Professional services
Encyclopedia
Professional services is an industry of infrequent, technical, or unique functions performed by independent contractor
s or by consultant
s whose occupation is the rendering of such services.
Examples of professional services include those of: accountant
s, actuaries
, appraiser
s, attorneys
, business consultants, business development managers
, copywriters, funeral directors, law firm
s, public relations
professionals, recruiter
s, researchers, real estate broker
s and translators. While not limited to licentiates (individuals holding professional licenses), the services are considered "professional" and the contract may run to partnerships, firms, or corporations as well as to individuals.
In the past, independent contractors for professional services were located and hired by various means, including recommendation and directories (e.g. yellow pages). The popularity of the Internet
has led to a new crop of professional-services sites that allow independent contractors to offer their services to a larger audience, while allowing individuals or companies to find professionals quickly and easily.
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when...
s or by consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
s whose occupation is the rendering of such services.
Examples of professional services include those of: accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
s, actuaries
Actuary
An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms ....
, appraiser
Appraiser
An appraiser , is one who sets a value upon property, real or personal. In England the business of an appraiser is usually combined with that of an auctioneer, while the word itself has a similar meaning to that of "valuer." In the United States, the most common usage relates to real estate...
s, attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, business consultants, business development managers
Business development
A subset of the field of commerce, business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at:1. Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps in the mitigation of needs of potential clients .2. Attracting new customers3...
, copywriters, funeral directors, law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
s, public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
professionals, recruiter
Recruiter
A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment, or the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within a corporation, nonprofit organization, sports team, the military, etc. Recruiters may work within an organization's human resources department or on an outsourced basis...
s, researchers, real estate broker
Real estate broker
A real estate broker, real estate agent or realtor is a party who acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate/real property and attempts to find sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy...
s and translators. While not limited to licentiates (individuals holding professional licenses), the services are considered "professional" and the contract may run to partnerships, firms, or corporations as well as to individuals.
Marketing
The selection of an independent contractor or consultant providing professional services usually depends on skill, knowledge, reputation, ethics, and creativity. Prices for services, even within the same field, vary greatly. Some professional-service providers are able to give fixed rates for projects, while others define the price only after assessing the work involved. For this reason, it is common to hire professionals on the basis of an hourly fee and of an estimated length of project (scope).In the past, independent contractors for professional services were located and hired by various means, including recommendation and directories (e.g. yellow pages). The popularity of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
has led to a new crop of professional-services sites that allow independent contractors to offer their services to a larger audience, while allowing individuals or companies to find professionals quickly and easily.