How to Start a Phone Answering Service

Small business ideas, phone answering service.

Your phone answering service business can be used by a number of different individuals, like doctors, handyman's or other professionals who are on call working.

It can be used by small companies like real estate agencies, who need all calls to be answered.

A service like this is also needed by professionals or companies who want calls to be answered after business hours.

What do you need to get started with your phone answering business?

If you don't want more than 10 clients, you can install separate telephone lines for each client.

Or if you want to service more than 10 clients you need to have a switchboard installed.

You will also need to set up an office room for the installation of phone lines.

Get a comfortable chair, and a rack to store messages.

What kind of personal skills or talents do you need?

Well, you must have a good phone manner and a pleasant voice, that is, you should be able to answer calls politely.

Most important is that you are able to take messages and distribute them accurately to your clients.

Keep yourself well organized in order to ensure that you not loose any messages.

What kind of different phone answering services should you provide?

As in all other small business ideas, your business success is depending on the demand of what you provide.

Here are some services in demand.

Incoming message services, both during and after business hours

Complete answering service, where customers are under the impression they call the actual business office

Order taking service

Call forwarding service

Message delivery service

Voice mailboxes

Beeper service

Computerized telemarketing

How do you find your clients?

Prepare a business proposal that out lines the benefits your clients will get.

Visit some offices and tell them about your phone answering service.

Put an ad in the yellow paper and another one in the local paper.

There are plenty of clients for your phone answering service business.

You will serve people who have launched their own small business ideas, such as retail stores, restaurants, collection agencies, wedding services, credit agencies, furniture stores, employment agencies, modeling schools, financial service firms, dance schools, carpet cleaners, car washes, video stores, travel agencies, pet services......

What kind of funding do you need to get started?

If you plan to service less than ten clients you will not need fundings.

You just add telephone lines as your client list grows.

On the other hand if you go for the switchboard option, we talk about $25 000, and you might need help of a bank or Small Business Administration office.

How much are you going to make from your phone answering service?

If you have 20 clients you can easily make $100,000 a year.

So, you will make roughley $5000 per client and year.