Economists and the media continue to focus on goods production as driving economic growth when it is actually the service sector that holds the key to our development. Information technology and telecommunications, the backbone of service delivery, have made it possible for young people to remain in rural communities and find good jobs through telecommuting or back office operations. Service firms continue to search for appropriately-skilled employees while manufacturers are laying off workers.

In developing economies, it is the growth of specialized business and professional services that drives overall competitiveness. Service enterprises create jobs, provide key industrial inputs, and are instrumental in poverty alleviation and balanced growth. All developing economies are already exporting on average 68 different services to an average of 33 export markets, 67 percent of which are other developing economies. The primary challenges these service exporters face are (a) lack of awareness and support from their own governments, (b) difficulty entering export markets as temporary business travelers, (c) a dearth of appropriately-skilled workers, and (d) non-competitive telecommunication and internet infrastructure.

In small businesses everywhere, competition is increasingly linked to the service value being provided within communities. The new business model requires a shift away from a traditional focus on competitive profit maximization without regard to consequences for other stakeholders or the unhealthy tension created between business and personal life and values.

Dr. Riddle provides assistance to small business owners wanting to shift to the new business model. Her consulting services range from a six-part organizational audit of how the business is already “giving back,” with recommendations of next steps, to coaching on how best to enhance profitability through a focus on being in service to the communities that support our businesses.

For the past 35 years, Dr. Riddle and her team at Service-Growth Consultants have been working in over 85 countries and with over 30 service industries on strengthening the global service sector, the quality of services available in communities, and the ability of individuals to be of service. Many of the information resources created by Dr. Riddle and her team over the years on how to develop, manage, and export services can be found through the following links: