Let us start business activities with the help of supporting services

Following is a part of a dialogue between Dhanapala, a successful entrepreneur, and Akila who is wishing to start a small business.
Akila : Good morning Dhanapala Mudalali ! I too am waiting to start a small business.
Mudalali : How good ! So what type of a business are you going to start?
Akila : I recently found a method of producing low cost bricks with greater strength.
Mudalali : Very good ! How can I help you?
Akila : I have some problems to solve.
Mudalali : What are those problems?
Akila : The big problem to me is I have only a small amount of savings but I need some more money..........
Mudalali : Ah......Banks are there for that. You can borrow money from banks. Not only that, you can
            get     many other facilities too from banks.
Akila : What are they?
Mudalali : How many new methods are there to protect your money and facilitate your transactions?
           I think it's better to go to a bank and get more information from them.
Akila : Oh yes. Even if we start a business investing a large amount of money, we have to face
                numerous risks.
Mudalali : There are a lot of insurance schemes for that. So you don't have to be afraid to start a business.
Akila : But I don’t have even a vehicle to transport materials and to distribute bricks, for myself. 68 For
               free distribution
Mudalali : Do we need our own vehicles to do a business? Now there are various types of vehicles to use
           for any purpose and you can buy a vehicle when your business is progressing.
Akila : Then how can I give information to others about my business?
Mudalali : There are a lot of methods for that. We can give publicity by way of notices and even
                through customers. And also it will be easier if you buy a telephone.
Akila : That’s fine. I have another problem.
Mudalali : What’s that?
Akila : I want to distribute the bricks on time. Therefore, I need a system to store them.
Mudalali : Yes, to do the business properly you need a proper and safe place to store your products.
Akila : Yes, I have suitable space for it.
Mudalali : Now all your problems are solved, aren't they Akila?
Akila : Yes, Now I understand that all these services help us to do a business properly.

According to the above dialogue, you would be able to understand the importance of various supporting services when starting and carrying on a business. Let’s examine more about these supporting services

Introduction
It needs the help of various services to start and carry on a business successfully. Those services are called supporting services or auxiliary services. Banks and financial institutions provide various services to facilitate the business transactions and insurance helps to mitigate business risks. The transportation helps to produce
and distribute the goods and services effectively and communication is important to exchange the information with other parties. The warehousing is another service which helps to produce continuosly and to distribute them on time.

After studing this chapter you will be able to understand the following terms

_Banking activities                                      _ Electronic money
_ Commercial banks                                   _ Non banking institutions
_ Current accounts                                     _ Insurance and assurance
_ Cheques                                                  _ Communication
_ Savings deposits                                      _ Transportation
_ Term deposits/ Fixed deposits                 _ Warehousing
_ Commercial bank loans