How to write a Service business plan in Nigeria

How to write a Service business plan in Nigeria

 

Ever heard the word “Service Business” before? Sounds a bit technical right? Don’t mind the English man, he just likes to complicate matters. No biggie, let me give it to you straight: A service business is a type of business that offers services to its customers, as opposed to selling products. Basically, that’s it. Every other thing na grammar!

A service business is a company that provides certain professional support to its clients. In this kind of business, what you are selling is not a tangible one, instead the offering of the business is activity-based. That is, you do some activities that deliver some form of value to your clients or customers and you get paid for those activities. Although there are several thousand of service businesses out there in the world, some of the interesting examples of service-based businesses I can readily cough out in the immediate include consulting, accounting, transportation, cleaning, hospitality, traveling, maintenance, counselling, among others. I should possibly give you more examples later on. But the key issue here is, if you are involved in this kind of business – or you’re planning to start one, you already get the gist and you know what I am talking about and have described so far – chances are you are thinking about writing a business plan for your service business. There is a little twist to writing service business plan in Nigeria and I am here majorly to help you write one, but before then, let me give you a little more insight about the service businesses.

 

Service businesses are now delivered not just physically but also through virtual platforms like web-based systems or mobile apps. Customers normally perceive value from an intangible activity and customer service is an essential part of it. Meanwhile, it has been observed in the recent times that these service-based businesses are forming a very large industry that boasts of hiring a bigger portion of employees than manufacturing or trade businesses. The service business makes up a big part of most developed economies and new technologies have expanded the reach of these businesses from domestic markets to global markets. This is one of the reasons I have considered it worthwhile to dedicate a whole article to explain what service business is all about and how to write a service business plan in Nigeria.

If you love serving others, you may be interested in starting your very own service business and there are countless opportunities in nearly every industry or niche, from tech to fashion – you just name it. So, no matter where your interests lie, or your area of expertise, you can find a service business that is well suited to your strengths.

Why start a service business?

The following are some of the benefits of a service-based business that you should be aware of. These will probably fuel your passion or interest to want to start one, especially if you have some skills that can be monetized.

1. Low-cost startup: Developing and selling a physical product takes time, money and energy. Even if you run an e-commerce business, you still have to deal with packaging, shipping and returns. In a service-based business, your product is you. There is little to no startup, overhead, or production. For instance, if you are quite skilled at writing business plans (or if you would want to learn how to write business plans – I’ll talk more about this before this is over), you do not need to spend a dime to sell and make money. And this pretty much applies to almost every service business because they are skills-based. You use your knowledge (what you know that others don’t) to help them in their areas of need and ignorance – and you get paid for the service.

 

2. Flexibility: In many cases, a service business is much more adaptable than a product-based business. In addition to working whenever and wherever you want, you can easily adjust and tailor your service to suit the varied needs of your clientele. For instance, if you develop a website and a client isn’t happy with how a website is evolving, you can make changes according to their feedback in real time. This is much more difficult to do for products-based businesses.

 

3. Fulfillment: When you’re offering your own time and skills rather than a physical product, you are connecting with your clients and consumers on a more personal and engaging level. Not only do you profit financially from leveraging your skills and talents, you also earn a sense of fulfillment from helping others.

 

Having said all that, let me take you to the actual reason why we are here. I want to show you how to write a service business plan in Nigeria. Do you have an idea for a service-based business, but aren’t sure where to start? Make your idea a reality by writing a business plan that outlines how your business will operate, who your ideal customers are and how you plan to make money. A business plan doesn’t have to be elaborate; it just needs to explain your plan for your business. To help you get started we’ve created an example business plan outline that is typically for a service-based business. We hope you can follow the guide to create a solid plan for your new service-based business idea.

1.0       Executive Summary

            Company Profile Summary

            Market Research Summary

            Marketing Summary

            Finance Summary

 

2.0       Company Profile

            Business Overview

            Company History

            Management

            Location

            Legal Structure

            Vision

            Mission

            Goals & Objectives

            Professional Advisors

 

3.0       Market Research

            Industry Profile

            Local Market

            Key Competitors

SWOT Analysis

Target Market

Keys to Success

Customer Survey Summary

 

4.0       Sales & Marketing

            Pricing Strategy

            Marketing Strategy

            Marketing Activities

            Marketing Objectives

            Positioning Statement

            The Sales Process

            Strategic Alliances

 

5.0       Operations

            Location(s)

            Legal Issues

            Insurance Issues

            Human Resources

            Process

Risk Assessment

 

6.0       Financials

            Start-Up Costs

            Sales Forecast

            Cash flow

            Income Statement

          

More often than not, depending on the specific services your offer or render, some of the elements I have presented above may need to be changed or stated in a slightly different way to suit your and your business orientation, especially when thinking about writing a service business plan in Nigeria. One thing to bear in mind is that, business plan writing is a skill and can be learnt by anyone – and just like any other skill that is learned, the more you do it, the better you get at it. So, why not make an attempt to write your first service business plan today? If you run into any serious issues (which is not likely if you carefully follow the plan above), we will always be here to provide you with the needed support at www.dayoadetiloye.com, if you reach out, we will be here to assist. You can also reach out to us by calling  or dayohub@gmail.com

Click here to get our business plan writing Course and become a highly paid business plan writing consultant https://www.dayoadetiloye.com/bpp/

Watch this video on How to write business plan training Course

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In conclusion, talents and skills are the bases for a service business. In the service or skills industry, what fetches you money is the knowledge you have which other people do not have but need, and the things you can do that others can’t. Therefore, if you feel that the service business is the right one for you but you really do not possess any skills that can be used as a leverage in that regard, all hope is not lost. You simply need to acquire the skills that are relevant to the kind of service you wish to offer. I made a reference to business plan writing as a skill you can learn the other time, and I promised to come back to it. One of the things we do so well at Dayo Adetiloye Business Hub is training people on business plan writing, and you can reach out t0 us via any of our contacts in the previous paragraph.

If you need a service of a Professional Business plan writer, then Dayo Adetiloye Business Hub is the place to go

Call or WhatsApp us now on 081 0563 6015, 080 7635 9735, 08113205312 or send an email to dayohub@gmail.com  and we will solve any of your business plan problems.

 

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Contact us today for your business consultancy and business advisory services. We can help you fine-tune your idea, structure your business, market your business, train your staff, consult on your retirement plan, coach you for financial success. We also write a business plan and help with fundraising strategies and Grant applications. We can help you start, grow, and expand your business.

Call or WhatsApp us now on 081 0563 6015, 080 7635 9735, 08113205312 or send an email to dayohub@gmail.com  and we will solve any of your business problems.