What Is A Service Business?

A service business is a business where a company provides services to its client instead of a physical product. These services help the clients to complete their tasks in which they lack knowledge or do not have the time to complete the task.

What Is A Service Business?

A service business is a service-based business where skilled services, personal labour or expertise is provided as a business product. These services include hairstylists, accountants, plumbers, doctors, cleaning staff, consulting and many more. Since they are used by those people who have no knowledge about the task or have no time to complete the task, the business is always on high demand making it a profitable business.

Types Of Service Businesses

Service businesses can be categorized into

• Health and Wellness –

This includes services like doctor’s clinic, dental office, hair salon, nail salon, spa, massage therapy, physical therapy.

• Business Services –

This includes information technology consultant, law office, marketing agency, software engineering, real estate, financial advisor, graphic design.

• Transportation –

This includes services like taxi, bus, airline, ride sharing.

• Home Services –

This includes services like lawn care, cleaning, plumbing, dog walking, junk removal.

What Is A Good Service Business To Start?

Starting a service business can be a good idea and rewarding. Before you enter the service business you must consider the following points –

• What Experience Do I Have? –

Consider the skills you already have or you can easily acquire to start the business. If you have knowledge about the skilled service or an expertise in the area, it will be easier for you to establish yourself in the business. If you do not have any such skill then consider which skill you can acquire by learning or doing some course in it like hairstyling.

• Does The Skill Require A License? –

There may be some skills that may need a license to operate like taxi service. There are services which do not require any license or certification like lawn care or cleaning.

• What Niche Is Open In My Service Area? –

There may be a gap in the service being provided in your area. You can start the business to fill in the gap. For example, there may not be a pool maintenance provider in your area or cleaning businesses being booked months ago. You could fill in the gap by providing these services.

• What Is My Start-Up Budget? –

Consider the budget you have for starting the business and the type of funding you can get.

• Do I Want Year-Round or Seasonal Work? –

In case you have a fulltime job, you may need to start the service business which works only for few months especially when the services provided by you are in demand. In other scenario if you are totally dependent on your business in terms of finances, then you may opt for service business which can run throughout the year.

Best Practices To Follow When Doing Service Business

Quality of customer experience is the main thing you need to focus on while running a service business. This is very much different from a product business where the focus is the quality of the product. As a businessman running service business you should adhere to the following practices –

• Set The Right Prices –

The prices should be set so that the customers are happily paying them and you are making the profits.

• Use Word–Of–Mouth Marketing –

When satisfied customers share their positive feedback about your services there are chances that potential customers use your services. You can use the positive feedback to your advantage by setting up a customer referral program and asking for reviews. You may share them on your business website.

• Offer Excellent Customer Service –

Providing an excellent service is the key feature to run a successful service business. You could do by communicating with the customer before, during and after the service and evaluating their feedback.

• Train Your Team –

Your team is the face of your business. They deal with the customers directly. You should train your employees and have clearly laid down standards, procedures and policies the team needs to follow.

• Nail Down Processes –

You should properly lay down the processes related to accepting online bookings, quoting work, scheduling work, invoicing clients and getting paid.

Conclusion

Service business is a good idea as a small business. They can be successful and rewarding if you focus good quality services and cash on good customer reviews and feedbacks. Besides providing quality services you need to have a trained staff and well laid down policies, processes and standards.

IIFL Finance can help you get the funding you need to make your service-based business into a booming success. IIFL Finance provides loans at attractive rates and flexible repayment terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does a service business make money?
Ans- Service businesses typically charge for their services in one of two ways: on a project basis, where a flat fee is charged for a specific project or on an hourly basis, where the customer is charged for the amount of time the service is provided.

2. How do I choose a service business idea?
Ans- Choosing a service business idea requires taking into account your abilities, knowledge, interests, and market demand.

3. How can I market my service business effectively?
Ans- One of the best ways to market your business is through websites and social media platforms. Using the word-of-mouth marketing technique is highly beneficial as well.