Economic forces refer to the nature and direction of the economy in which the business operates. It can contribute to the failure or success of a company. These factors, have a direct impact on the potential attractiveness of various strategies.
Shift to a Service in Colombia
According to the article of the web page www.razonpublica.com written by Ricardo Duarte Duarte, we can see how the Colombian economy have been changing during the last years, after the excellent performance of the economy based on the mining and energy between the years 2010 until 2015. Colombia now is facing an economic challenge. In 2014 the service sector receive the 34% of the direct foreign investment, it means the 64% of the GDP representing the 64% of the employment, meaning that in Colombia there is more employment on the service sector than the agriculture, agribusiness and manufacturing. But compared to the world Colombia is a country that need to develop a better service economy compared to other countries as we can be seen in the inform of the World Bank:

Also it is important to consider that Colombia itās a MiddleĀ“s income country and the growth of the service economy have a tendency that is showed on the next chart:

Having all that present we can conclude that the service sector is a potential sector to be the most important one in Colombia having presented how economy is working not only in Colombia but also in whole world.
Taken in February 4th 2016, written by Ricardo Duarte Duarte, At: http://www.razonpublica.com/index.php/econom%C3%ADa-y-sociedad/8553-%C2%BFpodr%C3%ADa-el-sector-servicios-reactivar-la-econom%C3%ADa.html
Taken un February 4th 2016, available as a PDF document at: http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/beyond/beyondco/beg_09.pdf
Availability of Credit
In The Report of Credit Situation in Colombia published in December 2015 regarding the access to new loans by economic sector, banks claimed that the exporter is the one with greater ease, followed by trade. In the case of CFC (Commercial Finance Companies) and cooperatives, it is considered the services sector, industry and commerce as the new mayor access to credit. For its part, the lower ease remain agricultural and importer sector.

The situation described affect our business because nowadays the services sector in Colombia is gaining more access to credits and loans for their development.
Reporte de la situación del crédito en colombia
taken in february the 6th 2016. Available as a PDF document at:http://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/escc_dic_2015.pdf
Level of Diposable Income
Every year the minimum wage has an adjustment, as the table shows from 2006 to 2016 the increases in Colombian pesos.This cipher is really important for us because as employers we must know the minimum wage to pay all employees fairly and according to law, furthermore, 54% of the population earns this amount is approximately the half of the country, it show as that the level of disposable income is really low and as the income gets higher the amount of population decreases.


The previous chart shows the amount of disposable income that in average Colombian people spend, the chart show the average until the 2019 and thanks to that it can be said that the amount of disposable money is increasing and it will continue like this, because the Colombian economy will continue evolving in a constant way.
This will be good for the majority of the industries, because if people are able to spend more money, they will use that money for things like more luxury or other services, like the one that our industry provides.
http://www.portafolio.co/especiales/salario-minimo-colombia-2016/salario-minimo-2016-colombia-anif
http://www.shd.gov.co/shd/escala-salarial
Propensity of people to Spend
Colombia is a country where people, according to La Republica, āColombia is a country where people prefer to spend on personal entertainment rather than investing in shares or retirement foundā. So, what Colombians do with all the money they earn? They spend it in basic needs, such as food and services with a percentage of 32, 08%. Then Colombians prefer to spend on transportation, communication and dwelling all of that with 41,4%. The rest of incomes are destined to various expenses.
The methods Colombian prefer to spend are in first place saving accounts, and then they buy with credits cards.

HSB noticias . (20 de Agosto de 2012). En que gastan la plata los colombianos . Obtenido de HSB Noticias.com: http://hsbnoticias.com/en-que-gastan-la-plata-los-colombianos-117814
La Republica Finanzas. (5 de junio de 2015). Colombianos gastan mas en diversion que en comprar acciones y en sus fondos de retiro. Obtenido de La Republica: http://www.larepublica.co/colombianos-gastan-m%C3%A1s-en-diversi%C3%B3n-que-en-comprar-acciones-y-en-su-fondo-de-retiro_262926
Interest Rate
The monetary policy intervention used by the Central Bank is the main mechanism to affect the amount of money circulating in the economy, is to change the minimum interest rate it charges banks for loans that makes them, or maximum interest rate you pay for extra money receive them.
The table above show us the interest rates of the most important Colombian Banks for credit cards the general average is of 30,81% (Effective annual rate), we can notice that it has been a little increase and this rate is the highest one. This variable is important for us because we can know the rates for the credits we might ask for, and compare the different rates of the banks so we can choose the most convenient one.

http://www.larepublica.co/sites/default/files/larepublica/imagenes/noticias/1/tasas0206-1000.jpg
http://www.portafolio.co/especiales/salario-minimo-colombia-2016/salario-minimo-2016-colombia-anif
Inflations Rate


Colombia has started the year with a increse of 1 unit more than the one ended in 2015, leaving it in 7,6% inflation rate, and that means there is an increase in the cost of living, thus, that your money wonāt buy as much today as you could yesterday.
Specially in Colombia, we have seen the biggest rate of inflation in more than 7 years, but that rate is still below the increment of minimum wage (7%). One of the main reason of the increment is the sharp drop on oil prices. On the other hand, experts and governmentās members say that the goal (2%-4%) is projected to be achieve in 2 years.
This rate will not benefit our company because our core business includes students, and students who need a job most of the time have a small budget, so each peso a student can save counts. Generally talking, inflation is good for no one, people and even organizations, because affects every cost structure, and talking about people usually the increment of minimum wage does not cover all new prices, even though the increment seems to be āmoreā than the inflation.
Economics Help Dictionary, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.economicshelp.org/macroeconomics/inflation/definition/
El tiempo (2 January 2016), obtenido el 5 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.eltiempo.com/economia/indicadores/inflacion-en-colombia-para-el-2016/16471289
Dinero (5 January 2016), obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.dinero.com/economia/articulo/la-inflacion-alta-ultimos-anos/217685
āDANE, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.dane.gov.co
Money Market Rates
In Colombia the money market is based on public debt, in order to reduce the dependency of international debt, giving to the country a better dynamism to this kind of market making huge changes in the stock market, by reducing risk of its transactions. Even do the development of the money market in Colombia has been a bit to precarious, due to the fact that the system kind of works backwards, meaning that it gives to market with low risk and simple more liquidity, and making it hard to those that have a higher lev
Escobar, J. D. (s.f.). El mercado monetario en Colombia. Obtenido de Banco de la Republica : http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/Lectura_finanzas/pdf/junio_3.pdf
Federal Government Budget Deficit
Is a government document presenting the government's proposed revenues and spending for a financial year, the budget deficit is the excess of spending over income over a particular period of time.
This expenditure increases the total of the demand for goods and services in the economy and this tends to raise prices, it generates inflationary pressures. That inflation affects people and companies who will have to pay more for the same amount of goods and services.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/federal-budget-deficit.html#ixzz3jKAklEln
http://www.portafolio.co/economia/deficit-fiscal-colombia-2015-cardenas-ministerio-hacienda
Gross Domestic Product Trend



This situation affect our business because there has been a raise in the GDP of the services sector that shows its growing.
Taken in february the 6th. Cuentas Trimestrales - Colombia Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) Tercer Trimestre de 2015.DANE. Available at: http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/boletines/pib/bol_PIB_IIItrim15_oferta_demanda.pdf
Unemployment Trends


Unemployment Rate in Colombia is at the end of the first quarter of 2016, 11,9%, showing a big increase compared to the unemployment rate in the end of 2015. Also it is important to point out that according to DANE the unemployment percentage at the end of the last year (2015) was 8, 7. The director of Dane also said that in 16 of the 23 cities the unemployment rate declined and said that in 12 of these the unemployment rate remained at a single digit. Also, Perfetti said "salaried employment continues to rise, and in the quarter grew 3.5 times which increased informal employment". In 2014, the cities that recorded the lowest unemployment rate were Bucaramanga (8.2%), Barranquilla (7.9%) and San Andres (7%). While regions that registered the highest number of unemployed last year were Quibdo (12.5%), Armenia (15%) and CĆŗcuta (15%).
Let's compare Colombia with other countries and analyze:


As we can see the unemployment is lower than other countries but Colombia can develop an economic system where that number can be even smaller. It is possible if the government of Colombia starts programs against unemployment and giving more chance to the new economies that are coming to light nowadays. Anyways looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in Colombia to stand at 8.59 in 12 monthsā time. In the long-term, the Colombia Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 8.60 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.
Taken from: http://es.tradingeconomics.com/colombia/unemployment-rate
Taken from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/colombia/unemployment-rate/forecast
Taken from: http://redcolme.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=1eqj57r9b3pnu&month=02&year=2012
Worker Productivity Levels
Despite recent improvement, labour productivity growth in Colombia has been sluggish. Annualised colombian labour productivity growth over the last two decades has been one of
the slowest among OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and Latin American countries as shown in the figure below:.

The situation described affect our business due to the low productivity level of colombian peop
BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT by SebastiƔn Nieto Parra Juan SebastiƔn Robledo. PDF Document. 2015.Taken in february the 4ft 2016 from:
http://www.fedesarrollo.org.co/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Sebasti%C3%A1n-Nieto-Parra-and-Juan-S_Robledo-Boosting-productivity-and-economic-growth-Feb.-2013.pdf
Value of the Dollar in World Markets

The USDCOP trade has decrese since the begining of the year 2016, going for over 3.300 COP to $3.038,48 per one dollar. the Colombian Peso reached an all-time high of 3399.25 in January of 2016 and a record low of 689.21 in August of 1992.
We all know how the dollar value affects the economic aspects in Colombia, specially talking about imported products, if the price grows maybe is going to affect us as a company in a general way, part of our cost and expenses are going to be higher too, so the will have to adjust our prices at one time if the dollar value affects our finances, that means some of our consumers will not be willing to pay a certain amount of money.
Trading Economics, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/colombia/currency
Stock Market Trends

Colombia COLCAP Index is a market-capitalization weighted index that includes the 20 most liquid stocks listed in the BVC (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia). The market cap of the company represents the weighting on the index.
We can see trend has been variating over the months (2015) and currently its variation is negative.
The financial situation of companies, at least a good part of which are listed on the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC), remains positive and contrasts, in most cases, with the performance being recorded their actions in the past year. The explanation for this dilemma, consulted analysts agree, is that the market has overreacted to the current external and internal situation, and that while aspects such as devaluation of the peso, the drop in oil prices, weak economic growth and reform tax them are taking its toll on several companies in the country, its balance sheets still remain in positive territory. "It's hard to know which stocks have overreacted to this situation. What can not be overlooked is that these began to fall hard since last year. The first quarter of 2015 was terrible, being that companies have good financial results, but what he was doing the market was discounting the impact of the economic slowdown on the various sectors that make up the Colcap "said Omar Suarez, senior equity analyst Alliance Securities. AndrƩs SƔnchez Franco, researcher Corpbanca Asset Management, "we are affected by market tends to overreact both positive and negative about companies. We are in a stage of negative overreaction. We think that companies are already very cheap and should start showing signs of recovery, but that depends on both internal and external factors that show a more positive outlook for foreign investors and greater confidence in the local ".
Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, obtenidas el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: https://www.bvc.com.co/pps/tibco/portalbvc/Home/Mercados/enlinea/indicesbursatiles?com.tibco.ps.pagesvc.renderParams.sub45d083c1_14321f5c9c5_-78350a0a600b=action%3Ddetallar%26org.springframework.web.portlet.mvc.ImplicitModel%3Dtrue%26
Bloomberg Business, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/COLCAP:IND
El Tiempo (25 septiembre 2015), obtenido el 5 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.eltiempo.com/economia/sectores/efecto-de-la-caida-de-las-acciones-para-las-empresas/16386472
Foreign countries economic conditios
n order to understand the behavior of the trade market Colombia has, it must be done some research about the current economic situation of those countries that affect this Industry the most. Such countries are United States, China, European Union, and Latin America.
United States, one of the biggest exporters to Colombia. In 2015 will have a PIB of US$17, 42 billions, meaning a growth of 2, 3% compared to 2014 according to El Tiempo. And the provisitions for 2016, thar rate will growth in 0, 3 perceptual points. Ending the year in around 2, 6% (Guimon, 2015). On the other hand China has lived āits worst economic growth in 25 yearsā (Mundo, 2016). Having this year a growth of 6,9% towards the 7,3% in the 2014. Meaning the deceleration that the āAsian gigantā is living know a days. The other community that affects the trade market with Colombia is the European Union, that according to the European Commission the growth in 2015 is about 1,3% and for 2016 will be 1,9% according to the macroeconomic predictions. Also the European Commission is expecting that the economic situation of the European nations will raise.
The economic situation in Latin America is not the best one. Due to the negative growth that the FMI conclude, such estimation for 2015 is a negative growth of 0,3% and for 2016 it will get a little better with a growth of 0,8%.

Arana, I. (19 de noviembre de 2015). El crecimiento de China se situa por debajo del 7%. Obtenido de El Mundo: http://www.elmundo.es/economia/2015/10/19/562470fe22601dc45b8b4622.html
EFE. (15 de Diciembre de 2015). FMI revela a la baja el crecimiento de America Latina . Obtenido de Portafolio.co: http://www.portafolio.co/internacional/pronosticos-crecimiento-america-latina-2016-fmi
EFE. (2015). La CE pronostica alza del PIB zone euro hasta 1,3% en 2015. Obtenido de Portafolio.co: http://www.portafolio.co/internacional/pronosticos-crecimiento-la-zona-euro-2015-y-2016
Guimon, P. (19 de enero de 2015). El FMI rebaja previsiones de crecimiento global para 2016 y 2017. Obtenido de El PaĆs: http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2016/01/18/actualidad/1453155840_346756.html
Mundo, B. (19 de Enero de 2016). China regristra su peor crecimiento economico en 25 aƱos. Obtenido de BBC Mundo : http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2016/01/160118_china_peor_crecimiento_economico_25_anual_bm
Import/Export Factors
According to DANE (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica). Colombia, in the last fifteen years has had a negative average in the balance of trade āCalculate by getting the difference between Exports minus Imports-. This shows that the country is receiving more international products, causing more competition to our national products. Also our national products doesnāt have the promotion in an international scale. Causing that the amount of producst been admitted in the country is higher that the ones that are going out to other countries.
In 2015 Colombia had a shortfall in the balance of trade of US$14.508, 1. Evidenced in the daily trade with countries like China, United States, Mexico.



In terms of Services trade Colombia has increase the percentage in the past few years (2011-2014), with a growing of 0,5 perceptual points, meaning that Colombia has been increasing its capacity to export national services.
Banco Mundial. (s.f.). Indicadores Economicos- Comercio de Servicios (% del PIB). Obtenido de Banco Mundial web site: http://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/BG.GSR.NFSV.GD.ZS
DANE . (19 de Enero de 2016). Comercio Internacional- Balanza Comercial. Obtenido de Dane.gov.co: http://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/comercio-exterior/balanza-comercial
DANE. (2015). Balanza Comercial/1980-2015.
Demand Shifts different Categories of Goods and Services
The most important thing to have in mind in this variable is to understand that price of a service is the most important thing to have in mind. Our business about getting people to achieve their first job just by using a phone or a computer is going to be something that is new for some people and people will not have like a clear price of this kind of service, so here is where the organization need to be very carefully. To adapt the prices to the customer and also to the organizations that want to get the people. Being always fair and having the knowledge of the possible demand we could have. We can see how it works in the next chart:

In the chart we can clearly see how the change on the price is directly proportional to the quality of the product or service, it means that according to that there is always a breakeven between the price and quality, so if the price is high and the quality is not good then the demand is going to be down, and if the quality is good and the price low, then the demand will grow but the profit could not be the best for the company, so the breakeven is the best choice in every situation.
Taken on February 4th 2016, at: http://futures.tradingcharts.com/learning/supply_and_demand.html
Income Differences by Region and Consumer Groups
Colombia is a country in which its population have a huge difference in its social stratification. Dived in 6 social strata the contrast is evident. While the people living in strata 1-2 have to manage to live with COP$689.454, and with that they have to pay public services, transportation, basic needs. That covers or exceeds that income. on the other side, people living in strata 5-6, do not have this problem due to those people have income between 10 and 12 million pesos (almost 17 times the minimum wage), so they have a revenue that allows them to have a life without money necessities. The idea of our company is to help those who need to pay their study or to earn money to have more revenues while studding, so our company is focus on every student of every single social class, by providing them new jobs opportunities.
Redacción Economica . (30 de Diciembre de 2015). Salario minimo para 2016 quedo en $689.454. Obtenido de El Espectador: http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/economia/salario-minimo-2016-quedo-689454-articulo-608297
Price Fluctuations
The annual growth rate of the consumerās price index (IPC in spanish) was of 6,8% in December 2015, 4 tenths higher than the previous month. Also as shown in the next table the fluctuation prices of food and beverages, housing, transportation, etc. have risen during the year:

The situation described affect our business because of the rise in the cost of services so it would be difficult for us to determinate the amount that we are going to charge to our customers .
IPC COLOMBIA DICIEMBRE DE 2015
taken from http://www.datosmacro.com/ipc-paises/colombia in february the 6th 2016.
Export of Labor and Capital from Colombia
Our company no have products for export and import, we only provide a service, the option is that we become an international company, everyone knows us and so we can be the best option for students today who need their first job. Also on that page online, many people can go to work outside the country as more like.
Monetary Policies
To implement monetary policy is necessary to determine the inflation target to be achieved and the policy instruments to be used. From the year 2010 the Board of the Central Bank adopted the inflation target long-term had been proposed from the start of inflation targeting. This target corresponds to a range of inflation of 3% ± 1 percentage points, measured by the annual change in the consumer price index compiled by the DANE.

Monetary policy is closely linked to the political change (to ensure proper control of the amount of money in circulation) and fiscal policy (when the monetary authority must grant credits to finance your fiscal sector or budget deficits).
Taken on february 4th 2016, from:http://www.banrep.gov.co/es/como-se-implementa-la-politica-monetaria
Taken on february 4th 2016, from: https://jhunjhunwalas.wordpress.com/category/banking-central-banks-monetary-policy-interest-rate/
Fiscal Policies
Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions. Through fiscal policy, regulators attempt to improve unemployment rates, control inflation, stabilize business cycles and influence interest rates in an effort to control the economy.
Colombiaās economy has been growing and has been becoming stronger and one of the reasons is the changes made in fiscal policies, such as, the benefits government are giving to companies who want to develop a touristic project giving them tax exoneration for many years, just that fact is making the touristic sector in Colombia grow extremely fast, and that contributes with the whole economy.
With all the strategies that have been made over the last 7 or 8 years including the fiscal policies (known as major components of the economy), Colombia is growing as an economy and as a country, Colombia is generating more confidence on its creditors and on big companies who are settling up here because of the facilities given sometimes by these fiscal policies.
This is really important to us because we could infer that the development of the economy affects positively each corporation in the country, even PYMES, because they are operating in a stable environment and that also affect us positively because we can make more risks, try to expand quickly and trust the system.
Investopedia, obtenido el 5 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiscalpolicy.as
Tax Rates
Colombia, like any other emerging economy, is facing an increasingly competitive international economic environment, with certain advantages offered to foreign investors on taxes and incentives.
Taxes in Colombia can be of National or Regional level. National taxes apply to all the inhabitants of the national territory with the same tariff, meanwhile regional taxes have tariffs within a range determined by national law, which regions cannot surpass. Here is brief description of the most important taxes:

In 2015, taxes represented about 20% of de GDP (PIB), thus, corporations are contributing and the legal environment related with taxes is operating well, that means government is getting money to continue investing in research and development or technology that directly help us by having the capacity to access to the newest technologies and innovation and in this way improve our segment of market.
ProColombia, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.investincolombia.com.co/how-to-invest/taxes.html
Dinero, obtenido el 2 de febrero de 2016, available at: http://www.dinero.com/economia/articulo/impuestos-colombia/206687
European Economic Community (EEC) Policies
The European Economic Community has policies for 15 different economic activities: agriculture, fishing and feeding, science and technology, culture, education and youthfulness, economy, finance and tax, social rights and employment, business, weather, energy and natural resources, civil society, inside justice and rights of citizens, environment, consumers and health, foreign policy of the European union, transversal policies, regions and local development, transportation and travel.
European Comission, "The policies" (March 2015) Found at:http://ec.europa.eu/policies/index_en.htm
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Policies
In accordance with its Statute, the mission of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.
In 2015 foreign investment in Colombia has decreased 94%, particularly due to the oilās sector decrease of profits. The fall of the oil was of 26%, also explained for the drop of 23% of the investment in this sector.
The situation described affect our business because most of the oil companies are making layoffs in lieu of providing new jobs opportunities so the number of job offers in Colombia may decrease.
OPEC policies and mission
Taken in february the 6th 2016. Available in the OPEC site: http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/publications/345.htm
Coalitions of lesser Developed Countries (LDC) Policies
LDC have 3 basic policies:
1). Macroeconomic stability ā low and stable inflation, low gov't debt
2). Health ā better health raises productivity, promotes long-term thinking
3). Education ā important for developing modern economy.
At the same time it is said that LDC policies should include development of agriculture and industry policies; and development of growth coalitions creating coordination and cooperation between countries for investing, increasing productivity and technological advance.
Also the UN have a variety of policies for helping this countries that take into account 3 principal aspects: trade, development assistance, general support.
Princeton, "Trade in Policies in Less-Developed countris (LDCs)" (Spring 2010) Found at: https://www.princeton.edu/~dixitak/Teaching/InternationalTrade/Slides/ECO352_20.pdf
United Nations, "The Least Developed Countries Report 2009" Found at: https://books.google.com.co/books?id=JN3ovcW-GSQC&pg=PT28&lpg=PT28&dq=coalitions+of+lesser+developed+countries+(LDC)+policies&source=bl&ots=mwGz3IT6sk&sig=Za9NQVP5LS1ISQED6sLat3HvQtA&hl=es-419&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBDgKahUKEwj72q34r7PHAhXBXR4KHbpvBc4#v=onepage&q=coalitions%20of%20lesser%20developed%20countries%20(LDC)%20policies&f=false
UN, "What are least developed countries (LDCs)?" Found at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/cdp/ldc_info.shtml