Running a Service based Business - Pros and Cons Guest Article

All of us have our own set of skills and areas of expertise—all you really need to possess is the drive, dedication and the desire to turn your skills into a revenue generating opportunity.

A service based business is difficult to start and continue simply because in essence, you will be basically selling yourself and not a product. And in a consumer conscious world, your biggest challenge as a service based business owner will be in building and providing a tangible experience of your services to a customer.

The entire crux of a service based business is centered on your ability to not only reach the right customers, but to also maintain your clientele.

Everything from your skills, to your professional competence to your customer service and relationship building abilities to how well you can package yourself and your services to suit the needs of your customers will be under the glare and yes scrutinized by your potential clients. In the service based business it helps to remember at all times that the product that you will be selling your customers primarily, is you.

However if you can get past the initial hiccups of starting your service business, the rewards can be more than satisfactory. The time, effort and hard work will pay of rich dividends in the form of a thriving business, good revenue and in the opportunity of letting loose your creative skills and interests.

Every business is subject to volatile market trends, various degrees of customer satisfaction and expectations and the numerous laws of marketing and publicity etc. However in the service business the onus of success almost always is placed with the customer. Since a service business is where you are offering your customer some form of service, the only way he/she can access your expertise or skills is by actually giving you a try. And if you are new or unknown, getting set into the business can be difficult.

Although this should not deter you if your mind is made up, one of the best ways of assessing any situation or as is the case a business, is to consider the pros and the cons very carefully and based on that one can chart out a further course of action.

Pros of the service business

Undoubtedly there are several advantages of starting out your own service business. Here are some of the most obvious ones-

You get to be your own boss: This is one of the top reasons of getting not just into the service business, but any business. Being the boss, you are in effect in control of your time, resources and future, your destiny. No more being answerable to higher authorities, no more having to adhere to rules and regulations laid out by someone else. You can plan and organize your life according to your wishes.

A major selling point of the service business is that there is no end to the kinds of service based business ideas to choose from. From child care, to pet care, VA services to resume writing or domestic services such as housekeeping or errand service the list just goes on and on. If you have a skill or are good with anything and you feel that there is a market for selling it, then it is an option definitely worth exploring.

In most instances, the ease of setting up the business and the relatively low investment required especially if you are running it out of your home is a major contributing factor. If you have some spare space or room, then with a few adjustments and changes you can easily run your business. For example if you are planning on becoming a VA, all you really need is a computer with internet connection, a phone and fax machine, a desk and chair and some basic office stationary.

Money: On the top of most people’s list, a service business has the potential of providing you with good revenue. If you plan your business well, you sit to gain income that can even surpass your expectations!

Cons of the service business

Risk- One of the biggest drawbacks to this business is the risk involved. You may be skilled at your job or service, but without the backing of a good business plan and marketing strategies the chances of your business succeeding is almost zero. Another risk factor is the off hand chance that even after careful planning and analysis, the market that you intend to break into will not respond favorably.

Another drawback to the service business is the lack of a tangible product for the customer can see or touch making it difficult for a customer to accept your skills based only on your word. It can be especially difficult to convince a new customer of your skills and superiority of service.

Uncertainty: this is something that comes with the job. Yes, it is not easy being a business owner, and while it is the perfect opportunity to showcase and utilize your talents and skills the sheer uncertainty of whether or not you will succeed requires a strong and positive mindset. Not a lot of people have the tenacity to weather storms.

No guarantees of a steady source of income/ no benefits- your income will be dependant of the work available only. Besides this, you will be responsible for paying out your health insurance premium or life insurance.

Conclusion
Starting your own service business can be a dream come true. However if you really want to succeed in this business, the best way forward would be through careful consideration of all contributing factors. Condition yourself to look at the bigger picture in the future, while not loosing focus of what is required in the present.

Contributed by Bizymoms.com:
Bizymoms.com has been helping moms work from home for over 10 years. Visit today to enjoy best home based business ideas, free resources including live chats, interactive message boards and informative articles. Still don’t have a home business? Start your business the easy way with a Bizymoms’ Career Kit! Lifetime Website included! http://www.bizymoms.com/cart/careers/index.html

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Time to Revisit your Performance Review and Employee Talent Management

Whether it is the 360 degree feedback to the employees or the managers or the personal one-on-one performance appraisal, it is time to revisit your goals and perform a detailed work analysis at the middle of the year. If you are working towards a bonus, salary raise or just want to remain in the “not-in-the-layoff” list; continuous self-development and keeping track of your performance is the key to success and ensures that no surprises jump on you at the time of the year-end appraisal.
It is also the time to familiarize yourself on any new changes to the appraisal forms or just to look around if the goals are still consistent with your present work. Also look up the performance management system if your manager has added any comments in the last few months to your review or added new goals that you are unaware of.

The point is that - Do not wait for the year-end review as the main measure of your performance, it needs to be done regularly. Analyze yourself on such points:

• How much and what steps have you taken to develop your skills in the first half of the year?


• How have you contributed towards increased productivity of your group or project?


• Have you analyzed your (or your groups) training needs?


• How have you become a better worker?
  
• Where are you on the defined goals for the year?

And of course other topics that are relevant to your job. A detailed analysis and documenting your accomplishments will keep you on track and gives you the opportunity to present yourself as a diligent and committed employee.
Also remember that it is an employee’s responsibility to be proactive and keep track of their own performance management, the management provides the tools. Also read some tips here on how to give effective performance reviews to employees.

Benefits to the Employer

Keeping track of employee talent management on a regular basis ensures good performance and better retention rate for employers. Good managers ensure placing the right people at the right position and keeping track of employee talent and performance enables companies to perform better.

Regular performance review, talent management and feedback from the management are one of the key reasons to retain good talent. Employees feel frustrated when they see no feedback, appreciation or when there appears no scenario of being involved or being a part of the company they work for. Such examples are more and more evident as the Millennials enter the workforce, constant and effective feedback cycles are truly essential to the health of an organization. Management and HR must be diligent to provide good training on the performance management systems and also taking time to time feedback from the employees on how they feel about the present system.

In the next post I shall discuss how one company is presenting and improving upon an effective employee appraisal and talent management system.

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Mind your Speech and Blogging at the workplace

True indeed, Freedom of Speech comes to the US citizens as a right, but it may not be so at the workplace. There have been a few instances of employees being fired from a workplace as they expressed "views" on a blog. Interestingly there is even a website with the list of fired bloggers.

With YouTube and the social networking websites infiltrating the websites and luring employees to quickly "check-in" while at the workplace, it is easy to vent emotions on the internet. An advice which probably should be added to all the new employees orientation and of course communicated to existing employees must be on corporate blogging policies.

Sample Corporate Blogging policy

1. Make it clear that the views expressed in the blog are yours alone and do not necessarily represent the views of your employer.


2. Respect the company’s confidentiality and proprietary information.


3. Ask your manager if you have any questions about what is appropriate to include in your blog.


4. Be respectful to the company, employees, customers, partners, and competitors.


5. Understand when the company asks that topics not be discussed for confidentiality or legal compliance reasons.


6. Ensure that your blogging activity does not interfere with your work commitments.

(The above policies are taken from Blogging Policies Examples)

Of course freedom of speech is very much welcome everywhere and comes as a right to all US residents but there are a few points to note before you start firing unpleasant comments about your company or employees. For a good example see IBM's blogging policy: http://www.snellspace.com/IBM_Blogging_Policy_and_Guidelines.pdf.

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Layoffs and Recession - Articles from the Careerbright Blog

With the news of layoffs and recession all around the media these days, I have compiled a list of articles on the Careerbright blog that might be helpful to those who are in a layoff or looking for alternative career moves during recession. The signs are very much evident and more than 100 visitors per day accessing the most read post on this blog: Sample Goodbye Email to Colleagues There have been reports of mass layoffs in the US in April and May 2008, and the times are tough. Here are a few posts that might help you in some way or the other:

• Am I going to be in a Layoff?
• Accepting and Dealing with a Layoff
• Sample Goodbye Email to Colleagues
• Saying Goodbye to Work – The Right Way
• What to do after a Layoff
• Best Jobs to have during Recession
• Post Layoff 5 Step Successful Comeback Plan
• Who all to Contact when Looking for a Job
• SAMPLE RESUME - Career Change and Re-entering the Workforce
• Managing your Career during Recession
• Learning from a Layoff – is it the Right Time to Innovate and be Independent?
• How to be Optimistic during the Job Search Process
• In a Tough Economy will Freelance Thrive
• Creating more Jobs can help Abate Recession
• Dressing up for an Interview
• Be Self Directed and Self Motivated when Working from Home
• Top 5 Reasons why you want to Work Part-Time
  

In a Tough Economy will Freelance Thrive

Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond.
~Jeffrey Borenstein

And that to me is what freelancing is all about.

A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer. (Source: WiKi)

To begin on the freelancing career first specify what you are good at. Are you an expert at something a product expert or a service expert or with proficient knowledge at least? Try to get in the customers shoes to answer this question: Why should I hire this person? If you can give a few solid reasons why the person on the other side hire you, then go ahead and market yourself. Freelancing could be for you.
However not only doing what you are good at makes a good freelancer, you have to be equally good at managing your time and working on your own.
A quick advice: Know your limits and do not over commit on a project or several of them. The internet can be nasty at getting back at you, it is very easy for clients to post negative statements about you and that hurts the reputation and hinders the possibility of landing more projects.

An advantage for a freelancer during the tough recession times is a somewhat cash-flow security even if you are in a layoff from a full-time job. And also even if you are working part-time on your present job you can still find time to some freelance work (to make that extra dough for the rainy days). That also makes the framework of starting your own business somewhere down the road.

Some good tips on how not to make some mistakes on freelancing are on the FreelanceSwitch website at 10 Biggest Mistakes Freelancers Make, and How to Avoid Them.

All ready to begin freelancing? You can access some freelance jobs online through these various freelance specific job boards:

• Freelance Switch
• iFreelance
• GoFreelance

And here are some books that advice you well on the road to freelancing, it is always a good idea to read from the experts before venturing out on unknown grounds. Test yourself well before committing and that eliminates disappointment and under performance.

• Six-Figure Freelancing by Kelly James-Enger
• Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments by Jenna Glatzer
• The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels by Samuel G. Freedman

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Why Hitting the Gym can get you Ahead at Work

Tired of being a slave to your Blackberry 24/7? Are you skipping the gym, family events, or doctors visits because of a crushing workload? According to Marty and Joshua Seldman, authors of the new book EXECUTIVE STAMINA, working too hard for too long has a high price.

I recently interviewed Marty Seldman, Executive Coach and the author of the new book Executive Stamina: How to Optimize Time, Energy, and Productivity to Achieve Peak Performance. Present here is an excerpt from the interview. The complete interview and podcast shall be available soon.

Q. Marty congratulations on your new book. I wanted to know what was the inspiration behind this book?

I have been an executive coach 22 yrs and luckily coached over for 1500 people and I started seeing patterns where people with good intentions and good work ethics would push themselves to a point where they were making more mistakes because of tiredness and stress and get away from good practices of fitness and nutrition and and I started seeing patterns undermine their own goals make mistakes through tiredness and also made precious trade offs in their personal life.

Q. Do you think getting tired and working long hours has major health risk factors for executives CEOs and all other employees? How have you seen this during your work experience?

In many studies and research it has been proven that you get to that point of diminishing return where extra work leads to poor results. And in business it is so easy to make mistakes and undermine your career. People make mistakes and blame it on being too tired at work. If you are too busy and too tired and too stressed you will make mistakes which eventually will hurt your career.
Wonderful communication devices like Cell phones, Blackberries etc., lines have blurred between work and home. We find many people are now addicted to these devices. It is rare that people are taking a vacation and not checking in to the office daily.

Q. What are your tips on how exercise and endurance training can help these executives and employees in their career?

The book provides a holistic approach to fitness and integrating it in your career. In the book we say that even though you have a mental job and you sit around most of the time you must look at your job as a physical job.
I saw some chess players running 6 miles a day and that I wondered why they need to run when they sit on their chairs and focus. But these jobs require concentration, alertness, verbal discipline and also high level of interpersonal skills and you need a program where your energy is sustained throughout the day and there would not be a drop-off.

Q. What tips do you suggest on integrating exercise in our workplace?

We need to be realistic but also creative there was a woman we worked with who said “I don’t have the time”, now she has walking meetings and they just go for walks talking about the issues. Go for walks and think about strategic planning, people can combine exercise with commute to a certain degree. We definitely say that be creative go for walks and walk to the person instead of sending emails. Do the basic things at least to maintain the basic level of fitness.

Q. Going through the abstract of Executive Stamina, I see that it is primarily divided into 5 parts… Work/Life Alignment , Health And Wellness, Job Performance And Business Results, Career Management, Maintaining Positive Relationships. That is a broad and important range of topics covered, what according to you is the main message that you wish to get across through this book?

Joshua is an endurance athlete and a sports coach we started to see that really building the capacity so that you can maintain energy and enthusiasm throughout the day required proper nutrition and exercise. Do you want to be able to maintain the clear focus - then foundation is fitness, and the expression we use is you are too busy not to exercise - meaning that exercise gives you so much benefit. The more fit you are, more you would be perceived as a confident and trustworthy leader.
People have to look out for sleep as well. You may often make mistakes if the body is not well rested. And in order to sleep well your body needs to be tired from some physical work.

Q. I endorse the point of view of progressive change, what are your tips on integrating career life and health, can we find time for all that? Especially I talk in favor of a working mother who is always short time on time- how to find time to integrate work time and health and fitness? How can we find more time to integrate work and personal life, does making a plan help? What your tips on that?

You need to understand that what are your absolute priorities, you cannot be a good mother or a romantic partner if you do not have a good foundation in health.
We have found that people believe that if something is worth doing it worth doing it right or perfect and that can be a trap that leads to people tending towards being a perfectionist.
And we reach a point that we are not too good at anything. We need to prioritize what we need to do and what we need to do really well. We overcommit and that can be a trap if we believe in doing everything right all the time we are in the perfectionist zone we advice to really prioritize and .. most people do not make these distinctions.
What it comes down to is - Learning to say NO. We try to show that everything you say yes to you say no to something else; we discuss a technique in the book called a soft no and I often observe that particularly women have a tougher time saying No than men.

Q. So it would be right to say that this book provides a holistic approach to career and life management with keeping in mind that health is the most important aspect of one’s life.

Yes, definitely. We often tend to drift away from good practices – unless you have a great friend who can be very candid with you it is very difficult to know when you are drifting away. We need systems to keep us from drifting - In the book there is a chapter dedicated to this topic. People whom I have approached.. many of them say that is the most useful for them since it helps make sure that their priorities and their values are aligned ..and the final section is on how to apply it to the relationship with family and friends and not let them drift either.

In these trying time of recession and downturn it is important to keep the focus, be positive and keep on with a positive pace and not be in the drift. For more tips on how to approach your career and life positively and enhance your success through building up stamina and endurance read Marty and Joshua Seldman's book EXECUTIVE STAMINA where they explain how to increase effectiveness at work and enhance personal fulfillment by focusing on fitness, nutrition, time and stress management, and building positive relationships. .