You’ve finally decided that you want to start a business. You’re excited, but you’re also nervous about how this all works. Are you going to need employees? Do I need an office? What kind of products or services should I offer? To help answer these questions, let’s take a look at what type of business you should launch: product or service.
Self-employed people are happiest when they start a product business, not a service business.
Starting a product business is more likely to make you happy than starting a service business.
You can build a business that aligns with your values and interests, so it’s easier to get up every day excited about what you’re doing. You won’t feel like you have to work all the time or spend hours on the phone trying to find clients (or worse, having no idea how much money your business is making!). If something comes up at home that requires your attention, there’s nothing preventing you from taking care of it when it comes up – which means greater flexibility in terms of schedule and work location!
Another benefit of owning products instead of services is that if sales aren’t going well after a few months or years then there are no repercussions (like losing money). It might be tempting during those periods where things aren’t working out so well at first glance but remember: everything takes time.
You’ll be the product of your business
If you decide to start a product business, you will be the product of your business. You will be responsible for everything that goes wrong with it—from choosing the right products and packaging them up well enough to ship them out, to filling out invoices and sending payments to suppliers.
You’ll need to be able to do everything yourself (at least in the beginning!): from writing content on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram (and using their analytics tools) so that people know how much traffic comes through their website or blog each month; developing new products or services; managing employees who can help fulfill orders; keeping track of inventory levels so they don’t run out before customers buy something again (or worse: never order anything at all).
What about a service business?
On the other hand, you can start a service business almost immediately. The service is something you, as a business owner, do for your customer using your skillset and in order to help your customers in some way.
It can be anything from support, to consultation, to coding or promoting. The market is vast and there are a ton of opportunities for customisation as long as it meets your clients’ needs.
Compared to the product business, a service cannot just be returned in the same way as a product can, in case it is not satisfactory to a client. Worth to keep in mind is also that businesses that revolve around services will generate income just as long as time is invested in them.
Service-based businesses imply a lot more contact with clients and they require more back and forth. So if you don’t find it easy to communicate on a daily level through different communication channels, services might not be a right fit for you.
Is SWAS a good solution?
SWAS (Software with a Service) somehow combines these two things – products and services. It’s usually a product with the support of a human.
SWAS is becoming an extremely popular business model throughout the last decade and it’s been called revolutionary by a lot of businesses. SWAS is used often for emerging technologies so expert matters can advise you on how to use the software, what the downfalls might be, etc.
This hybrid approach might be beneficial to businesses all around the world. It offers a testing environment where you can see what suits you better – building products or selling services.
Conclusion
Whatever way you choose to go, please know that you’re not the only one and feel free to experiment. Keep an open mind about trying either product or service path, and don’t be too harsh on yourself if you feel you need to pivot along the way. Building businesses can be fun, and remember that “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”.
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