The service industry is huge, empowering small businesses all over Australia; everything from a/c maintenance to office cleaning is offered by local providers and every sector is very competitive. It’s all about supply and demand; if there is a demand, market forces will increase supply and if you see a need for a service in your local community and wish to fill that need, here are some important aspects to consider.
- Know your competition – Let’s say you see a demand for printing in Melbourne and you want to rent retail space, you first need to find all printers within a 10 km radius and so some research, find out what they offer and their prices. If you realistically see a way that you can compete, your business idea just became a viable project. What type of businesses would need your service? Can you come up with a concept? The more you know about similar ventures, the better. Pay each one a visit and be observant, take onboard things you think might help you with your operation.
- Break it down – Whatever service you are selling, calculate the cost of a minimum unit; it might be a typical a/c service call, or an end of tenancy clean, how much does it cost you to bring that to the table? How much would you need to make to pay all running costs? The answers to questions like these will help you write a comprehensive business plan, which is the final step in the set up process.
- Marketing – How will the local community know of your existence? Digital marketing is an essential; build a website and invest in SEO services, list the business will all online directories for maximum exposure; visit a local print shop for promotional material (flyers and banners) and blend online with traditional marketing. Make a big deal of your grand opening; plan a live event to launch the venture and use your imagination; local radio, social media, podcasts, do what you can to announce your birth.
- Customer focused – Every successful service business is customer-focused, that’s how they got to the top; assess the customer’s experience and look for ways to improve; you are likely to be in an industry where repeat business is the norm, so customer retention is everything, while at the same time, looking to find new customers.
- Funding – It can take up to a year for a new business to become established in terms of regular income, so you need to take this into account. Many small businesses fail due to lack of funds; borrow if need be, do whatever it takes to get through the first few months.
If you have done your homework and have a watertight business plan with aggressive digital marketing, there is every reason to expect a degree of success and over the next few years, you can become an integral part of the local community.