If you want to be a profitable start-up in 2020, you should provide services to other businesses as a business-to-business (B2B) company. While service businesses are relatively easy to start, many entrepreneurs shy away from them, preferring to promote a product. Let’s highlight 15 B2B services that you can provide in your start-up in 2020.
1. Business consultant/business coach
If you have had success creating, starting, running and growing a business, you should consider being a business consultant or business coach. You would give other entrepreneurs the benefit of your expertise. You could answer questions they have as a start-up. You could provide key advice. You also could help them avoid the mistakes you have encountered. You’ll find it very fulfilling to give guidance and advice to other entrepreneurs. Business consultants provide advice that you don’t have to accept, but business coaches hold their clients accountable to implement those changes into their business.
2. Analytics for small businesses
If you have experience and knowledge about the metrics of running a business, you should consider providing analytical services to business owners. They need to understand their budgets, benefits of spending money in some locations and disadvantages to spending money on other parts of the business. Analytics provide these data points, but entrepreneurs often don’t understand how to get them or use them. You could help other small businesses raise their venture capital and grow their business.
3. Researching services
Entrepreneurs aren’t always willing or have the time to conduct their own research and feasibility studies for their business ideas. You could offer this service to them. Through research and feasibility studies, you will examine different aspects of the idea. Studies are needed on marketing, the technology uses, research and development and automation. When you present the results of the studies to the client, you would provide them with valuable information they need to be able to succeed.
4. Writing services
Entrepreneurs need writers for a number of processes. They need writers to create a business plan, write content in their marketing and write for a blog or social media. Entrepreneurs often don’t know how to create content effectively and don’t want to take the time to learn how to create content in the correct way. Every business needs well-written content and business plans to move the company in the way they should. When entrepreneurs hire your writing business, you will help them focus on what they need to make investors come on board the business venture. The content also will help the company become well-known and the first choice of someone to use. Companies also want writers to create press releases to send to media and other public relations work.
5. Investing in business opportunities
You could be a company that invests in other companies. You would provide the service to research business opportunities and trends in an industry. When you see a trend that might result in a growing need for a new idea, you could plan to invest in companies that are at the forefront of that new idea. You also could provide the services yourself.
6. Marketing
You can help small and medium-sized businesses build their own brand and maximize their awareness to their target audience. You would provide the marketing expertise to help build brand awareness. Marketing is a large group of services. You could pick one piece of the marketing plan, such as writing content or social media, or you could become a marketing consultant or manager where you provide all of it.
7. Graphic design
Like writing services, all companies need artists. These are designers who will create a unique logo to help you be different among so many competitors. Artists also provide pictures for social media sites and designs for t-shirts or promotional products. They create brochures. They can critique your website for visual problems and fix them. They can provide entrepreneurs advice on other visuals that make the company have a brand. The right logo and other visuals are what will propel entrepreneurs from the obscure to top of minds.
8. Social media consultant
As mentioned previously, entrepreneurs need to have a digital presence and be able to market their brand. Some companies focus solely on social media marketing while others do all marketing. Regardless, if you want to provide services to small business owners, you could offer social media services such as social media coaching. You could coach and advise small business owners on what they need to do, or you could do it for them. You have to understand which sites are beneficial for your client and which are not. You have to know what to post and when. You have to understand brand awareness.
9. Employee recruitment services
Human resources management is now a function of outsourcing. Previously, human resources was a function within a company, but many small business owners are hiring firms that provide these services outside the company. It is saving them in the long run and providing a much-needed job function. If you have human resource expertise and understand healthcare rules and employment laws, you could provide these services to companies. You also could offer advice on health insurance plans, workman’s compensation laws, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules, payroll and employee benefits. You also could provide assistance in hiring employees.
10. Bookkeeping services
Businesses are often looking for someone to take over the responsibility and tediousness of bookkeeping. If you have a background in bookkeeping, this could be a profitable business opportunity. While bookkeeping and accounting might sound similar, they are not. Usually, bookkeepers work with accountants to make sure entrepreneurs’ books are in order for the Internal Revenue Service and state officials. Bookkeepers also do the daily number-crunching while accountants plan.
