How do outside factors affect your business? This is the one question every business owner needs to answer. Otherwise, they may face unexpected consequences. As we have learned, the 6 factors of a PEST analysis helps you identify vital external influences that contribute to the success or downfall of your company. So it's imperative you ask the right questions which means you must initially decide the reasoning or objective for a PEST analysis in the first place. This is the first step in executing a PEST analysis as we discussed earlier.