15 B2B Business Ideas for 2020

If you want to be a profitable startup in 2020, you should provide services to other businesses as a business-to-business (B2B) company.  While service businesses are relatively easy to start, many entrepreneurs shy away from them, preferring to promote a product. Let’s highlight 15 B2B services that you can provide in your startup in 2020.

1. Business consultant/business coach

If you have had success creating, starting, running and growing a business, you should consider being a business consultant or business coach. You would give other entrepreneurs the benefit of your expertise. You could answer questions they have as a startup. You could provide key advice. You also could help them avoid the mistakes you have encountered. You’ll find it very fulfilling to give guidance and advice to other entrepreneurs. Business consultants provide advice that you don’t have to accept, but business coaches hold their clients accountable to implement those changes into their business.

2. Analytics for small businesses

If you have experience and knowledge about the metrics of running a business, you should consider providing analytical services to business owners. They need to understand their budgets, benefits of spending money in some locations and disadvantages to spending money on other parts of the business. Analytics provide these data points, but entrepreneurs often don’t understand how to get them or use them. You could help other small businesses raise their venture capital and grow their business.

3. Researching services

Entrepreneurs aren’t always willing or have the time to conduct their own research and feasibility studies for their business ideas. You could offer this service to them. Through research and feasibility studies, you will examine different aspects of the idea. Studies are needed on marketing, the technology uses, research and development and automation. When you present the results of the studies to the client, you would provide them with valuable information they need to be able to succeed.

4. Writing services

Entrepreneurs need writers for a number of processes. They need writers to create a business plan, write content in their marketing and write for a blog or social media. Entrepreneurs often don’t know how to create content effectively and don’t want to take the time to learn how to create content in the correct way. Every business needs well-written content and business plans to move the company in the way they should. When entrepreneurs hire your writing business, you will help them focus on what they need to make investors come on board the business venture. The content also will help the company become well known and the first choice of someone to use. Companies also want writers to create press releases to send to media and other public relations work.

5. Investing in business opportunities

You could be a company that invests in other companies. You would provide the service to research business opportunities and trends in an industry. When you see a trend that might result in a growing need for a new idea, you could plan to invest in companies that are at the forefront of that new idea. You also could provide the services yourself.

6. Marketing

You can help small and midsize businesses build their own brand and maximize their awareness to their target audience. You would provide the marketing expertise to help build brand awareness. Marketing is a large group of services. You could pick one piece of the marketing plan, such as writing content or social media, or you could become a marketing consultant or manager where you provide all of it.

7. Graphic design

Like writing services, all companies need artists. These are designers who will create a unique logo to help you be different among so many competitors. Artists also provide pictures for social media sites and designs for T-shirts or promotional products. They create brochures. They can critique your website for visual problems and fix them. They can provide entrepreneurs advice on other visuals that make the company have a brand. The right logo and other visuals are what will propel entrepreneurs from the obscure to top of minds.

8. Social media consultant

As mentioned previously, entrepreneurs need to have a digital presence and be able to market their brand. Some companies focus solely on social media marketing while others do all marketing. Regardless, if you want to provide services to small business owners, you could offer social media services such as social media coaching. You could coach and advise small business owners on what they need to do, or you could do it for them. You have to understand which sites are beneficial for your client and which are not. You have to know what to post and when. You have to understand brand awareness.

9. Employee recruitment services

Human resources management is now a function of outsourcing. Previously, human resources was a function within a company, but many small business owners are hiring firms that provide these services outside the company. It is saving them in the long run and providing a much-needed job function. If you have human resource expertise and understand healthcare rules and employment laws, you could provide these services to companies. You also could offer advice on health insurance plans, workers’ compensation laws, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules, payroll and employee benefits. You also could provide assistance in hiring employees.

10. Bookkeeping services

Businesses are often looking for someone to take over the responsibility and tediousness of bookkeeping. If you have a background in bookkeeping, this could be a profitable business opportunity. While bookkeeping and accounting might sound the same, they are not. Usually, bookkeepers work with accountants to make sure entrepreneurs’ books are in order for the Internal Revenue Service and state officials. Bookkeepers also do the daily number-crunching, while accountants plan.

11. Venture capital brokerage

As a venture capital broker, your job would be to link startup businesses with venture capitalists. You are finding the money and the company that needs the money. You have to research the venture capitalists because not all capitalists provide funds in all fields. Therefore, you are saving the entrepreneur time and money by finding the right fit. The entrepreneur can target only those who provide funding in your client’s industry, and you save the venture capitalist’s time by bringing the idea to them. When you act as a middleman, you are helping both companies. The entrepreneur succeeds, and the venture capitalists reap the benefits of that success.

12. Printing services

Even though everything is online, entrepreneurs need printing companies. Printers will create postcards, rack cards and information handouts that are necessary to every business. Although printing service may seem a common business, most are franchised and easily entered. They have good margins and don’t require much additional training. If you have expertise in publishing layout and design, this would be a good business to a business avenue for you. Companies offer printing services for catalogs, posters, brochures, flyers and business cards. If you could add direct mail or another mailing service, you are even more likely to succeed. Mailboxes and street addresses are another way printers can service entrepreneurs.

13. Event management

Expos, summits, and trade shows are often ideal opportunities to get a small or midsize business’s brand in front of a key audience. The downside is that the travel, setup and time it takes to man the booth frighten businesses away from doing those events. Even if you plan a small local event, the client will have headaches they don’t want. Therefore, you could provide this service to them. As an event manager, you could help businesses package, tailor, and present their products or services at these events. This will increase their exposure because you will be able to get their brand in front of more people by doing the event circuit for them than if they tried to do one or two events on their own. You would handle the invitations, logistics, advertising and problem-solving during the event.

14. Legal services/legal consultant

Most small business owners and entrepreneurs need the advice of business lawyers. If you have gone to law school and passed the bar exam, you could offer business law. Many lawyers become prosecutors, public defenders, personal injury lawyers or corporate lawyers, but a real need is in law for small businesses. These are the lawyers who write contracts, evaluate contracts, advise on issues that might affect small business owners, read leases and explain business opportunities legalese. There are also legal consultants. These are the ones who understand the law and can offer advice, with the caveat that any action must be taken by a licensed attorney.

15. Information technology services

The other area that most entrepreneurs lack is information technology. All businesses need help with their computers, tablets, laptops, smartphones, networks and printers. They need software and hardware support. If you could offer either or both of these services, you will help entrepreneurs be able to not worry about downtime and problems with their equipment. Many services are presented as software-as-a-service or hardware-as-a-service and are available digitally. Therefore, you could provide the service without needing a lot of space.

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