The Official Blog of La Broi "LB" Walton

If you are a small business owner you know how fast expenses can start piling up. One day you have $20k to open up your business, the next day you are $40k in debt! You know debt is inevitable in the opening of your business, but you realize you can minimize that debt and reach a profit a little faster. So now it is time to start cutting some unnecessary expenses. What should be the first to go?

Maybe the business line should be the first to go. You can use your cell phone as your business line since it is only you and maybe another employee or 2.  The extra cost of potential customers calling your phone will probably cost less than having a completely separate designated line.   Now what potential cons are associated with this decision of making your personal number your business number?

Potential cons could be, but not limited to the following:

• Business calls after set business hours
• Higher phone bill
• You are the only one customers can talk with (a "pro" in some types of businesses)
• Missed business when you are preoccupied (in a meeting, conference, etc.)
• People you don't want to have your personal number will now have it

Now the pros would include:

• Less of your budget is allocated to having a designated phone line
• Never have to miss a call/sale
• Easier to work from home (if you have a office away from home)
• A closer connection with customers

So is it really that great of an idea to drop your business line and use your personal? Well Google has done something that makes this decision a tad bit easier.

In the past few months Google has developed Google Voice. As almost any other Google product...it's FREE, and this bad boy does some pretty cool stuff!

Google Voice (GV) allows anyone with a Gmail account to link 1 or more mobile numbers to a single Google Voice number that the user chooses.  GV enables users to do the following:

• To not only receive calls but to make outgoing calls,
• To send and receive text messages...for FREE,
• To read transcribed voicemail messages,
• To create custom greetings for different callers,
• To make cheap international calls,
• And several other features as described in the video below.

If you are any type of business owner, freelancer, etc., I would strongly suggest checking out Google's latest product.  GV definitely brings value to anyone who uses it.