How to Get Your Own Business Phone Line Without Getting Another Phone

As entrepreneurs, I think it’s part of our genetic makeup that we want to cut costs wherever we can. The thing is that we don’t always know where to look to get those savings.

With technology advancing at warp speed, there are new products and services that can save us money in business, but we may not even know they are available yet.

One thing we may not give much thought to is phones. Yes, we know we need a business phone line, and sure an 800 number may help us get more customers, and oh yeah, a call forwarding feature can help customers get in touch with us without having to search.

Yada, yada, yada.

But did you know that you can get a business phone number and attach it to your existing home phone or cell phone – and not have to pay for a new phone line? If you work from home, you no longer have to give out your personal private line to people you don’t know – yet.

Here’s what I think is really cool though (being a home-based business owner myself).

You can have a tiny, new one-person company, but you don’t have to act like one. You can have a professionally-recorded greeting that directs callers to different locations (ie. press 1 for sales, 2 for customer service, 3 for….).

And you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it. For example, with a discounted service like iTeleCenter, you can get your own business number with up to 10 extensions, call forwarding, voicemail and all the bells and whistles for under $20 a month.

And if that wasn’t enough, you don’t have to buy any fancy equipment, you don’t have to go through the work of installing any software – and you don’t have to get more phone lines (expensive!)

Another option if you have a reliable high speed internet connection is Skype. Although Skype doesn’t automatically come with all of the bells and whistles such as
multiple extensions, it’s a deal when it comes to business phone lines.

For less than $100 a year, you get unlimited calling (incoming and outgoing) within the US and Canada, and that includes voicemail, video calling and conference calls with other Skype users. This can be a great advantage if you are trying to develop relationships with clients who are not local.

For more small business ideas, visit The New Business Idea. You can also get start-up instructions for 200+ businesses and download the Home Business Start-Up Checklist free from HomeBusinesscenter.com.