What Are Business Services?
Regardless of industry or niche, every successful business needs two things: a product to sell and customers willing to buy it. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to market products and services today. Whether you are a small company looking to grow your client base or an established corporation seeking to expand your marketing reach, business services can help.
Often confused with business operations, business services are activities that benefit companies without supplying physical products. These can include a variety of tasks from administrative support to management and IT consulting. Business services are one of the largest service sectors in the European Union, contributing 11% of GDP.
A business that provides services to other businesses can operate as either a sole proprietorship or a partnership. A sole proprietorship is owned and operated by a single person, and that individual assumes full liability for all aspects of the business. The owner also has the freedom to hire employees as needed. Partnerships are similar, but the liability of the partners is shared. A limited company is a type of partnership that has been legally registered with the relevant government authority. Limited companies are taxed in the same way as partnerships and sole proprietorships.
Some of the most common types of business services are a pest control company that addresses animal and plant infestations in company buildings, a maintenance service provider for fixing electrical or plumbing issues, a graphic design firm that creates logos, signage, packaging and publications for other companies and a technology consulting company that troubleshoots problems with networks and other IT systems. Many of these services are necessary for companies to function effectively, and hiring a professional is often more cost-effective than trying to fix the problem in-house.
Another form of business service is product as a service, where the product is delivered as a regular recurring fee together with ongoing operation, management and maintenance. This model is gaining popularity in the IT sector, with computing equipment and infrastructure sold on this basis alongside a recurring subscription to software that operates, maintains and manages the device. Other examples of this type of service are a cloud infrastructure platform, telecommunications and office space.
People who enjoy a fast-paced, challenging work environment and have strong interpersonal and communication skills should consider a career in business services. However, some of these jobs can be stressful, and those who don’t have the ability to deal with pressure may not find this a good fit for them, Spinelli says. In addition, some of these roles require close collaboration with clients. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to complete an online virtual training program to learn the basic skills needed for these positions.