Understanding your ecosystem as an entrepreneur.

John Muchiri
mwasj.jm@gmail.com entrepreneurbridge@gmail.com
B.com(finance)
Kenyatta University

"If you know the enemy and know yourself. You need not to fear the result if a hundered battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle" Sun Tzu, the art of war.
Subscribing to the words of Sun Tzu, in a bussiness scenario just like in a war scenario, what separates those who succeed from those who don't is simply an understanding of the environment and the ability to adapt to its changes.
Entrepreneurship does not happen in a vacuum and there are many role players who impact on a startup in its life- cycle. Understanding the business environment is directly proportional to an entrepreneur's ability to solve problems.
In business understanding your business environment is everything: business environment entails both internal and external environment. The internal business environment is also refered to as micro environment and involves factors suchs as suppliers, investors, employees, e.t.c ; these factors can be influenced by the entrepreneur for the success of a business. The macro/external environment includes such factors as legal, political, social, and cultural  environment. Macro environment affects a business ;a business has no control over them but can mitigate their impact by adapting to changes.