How I save $1,400 on my business phone service–every year

OK, you might be thinking, “Phone service?! How boring is that!”

But wait!

There’s a reason why I’m excited about this topic:  you’ll save a bunch of money.

Seriously.  Each and every year, I save nearly $1,400.00.  Yep, and it was super easy.

If you haven’t already realized, I’m a bit of a cheapskate.  It’s not that I won’t spend money on quality stuff, but it’s just that it’s not that often that I find quality things I like to spend money on.

But for my current phone setup, I’m really happy.  First though, some background.

My business phone setup:  version 1

When I first started my consulting business, I used my personal cellphone for all my client calls.  I was already paying for the service, and I could call anywhere from any location.  Convenient, yes, but the call quality wasn’t the best, and it probably didn’t project the most professional image.

This was back in 2007, and I just had a cheapo, non-smartphone, so I didn’t have access to e-mail from my phone.

My business phone setup:  version 2

When I started working from home during the day (while I was phasing out my day job), I used my home phone for client calls.  While the sound quality was better, any client calls were going to my personal phone (and, yes, I did change the outgoing message so it was professional).

The problem was that the cordless phones kept running out of battery power after about 45 minutes on a call.  I could have sprung for a couple of new batteries (about $20 each for my 2 cordless phones), but not only am I cheap, I’m also lazy.

Again, not very professional.  But at least I wasn’t paying any additional costs.

My business phone setup:  version 3

A couple years ago, I  discovered a few services that really changed things.

I started using Skype for some calls with colleagues, and had also used some e-faxing services.  I did some research, and ended up getting a dedicated phone number, along with unlimited local & long-distance calling through Skype.

In contrast, I could have gone with a traditional phone company (currently Qwest in my area) for similar services, but it would have cost more–a TON more. Here’s the comparison:

• Qwest landline:  $115.00 per month
• Skype service:  $60.00 per year

So, each month, I’m saving $110, which doesn’t even take Qwest’s one-time $50 setup fee into account.  I told you:  HUGE savings.

A few things I like about Skype:

• Unlimited calling to local, long-distance, and mobile numbers.
• My own dedicated phone number.
• Voicemail.
• Call forwarding.
• I can call from anywhere.  Mostly I call through my laptop, but Skype also has a mobile phone app too.  With a traditional landline, I’d only be able to call from my office.
• All the other nifty features of Skype, like:  chat, send files, screen sharing, etc.

What if you need more than 1 phone line?

I currently don’t need more than my 1 phone line, but if you have several employees, you can get similar service using RingCentral, again, for a LOT less than a traditional landline-type phone service.

RingCentral gives you features like:

• A dedicated regular or toll-free number.
• Virtual receptionist and a dial-by-name directory.
• Voicemail.
• Fax.
• Call forwarding.

It costs a little more than Skype–plans vary between $10/month, $30/month, and up, depending on what features you need–but it’s still extremely cheap compared to a traditional landline phone provider.

Recommended reading:

I recently added a Tools & Resources page that lists a wide variety of other services that I use for my business:  Tools & Resources

Note:  Some of these links may make me a few dollars if you sign up.  In all cases, you will not be charged extra for using my link, and you help support StartMyConsultingBusiness.com.