The purpose of this presentation is to look at what it takes to create a services business. You may want to consider a services business in addition to your current business so let’s get started.
In a services business there are a number of characteristics to consider. We are going to look at 4 of them a little more “in depth”. Let’s start with Expertise…
The first characteristic of a services business is that you need to know how to do something and be able to do it well.
(Tell the story about the young girl in Kazakhstan with a passion for horses)
Include:
Learning
Idea “riding lessons”
Accounting “Costs of stable, feed, horse”
Market Planning
Investor
This is an example of someone turning a passion into a business.
It worked. She is looking another horse and someone to help.
There are many opportunities to provide services for people. You just need to look at your passions and your formal training and see how this might result in a business that could be very profitable.
I’ll share a BUNCH of ideas for services businesses as we wrap up this session.
The next characteristic is a willingness to work hard.
Services businesses usually require a LOT of personal involvement. You need to:
Perform the service
Talk to the customer about what to expect from the service.. (Set expectations)
Sell your services
Repeat this cycle, over and over again.
Keep in mind that to expand your business you need to hire and train more people, and then you have to do more marketing, selling and repeating, to keep employees busy..
Thisis HARD WORK.
Another characteristic is the need for “self reliance”.
It’s all up to you.
You need to motivate employees, encourage tham.
You need to motivate yourself
You need to do the hard work
You need to be disciplined to not only set an example but to increase your profitability
You need to develop that passion
You need to focus on that passion..
So you can see that a service business is all about being self reliant.
Another characteristic of a service business is “enjoying people”.
In a service business you need to enjoy people. People are those who buy from you. So you need to enjoy people.
So to check yourself and see your “enjoyment level”… Read your marketing. Are you putting the customer first? Is your emphasis on how your service will make be enjoyable for the customer? Listen to your own sales pitch. Do you hear sincerity? Can people see that you care?
The truth of services businesses is that “People buy from people they like!”
The last few slides cover the typical issues faced by a services business. Services businesses are easy to start, Don’t require a lot of capital and can be profitable quickly!
(Tell them about SkyView…)
Services buisnesses aren’t all enjoyment. There are issues:
Limited income potential. There are only so many hours in a day that you can work. You can add more employees but each new employee only has a limited number of hours they can work. The other issue is that you may train someone and they eventually quit and set up a business in competition with you business.
Contrast this with a product business where your income is only limited by the # of products you can produce and sell..
Customers… you need to be constantly checking with your customers to make sure that the service you are performing is satisfactory.
So there are issues to a services business.
But.. There are also some great rewards with a services business.
Here are just a few of the rewards… (Read list)
As with any business opportunity you need to weigh the risks/issues with the rewards and make the decision if this is right for you.
So let’s look at a LONG list of businesses that are all services businesses that you can start, or maybe you can “augment” to create a unique business for you.
(Stop read each of the following slides)