Running a business alone or with very little support seems like the norm these days.
Although many entrepreneurs and business owners eventually take on partners and staff, that’s a serious commitment fraught with risks, especially in the early years of your company. The problem is that you can’t always do it all yourself, this is doubly true when your business is experiencing a lot of rapid growth.
Signs It’s Time to Hire Some Help
What’s a solopreneur or small business operator to do when there’s simply not a budget for all the staff they dream of having? They hire a small business answering service, of course!
These are four signs that it’s time to add on a team that’s as flexible as you are, with a cost that’s based on the actual work they perform:
- You callers aren’t leaving messages when you let them go to voicemail. Unfortunately, voicemail remains a huge stumbling block for many types of companies. Customers call, but if they don’t get a person, you never hear from them again.A live answering service stops this problem dead in its tracks, since there’s always a friendly voice picking up the phone, even when you can’t get to it.
- You’re constantly interrupted by the telephone. There’s a reason you’re in business, and it’s probably not to constantly be answering the phone. When it’s ringing off the hook, this is a great indicator that your reputation is growing, but it’s also a terrible time to try to accomplish any of the things you’re reputed for.Hiring an answering service can free you up from jobs like handling common customer questions and complaints and instead let you focus on the task at hand.
- You’ve overbooked or forgotten to write down an appointment more than once. We all make mistakes, but when you’re making it a habit to abuse your appointment book, it’s time to call an expert. Appointment scheduling is vital to your business, messing it up too often is going to blow up in your face down the road.A dedicated appointment setting queue frees you up from having to go it alone, plus they’ll provide you an organizational system to keep it all straight if you’re not already using one.
- You’re exhausted from taking so many late-night calls. Burnout isn’t just a boogeyman in the lore of small business ownership. When you’re thinking about your business constantly, it can increase your stress level and even affect your sleep.Allowing someone else to take your after hours calls and sort them into “emergency” and “non-emergency” calls can allow you to rest and relax on your time away from work.
A good small business answering service can play a variety of parts in your company, just like you do a number of different jobs as the owner. Customer service, emergency call routing, overflow calling and appointment setting are just the start. They can also set you up with a disaster plan, should you ever need it, and for this they still only charge by the call. All this help for less than it would cost to hire a full time employee? It’s true!
