporting the community, sources of timber.
Explain how these ethical trends can impact a start-up business.
 Task 4: Size and type of Business

Write a brief introduction to size and type of businesses.

Micro Business

How many staff would a micro business employ?

What are the characteristics of a micro business?

Find an example of a micro business (this may be a local independent shop in your area) and write a
brief description about them.

Small to Medium sized Enterprises

How many staff would a SME employ?

What are the characteristics of an SME enterprise?

Find an example of an SME and write a brief description about them.

Mid sized Business

How many staff would a MSB employ?

What are the characteristics of a MSB?

Find some examples of MSB and write a brief description about them.

Large businesses

How many staff would a large business employ?

What are the characteristics of a large business?

Find some examples large businesses and write a brief description about them.

Extension tasks
Merit Task 2:
Select a business from your area that is comparable to your business idea in terms of sector
and size. Then select two trends from the list above and compare their impact on the
existing start-up business you have selected. To do this, you will need to identify the
similarities and the differences between the impacts of these trends on the existing start-up
business.
When comparing, You will need to use comparative phrases such as whereas, therefore, in
comparison to, similarly, this different to/similar to.
Distinction task 1

Assess (make your own judgements) about the following:

The current risks - rise in interest rates, unemployment, rise in business rates, increased competition
for a start up business
Opportunities- Government loans, new technology
Trends- population, remote working, eco friendly products, reducing carbon footprint
You need to assess all of these for a start-up business.
You need to carry out research to find evidence and draw upon relevant data to support
your assessment, showing that you have used trustworthy and relevant sources of
information.