So you’ve decided to go it alone as a solo entrepreneur- or solopreneur, for those in the know. Be it selling freshly knitted socks out of your garage or transferring plushies across continents, running a small business all by your lonesome is going to be tough. There are a lot of little bits and pieces to keep track of, clients to keep happy, and potentially, employees to pay. But if you keep yourself in the right mindset, organize yourself, and give yourself the right tools, you will be able to pull through, have fun- and hopefully make some dough on the side!
Now we can’t really help you with the mindset one (just stay positive!) but we can help you to organize yourself and to find the right tools- namely, finding the right phone system for solopreneurs. As you’ll see, organizing yourself and finding the right phone system are almost one and the same.
What exactly should a solopreneur be looking for in a phone system? Well, to be quite honest, a lot of things, but there are three in particular which stand out:
- A phone system that offers maximum flexibility
- A phone system that reacts to a solopreneur’s needs
- A phone system that has loads of features which a) don’t exist just to exist, and b) you will actually use.
We’ll be going over all of these in more detail after the jump- as well as why you should even be getting a phone system in the first place!
Let’s go!
Why a phone system for solopreneurs to begin with?
So obviously running a small business is expensive, at least when starting off, and that means you are going to try to be pinching pennies whenever you can. And that’s a good thing! But sometimes you can pinch pennies too much. Take phone systems. A lot of folks starting out are going to think to themselves, “I already have a cellphone, and I can get a desk phone; why do I need anything more?” And at first glance, this makes sense. You’d think a cellphone works no problem, is light, portable, yada yada yada, no need to buy a phone system.
But frankly, you’d be wrong. And here’s why: a cellphone—the same one you use to call your friends with—is your personal device. It probably uses your personal number, and you have all your personal information on it. Relying solely on that for work is going to mix the two and rapidly throw off your work-life balance in a way which just won’t be fun long-term.
Also, you’re effectively building your business on your phone. It’ll be where you store your contacts, where your clients will be calling you, where you’ll be talking to vendors. It effectively becomes your company’s lifeline. If anything happens to it, you’re up a creek without a paddle. Even if it just goes dead, if you have no charger with you for whatever reason- well, let’s hope you don’t miss a major call. Having all of your information on a separate source—like a virtual phone system, for instance—means that you won’t be tied down to a single device.
So what should you be looking for in said phone system? Read on to find out!
For solopreneurs, flexibility is key
All of the following things to consider when shopping around as a solopreneur for a phone system for your small business are equally important. But as the saying goes, some are more equal than others, and in this case it’s flexibility. More than any other potential factor which goes into your decision, the ability to have a phone system which does what you need it to when you need it to—that is, a phone system which you can build around your needs, not one which you will be forced to build yourself around—is going to be critical to your success and to the well-being of your business.
As a solopreneur, you’re probably going to be on the go a lot. Traveling to clients, picking up materials, going to shows and conferences- there’s a reason it’s solopreneur. Even if you end up picking up some extra hired hands, you’ll still have to be doing a lot on your own (especially for the early portions). You’ll be moving around a lot- but that doesn’t mean that everything else, like helping clients with questions and making important calls can wait for you to get from Point A to Point B. Plus, a lot of the time you may end up having to use coworking spaces or places other than your home office desk.
All of this means you’ll be essentially required to prioritize flexibility. It’s one of the main reasons why you should probably avoid desk phone-based systems, as they will essentially root you to a desk in a way which won’t help you when you need to be moving around. And as we said earlier, just using your personal cellphone isn’t going to cut it.
With virtual phone systems, solopreneurs can maximize that critical flexibility. Systems like MightyCall allow you to make calls on your cellphone (also on your cellphone via the MightyCall app) or your computer- or honestly, any internet connected device. All you need is a device which a) can input/output sound and b) can connect to the internet and access a web browser. That’s it. You can access your entire account and all of your features basically wherever you are. With a system like that, you can essentially take your office with you. Now that’s flexibility.
Solopreneurs need a phone system that changes with them
After some time, with diligent attention and careful planning, your business will hopefully start growing. As it does, you’ll realize what you really need and what you don’t. Some older strategies you’ll discard and priorities you’ll lower in importance while finding new ways to do business and adapting to other priorities. And as you go about this process, it is crucial that your phone system can change with you.
As mentioned above, it’s essentially the base of your small business- the central “contact hub,” so to speak, especially if you opt for a virtual phone system which travels with you. If after six months of being in business you realize you need to make some tweaks—and that your system can’t make those tweaks—you either have to carry on with a sub-optimal setup or discard the whole thing, which usually requires you to cough up not insignificant amounts of money and takes up large swathes of your time. Running into sudden corners while running a business is never fun.
With a virtual phone system, you can be sure that it’ll take those corners and will bend right with you. MightyCall’s transparent three-tiered pricing system tells you exactly what each tier offers, without hiding any extra fees. If you realize you need more than what you currently have (or you realize that you need to pare down a bit), it’s incredibly simple to go up and down the pricing system as you need. Not only that, but MightyCall allows you to customize further by getting separate numbers and features added onto your subscription.
Essentially, this puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to making important decisions like changing the direction or priorities of your business. Don’t make a mistake by going with a system which doesn’t allow you to do this- after all, you don’t want to find yourself tied inextricably to your phone system down the road.
Virtual Phone System Features Which Add to Your Business- and Aren’t Just for Show
One of the best benefits for solopreneurs of a virtual phone system is that it is not just a phone system- it’s a complex, multi-layered and multi-feature tool. MightyCall’s list of features is long, and each of the dozens of features listed actually make things easier for you.
Visual voicemail sends transcripts of all of your calls automatically to your email address (and makes them available on your MightyCall account page), meaning that you can quickly read through all of your calls and figure out which need to be responded to right then- and which can wait a bit. Call queues and auto attendants allow you to organize your callers so that their most pressing questions can be answered by your own pre-recorded answers- freeing you up to deal with the most pressing issues instead of being swamped with questions about opening hours.
There are a lot more, and depending on the tier you pick, more can be accessed (though as mentioned before, you can get certain features added to your subscription).
Ride Solo into the Virtual World!
Solopreneurs have to think critically, quickly, and efficiently. Millions of people out there are trying to make it with their own small businesses, and the ones who have the most flexible and efficient tools will be the ones who make it big. With a virtual phone system, it’s clear that solopreneurs will have the very tool they need to succeed.
Check out our out-of-this-world fast, mobile, and budget-friendly phone system for small business. We’ll help your team talk anytime, anywhere, and about anything, at a stunning price.
Take a look below or learn more about VoIP!
