Practice Areas

Staffing: One of the most lucrative business services categories today is the staffing industry, where a number of American and international firms recruit for just about every business practice area. In the digital age, with companies clamoring for IT professionals, tech recruiters have seen a great increase in demand. Some companies specialize in providing tech-savvy workers to a wide range of industries including financial services, telecommunications, information technology services, insurance, retail and more.

Diversification is crucial succeeding in the staffing field. Look at Allegis Group, which began in 1983 finding work for technically skilled employees to the engineering and aerospace industry, and today operates eight separate entities which provide experienced workers in accounting and HR, IT staffing and consulting, human capital management and online employment to its clients. Robert Half International, one of the old hats in the staffing industry since 1948, places workers in accounting, finance and IT and has expanded to administrative support, legal workers and advertising staff. While some companies focus on providing full-time workers, others specialize in temporary and temp-to-hire solutions.

Employment services rank among the fastest growing industries in America, as heightened demand for flexible work arrangements and schedules, along with substantial turnover rates, are making temporary or contract opportunities particularly abundant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry is expected to gain some 1.6 million jobs from 2004 to 2014, and wage and salary employment are expected to grow at 46 percent over that span, more than three times the 14 percent growth projected for all industries combined. Most new jobs will open in office and administrative support.

Workplace provisions: A number of companies have found their niches by providing uniforms and other materials for employees. Cintas, the top supplier of work uniforms in America, leases and sells uniforms to almost half a million companies, from NASCAR to Eli Lilly. Others, like G&K Services and UniFirst Corporation, grew from linen and laundry service firms to billion-dollar companies supplying uniforms to the automotive, manufacturing, hospitality, retail and any number of other industries. Most uniform companies have diversified into other service areas, including sanitation supplies, hygiene products, first-aid and linens.

The employment future is a bit hazy in the apparel industry. Analysts blame changing trade patterns for the slow growth expected in apparel production, as products such as the cost of uniforms drastically decreases when the product is made in foreign nations with lower production costs. Technological advances are likewise making production less labor intensive (human labor, not robotic).

Electronics and printing: Business leaders need to stay on top of current trends and share their ideas with peers. Fortunately, printing companies and business information providers are adapting to client demands while keeping apace with technological growth. Firms like R.R. Donnelly, the largest commercial printer in the United States, provide catalog, magazine and newspaper printing services for famous periodicals and book publishers worldwide, as well as direct mailing campaigns and web design. In the digital age, ownership and maintenance of information databases has replaced much of the value in printed material, evident in Reed Elsevier's online-information giant LEXIS-NEXIS in addition to its more traditional output in business, education, law and science publishing. In fact, the increased shift towards online publication is expected to cause about a 10 percent reduction in salary and wage employment in the printing industry between 2004 and 2014. This decline is due largely to the computerization of the printing industry, as well the Internet's capacity to exchange ideas without printing them.

Office supplies: Those folders don't come from thin air. And they sure don't label themselves. Luckily for offices around the world, there are firms like Avery Dennison, the unchallenged leader in labels, packaging, adhesives and other materials to organize business offices. Avery's various lines also provide the rest of the office supplies the business world can't function without, including notebooks, three-ring binders, markers and business forms. Other supply firms include National Service Industries, which in addition to linen rental, makes custom envelopes and other office products.

Conventions and expos: Believe it or not, in 2004, only 28 other industries contributed more money to the American gross national product than the convention industry. Clearly, many business services companies have seen the potential in this market and specialize in event planning. Conventions, corporate events, expositions and exhibitions can be immensely successful face-to-face marketing opportunities. And counting meetings, conventions, exhibitions and incentive travel as a whole, the convention industry generated $122.31 billion in total direct spending in 2004.