A service business does not produce a tangible product; rather, it provides intangible assistance to companies seeking to improve or maintain the performance of their businesses. This is a broad category that includes such diverse activities as office management, financial services, consulting, marketing and logistics.
Providing these types of assistance to businesses is an important role for the economy and is the main source of employment in many countries. Often, companies hire out some of these specialized services instead of doing them themselves to save money and time. A good example is an architectural firm that hires out its engineering, drafting and project planning to other firms that do not offer these services. A company could also outsource its IT infrastructure management or shipping operations to other third-party providers.
In addition to these centralized services, there are many other services that can be provided to help a business operate efficiently. For example, some companies provide employee-sponsored child care to allow their employees to work from home or other locations away from the workplace. Other examples include delivery services, which provide essential products to companies for distribution to their customers, and utility service providers that supply water, electricity and gas to a company’s offices and retail locations.
This is an area of business that can have a variety of career paths, from entry-level to the executive level. Those who choose to pursue jobs in this field should be well-rounded and have the ability to adapt quickly as their responsibilities change.