Service

Wikipedia says:

A service is the diametrically opposed non-material counterpoise of a physical good. A service provision comprises a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome, and this is what fundamentally differentiates it from furnishing someone with physical goods. Service provision is a process that creates predetermined benefits by effectuating either a change of service consumers, a change in their physical possessions or a change in their (in)tangible assets.

By composing and orchestrating the appropriate level of resources, skill, ingenuity, and experience for effecting specific benefits for service consumers, service providers participate in an economy without the restrictions of carrying stock (inventory) or the need to concern themselves with bulky raw materials. On the other hand, their investment in expertise does require consistent service marketing and upgrading in the face of competition which has equally few physical restrictions.

Providers of services make up the Tertiary sector of the economy.

Actually, I prefer the previous version's wording which said: "A service is the non-material equivalent of a good." There are some other differences in wording which I don't think improved it, but the change in phrasing from "non-material equivalent" to "diametrically opposed" is unfortunate.

To my mind, there aren't opposites in the world. Day and night, early and late, east and west: these are complimentary states of being not oppositional states of being. They all go to make up the reality around us.

Products and services are products. The first is tangible, the second intangible. One is a "product product," the other a "service product." We treat each the same when we conceptualize starting a business. Each has an originator, a medium, and a consumer, whether some one's providing healthy, nutritious meals to the home bound elderly or whether the "product" is selling basketball shoes to inner city youth.

What do you think about this? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship 2.0 is my entrepreneurship course. The ideas in it supply the life's blood of my professional activities: teaching, writing, and real estate. For entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for entrepreneurial writing to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot/com.