Many people want to start a business but get stuck thinking about what type of business to start. They think that they have to start a business that is fully unique and fills a previously unmet need. This is a narrow view. Yes, there may be brand new ideas that can grant you a business that meets a need people had no idea they wanted. But these businesses take a long time and a great amount of investment to succeed.
To guarantee success and turn a profit within a few short years, starting a support services business is better. You can help other companies to do their work better. A B2B or business to business company has a very reliable customer base that can be retained with minimum work. They do not require constant advertising and adaptation to marketing norms that regular customers demand.
Support services can cover a wide range of areas and provide an effective and efficient solution. This takes a great deal of pressure off a business. Some of these services address a need beyond simply increasing revenue, such as fire protective PPE for emergency workers. Others help businesses enter the digital market, such as with digital marketing companies or software developers.
To find out the best support service you can offer with your expertise and within your community, it is best to start by understanding the different types of services that exist. This will help you to begin identifying the support services that are lacking for businesses in your area.
Software Support Services
This is one of the most popular and upwardly mobile support services today. Every business is now aware that they can benefit from some software programming work. But few know to supply this work themselves. Thus, a software programming services company or a security software company could easily turn a profit. You can provide sweeping upgrades to business systems to bring them more modern programs and technology. You could also give them anti-virus and application updating services on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
Consulting Support Services
Small to medium-sized businesses need outside assistance and expertise in several areas when they are expanding their business. Some larger corporations also readily hire experienced consultants to help them understand how to achieve goals in specific areas. You can offer consultations on efficiency, financial planning, budgeting, auditing, management, marketing, and many more.
Soft Skill Support Services
Many companies realize that soft skills are just as valuable at helping employees to be effective and productive in the workplace and with clients. You can offer training seminars or teaching retreats, or even online courses that businesses can purchase to train their employees in improving their soft skills.
Workshops and presentations are also very popular ways to carry out such training. Companies will pay a sizable fee to do these training programs if you can pitch a good enough reason for why they should choose your company over anyone else. A demonstrable record of success at conducting training workshops and seminars will help you a great deal here. Consider conducting these workshops at colleges or schools for a discounted price to pad put your resume.
Event Management Support Services
This is a lucrative area but may be somewhat more seasonal than an annually profitable venture. Businesses have to conduct events for several reasons and may not have the in-house expertise to plan and execute an appropriate event for the occasion.
You could offer the expertise and ability to plan and deliver appropriately themed, catered, and decorated events for office parties, fundraising events, holiday parties, and corporate social responsibility fulfillment events.
Business support services do not always have to be in highly practical areas. Wellness and health positive services are also a niche that needs filling. This area has recently started to gain more traction, so there could be many ways to approach building a business to fill this niche. The pandemic has driven home the fact that employees are more productive and efficient in an environment where they feel safe, happy, and supported.
Now that employees can return to the office, companies want to recreate this same feeling of security and support in the workplace to ensure that the same level of productivity is maintained. Thus, you can offer spa retreats that companies can gift to well-performing employees or offer nutrition consulting and training to help employees know how to cook and prepare healthy meals.
Some companies are seeking workplace counseling services to help forge an environment of communication and understanding within the workplace. Others seek weekly exercise sessions in yoga or Pilates led by an instructor who can help the employees learn healthy ways to release tension, so they feel more satisfaction in the workplace.