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Do you Need a Business Phone?
Yes, if you have a home office and
you will be dealing with clients on the phone who THINK you work out
of a "real" office (ex: consulting.)
No, if you have a home business where
people know you work out of your home (ex: gift basket business,
etc.) it isn't necessary to start out with a separate business phone
line, but you will probably want to get one as you do more business.
HOWEVER, if you are using your home, make sure that everyone in your
home answers the phone in a nice, polite tone every time they answer
the phone. The image they project will reflect
on your business skills.
For example, if your child answers
the phone with a "Yeah" and then blows out your potential client's
eardrum yelling 'Mom!!!' it isn't going to make a good impression.
If there is even a possibility of this happening you may want to get
a business phone just for business use. I explain how to do it
cheap in the next section.
Tips on Getting a Business Phone Line Really
Cheap
If you are going to be talking on
the phone a lot for your business and/or you need to make it seem
like you are working from a real office, you probably have no
choice except to get a separate phone line installed. This
will run you a minimum of $50/month. If you go this route I
would go ahead and get a two line speaker phone. This way if
you get another call coming in, you can put the first call on hold
to pick it up. Your callers won't get a busy signal and it
will seem like a real office.
You can get a cheap two line phone
for with call waiting, speakerphone and 3 way conferencing for about
$50.00.
If you want a separate phone line
but don't HAVE to have one, then you can make one really easily.
How? Easy. You get a business phone number and
forward it to your cell phone. Don't have a cell phone?
You can get a pre-paid cell phone from Virgin at Target for around
$50 or so. You only pay for the airtime as you need it.
The place I get my business phone
numbers (I have two - one for my phone and one for my fax) is
Kall8.
They are awesome and cheap. It's only $5/month for an
800 toll-free number and $2/month for a 866, 877 or 888 toll-free
number. See below for some tips on how to choose an 800
number.
Tips on Choosing an 800 Number
The best place I know of to get 800,
866, 877 and 888 toll-free numbers is
Kall8. It's who I use. If you want a
traditional 800 number it will cost you $5/month plus 6.9 cents per
minute and if you go with a newer 866, 877 or 888 number then it's
only $2/month plus the 6.9 cents/minute. They allow call
forwarding so you can forward your calls to any phone number at any
time.
Here are some tips based on my own
experience:
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Unless you really want an 800
number, go with one of the newer numbers (866, 877, 888.)
When I started out I thought I just HAD to have an 800 number to be
professional and to look established so I got one. It's been a
waste of money. I would have been perfectly fine getting one
of the other numbers.
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Unless the absolute perfect
Specialty Number you want is available, just choose a number from
what they give you. A specialty number means you pick your
number instead of just taking what they give you. It's usually
a number that spells a word. It's like 1-800-WORK-NOW.
It costs $15/month to have one. Most of the good ones are
taken but if you can find one to fit and you need a phone for your
business then I would go ahead and get it. If not, I would
just get a regular number.
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To see if your Specialty number is
available (ex: 1-888-WORKING) translate it from the words to the
numbers and search for it in the National Search Database option
they have. If you get the number from there it only costs you
$10/month. If you get it through the Specialty Number option
then it costs you $15/month.
Next: Do you need a
business license?
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