As a hard-working entrepreneur, you understand the importance of work-life balance. You know that you need to keep your personal life separate from your work if you want your business to run smoothly and achieve the success it’s capable of. With many cost-effective options available, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have a separate phone number dedicated solely to your business.
If you’re still using the same phone line for both your personal and business communications, it may be time to consider a second phone number for your business. Here are six key reasons you should be using a second line for your small business:
To Separate Your Communications on One Phone
Many people prefer to use a single phone for both their personal and business calls because they want to ease of using one device. However, there are many services, such as Ninja Number, that allow you to add a second line on your personal phone. Doing this allows you to separate your work communications but with greater convenience and savings than if you bought a second device.
To Never Miss an Important Business Call
One of the primary risks of using a single phone line for both work and personal purposes is that something significant or time-sensitive will eventually get missed in the volume of calls your receive. When you have all your communications coming into just one phone number, it can be difficult to distinguish between which incoming calls are potentially important for your business. When you separate your lines, you can easily identify which calls are related to business and will know to answer right away.
To Increase Your Company’s Professionalism
The image you present to the world is an important part of establishing lasting and fruitful business relationships. When you’re dealing with customers, employees, and vendors, having a dedicated phone number for your business shows that you are serious about the product or services you provide. Whether you’re a new company or an established one, projecting this professionalism can be the difference between capturing a sale, attracting the ideal employee, or earning favorable terms with a supplier.
To Maintain Your Privacy
One of the most significant benefits of having a second phone number for your work is that it allows you to maintain your personal privacy as you conduct your business. Most businesses publicly publish their phone numbers to attract leads and make it easier for people to contact them, but most people would not want their personal phone number listed on a public social media page or website. Separating your phone number protects you from receiving unwanted phone calls on your personal line and provides a number that can be used for marketing purposes.
To Separate Your Work Life From Your Personal Life
Many small business owners find it necessary to separate their work life from their personal life to limit excessive stress, maintain happy relationships, and prevent burnout. By utilizing a separate business phone number, you can set business hours for your number that allow you to truly clock out from your business at the end of the workday. With the many automated services available, your customers and important business contacts can still reach you without you having to sacrifice your free time. This allows you to find that work-life balance that’s so important to long-term success.
To Access Additional Services
Many of the companies that provide dedicated phone lines also offer additional services for call management that can improve the communication capabilities of your company. Among the types of services that small businesses may want to access are automated answering, virtual receptionists, call analytics, and team phone linking. Many of these services are either not available or are impractical to use with personal phone numbers. A dedicated business phone number gives you the many benefits of separating your communications and also opens up the option of supplementary services that can improve your business’s call management.
Apart from access to these extras, the higher privacy, and the better professional image, a VoIP phone system has another advantage: It’s likely cheaper than consumer plans, and certainly a lot less costly than an old-fashioned dedicated business phone.
For entrepreneurs that are serious about their work, a second phone line seems like a no-brainer. Separating your personal communications can benefit both your business and your personal life. As your company grows, the professionalism and efficiency of a second phone number may be essential to your business’s continued success.
