Here’s the usual way it happens. You finish school. You get your license. You start your practice. It’s pretty slow at first so you decide to just stick with your cell phone to save money. And what happens later?
Most people who have made this mistake can tell you not to do it. Clients are calling you at all hours of the day and night and probably even texting you too. And you start texting back because it’s easier than calling. They are referring others to you too and using your cell phone even if you have gotten a land line.
It becomes a huge inconvenience and now you are trapped having your business and personal life entangled, and you can’t really get out of it unless you change your personal number.
This is a trap and should be avoided. We have helped many acupuncturists back out of this scenario and they always say that they regret that they ever used their personal cell phones for their clinic numbers.
Here are some viable options that can help you avoid using your cell phone for business.
You can get a phone number from many different Voice Over IP (VOIP) solutions and forward it to your cell number during business hours and to your voicemail when business hours are closed. This will save you lots of headache and also open up some options later on when you need to make a shift. It will allow you to keep your personal number and make transitions only to your biz number. Here are a few carriers to check out that offer phone numbers that can work on your computer.
- Mango
- 8×8
- Ring Central
- Grasshopper
The benefits of using VOIP are that you can save a great deal of money because you don’t need a landline. The numbers come through your internet. Most of these let you use any computer or your cell phone to receive the calls. Our favorite is 8×8. They are quite reasonably priced and allow for fax, SMS, multiple numbers and even virtual meetings. If you’d like more information reach out to Jenn Collins via support@acu-hub.com .
