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Going Green with a Virtual Phone System

Gary G — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:01:37 +0000

Over the past few months, Grasshopper headquarters have been “going green”. A new solar power system is in the final stages of installation and pretty soon, about 20% of the building’s power (including HVAC) will be generated by sunlight.

This is an exciting step for Grasshopper and it got us thinking, what else can we be doing to green up this place?

As it turns out, our own product actually helps with that! A virtual phone system is a great way to help your company go green.

Work from home

With the Grasshopper call forwarding feature, you can work from home and never miss a call. More importantly, you don’t have to commute to an office.

According to a Huffington Post article by Jason Seeger, if more companies encouraged telecommuting, the U.S could use 625 million fewer barrels of oil each year, cut greenhouse emissions by 107 million tons of carbon dioxide and save $43 billion on gas. Wow!

Save a few trees

Did you know that every year each person in the United States uses roughly 749 pounds of paper? That’s a lot of paper and a lot of trees!

In most offices, faxes use more paper than any other piece of equipment. Think about it. You send a fax cover sheet, the actual fax and of course it prints a confirmation (or a page telling you it failed). A single page fax could result in four pieces of paper being used.

With virtual faxing, you can save paper and reduce your annual usage. Simply have your customers send faxes to your Grasshopper number and they will arrive in your inbox. You can even store them in your account.

No handouts

You walk into a conference room and there on the table is a presentation printed out for you. Why? With today’s technology it seems unnecessary to print out copies for everyone involved in a meeting.

Virtual meetings are easy and especially with remote team members or out-of-state vendors, sharing a screen is much easier than trying to go over a printed document. Free services like Join.me are great for screen sharing and combined with your virtual phone conference calling feature, you can have a virtual meeting in minutes…without all the extra paper.

Companies across the US are taking steps to go green. Whether it’s using a virtual phone system, offering employees work from home days or greening your building, there are a lot of great things happening.

What is your company doing to go green?

Creating a Dedicated Support Line for Your Business

Gary G — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:27:43 +0000

One of the great things about our phone system is that it can be used in different (and creative) ways. While yes, it’s intended to be used as a full-featured, make your company sound big phone system, our customers have made it their own. Some people use it strictly as a voicemail service, some use it as a call forwarding service and one customer uses it to provide clients with personalized extensions.

A new use we came across recently was a customer using their Grasshopper number as a dedicated support line. What a great idea! We certainly have customers who use extensions for support/sales/departments/etc, but I’d never really thought about using an account just for Support.

As it turns out, there are actually quite a few benefits to this:

Professionalism

One of our main priorities here is to “Help entrepreneurs stay connected and sound professional”. Why? Because to customers, perception is reality.

A dedicated support line certainly shows customers that you are professional, successful enough to have a support team & you are there to help them when they need it. Whether this line forwards to a 100-person support team or your home office doesn’t really matter.

Simplicity

Have you ever called a company for support and been forced to listen to 10 different menus? Of course you have, we all have! It can be extremely frustrating, and when you are already frustrated it certainly doesn’t endear you to the company you are trying to reach.

With a dedicated line, there’s no sifting through the phone tree. Your customer reaches the right department and can then be directed based on need. Remember the old adage, Keep it Simple Stupid.

Minute Usage

If you’re using a virtual phone system, your plan is most likely based on minute usage. One of the common traits we’ve seen in companies who go over their minutes, is they typically have a sales or support line, which can take up a ton of minutes as your business grows. Having a separate line/account may be just the answer.

To break it down, for a company on the Ramp plan ($24/500 minutes), it may make more sense to upgrade to the Grow plan ($49/2,000 minutes), but for those on the Grow plan, it probably doesn’t make sense to upgrade to the Max plan ($199/10,000 minutes). A better solution may be adding another Ramp plan to use for the support line. You don’t have to worry about minute overage and it won’t cost too much more.

Using a Grasshopper number as a dedicated support line (a Sales line would apply here too) appears to be a pretty good idea and one I’m glad was brought to our attention.

Using Grasshopper for Your Real Estate Company

Gary G — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:47:41 +0000

In today’s society, people are working less in the office and therefore the need for a virtual phone system is growing. One industry where this is especially true is Real Estate. Based on feedback from customers in the real estate business, here are a few ways Grasshopper can help:

1) Informational Extensions

You can give your clients information they need without even talking to them! When a client calls an 800 number listed outside a property they’re interested in, they can hear specific information about the property, including housing details, address, and contact information.

2) Call Routing Extensions

In any industry involving sales, it’s important that customers never hear a busy signal or wait on hold too long. It’s also important in Real Estate that your employees get an equal number of incoming sales calls. Call Routing Extensions make this happen. Call routing extensions can help ensure that all of the agents in the office get an equal number of calls and your customers don’t become frustrated by your phone service.

3) Voice mail Features

Being out of the office a lot it’s important you don’t miss an important message. The great thing about using Grasshopper is that you can have your messages delivered to you no matter where you are. Your voice mails will be emailed to you (along with an MP3) and with the new read your voice mail feature, you can read your message without every having to listen to it. With Grasshopper, you can always check your voice mail when you need it.

Get more information on how Grasshopper can help with your real estate company or check out our full list of features.

May Edition: 11 Entrepreneur Posts from Around the Web

Gary G — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:31:16 +0000

There are so many great places for entrepreneurs to get information; blogs, forums, Twitter, conferences, meet-ups, co-working spaces, etc, etc. Sometimes it’s hard to sort through them all!

To at least make one part simpler for you, and give you something to read this holiday weekend, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite blog posts about entrepreneurship and business from the past month. I’m sure there are a hundred more out there but here are my favorites. Enjoy!

1. Which Excuses are Keeping You from Starting or Growing Your Business?

Overview: Matthew from Blogtrepreneur.com offers tips for those “wanna-be” entrepreneurs that are hesitant about starting a business. If you are on the fence about starting a business, this should inspire you to take a leap of faith and just do it! (or at least stop making excuses about why)

Link to Post

2. Entrepreneurs Test Before Starting Your Business

Overview: Kevin from dorm-room-biz.com gears this post towards internet entrepreneurs. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up an online marketing campaign for your business. The important thing is that one can invest little money to gather data about the market they are trying to enter if they use this strategy.

Link to Post

3. Do Entrepreneurs Have ADD?

Overview: This entrepreneur.com post examines the possible correlation between Entrepreneurs and ADD (attention deficit disorder.) Carol Tice makes the case that ADD allows entrepreneurs to tend to the many different aspects of owning and running a business. Do you have ADD?

Link to Post

4. 9 Hats of an Entrepreneur

Overview: As an entrepreneur one is be expected to play many different roles in a business. In this series, 9 different roles of an entrepreneur are examined, ranging from manager and chairman to parent and spouse. These posts really offer some insight into things one has to consider as an entrepreneur.

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5. Selling your Business: The Second Most Important Number

Overview: This Informationweek.com article warns business owners about selling their businesses. Sometimes in offer sheets, prospective buyers will entice a business owner with a high purchase price but leave high working capital stipulations in the term sheet that could leave business owners will little money on the day of the sale. Entrepreneurs and business owners beware!

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6. Web Site Development: Template or Hired Web Designer?

Overview: Does your business have a website? Are you worried that spending a significant amount of money on a professional website may not be worth it? You may be right, this smallbiztechnology.com post outlines the differences when deciding to use a template based website or hiring a professional web designer. See which one is right for you!

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7. Small Business News: The Times They are a Changin’

Overview: This post is an aggregate intended to keep entrepreneurs up to date about changes in the small business world. The topics here range from marketing and social media, to taxes and diversity.

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8. Links Your SMB Can Easily Snatch Up

Overview: This Smallbiztrends.com post offers 14 different ways small business owners can build links for websites. Link building is the key to get one’s website to show up in Google’s organic search results.

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9. Self Employment Sucks

There is a common misconception out there that being an entrepreneur and being self employed are the same thing. This post points out the differences between being self employed and an entrepreneur and how you can get trapped being self employed!

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10. Business Ideas You Can Drive Home Today

Overview:This article features 100 business ideas that can be started with little or no funding/experience. If you are looking to start a business but aren’t quite sure what you should do, definitely check this out!

Link to Post

11. How to Grow a $1 Million side Biz

Overview: This Womenentrepreneur.com post is a success story about entrepreneur Sari Crevin who founded BooginHead, and created the SippiGrip. Sari reveals her road to success as well as some business mistakes she made along the way. This post is great for inspiration and is a wonderful resource that includes tips on how to help your business take off!

Link to Post

A Virtual Phone System for Non-Profits

Gary G — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:29:06 +0000

One of the great things about Grasshopper is that it can be used by just about any company, in any industry. We have customers who work in construction, law, accounting, transportation, real estate, marketing and many other industries.

One industry that’s really started to pop up on our radar here as of late is the non-profit sector. Several customers have reached out to us and let us know not only how valuable the Grasshopper virtual phone system has been to their non-profit organization but also how they actually use it.

Here are 3 ways Grasshopper can help non-profits:

Phone # for Volunteers

Volunteers are an integral part of many non-profit organizations. They help man the phones, run events, organize fundraisers and much more. With tight budgets, not all non-profits can afford to provide phones or even walkie talkies to every volunteer and trying to keep track of everyone’s cell phone number can be next to impossible. With Grasshopper, no additional phones are necessary. You can create extensions in minutes and calls can be forwarded to any number on any phone.

Have an event? Using your Grasshopper toll free or local number, simply create extensions and have the calls forward to your volunteers’ cell phones. The same extensions can be used for any event. All you have to do is change the forwarding number.
Fundraising/Event Information

Wouldn’t it be great if you could give people all the information they needed without ever having to answer a call?

With informational extensions, you can give people information they need on events, fundraisers, the company and more. Simply record your greetings and upload them to your account. Give callers hours, dates, directions and more.
Taking Donations

Donations are a big part of the non-profit industry and the easier it is for people to give them, the better. Question & answer extensions can make taking donations simple and you don’t have to worry about being out of the office and missing calls.

With question & answer extensions, your callers will hear a series of questions to which they will respond to. A voicemail will then be compiled and emailed to you with all of the information the caller provided.

Create a dedicated extension for donations and gather the info you need from callers. This ensures donations can be taken 24/7.

The Grasshopper virtual phone system can help non-profits with their phone needs for a low cost. Have questions? Listen to a live demo, visit our FAQ page or call our support staff at 800-820-8210.

Why You Should Pick a Virtual Office

Gary G — Wed, 12 May 2010 04:01:14 +0000

Opening and maintaining an office is one of the costliest moves a new business can make. The obvious expense is the monthly rent, but the financial investment in running an office far exceeds the rent. At minimum, you will need desks and chairs. Most companies eventually want filing cabinets and a water cooler (plus scheduled delivery.) Of course, an office also needs its own Internet connection.

All these costs (and others) are why veteran entrepreneurs advise going without an office early on. That said, some businesses objectively need things like a professional mailing address, a business phone system and meeting areas.

Virtual Receptionists & Assistants

Entrepreneurs frequently take on loaded schedules and find themselves shoving repetitive tasks to the back burner. Traditionally, the solution has been hiring assistants whose sole jobs are to complete those tasks. However, it is actually not necessary for an assistant to physically work beside you in an office. A growing number of entrepreneurs are hiring virtual assistants instead.

For about $15 per hour, a virtual assistant will complete from home a list of assigned tasks each day or week. If your company operates primarily over the web, virtual assistants become an even better deal. Since the bulk of their tasks will be web-based, the incremental benefit of managing them face to face is far less than the extra cost.

The same is true of virtual receptionists. Phone systems can re-route business calls to a virtual receptionist who is trained to process calls in a manner of your choosing. As far as callers are concerned, it is as though you have a real office with a receptionist sitting in the front lobby. Best of all, most virtual receptionist providers charge by how many minutes you need a receptionist for – a substantial savings over hiring someone full-time. Plus, you can scale up or down as circumstances dictate without any personal conflicts.

Virtual Answering Services & Call Centers

Let’s face it – nothing advertises the fact that you have a “real” company like an automated answering service. It’s an efficient way to process incoming calls, and any customer-facing business would be foolish to go without one. But you don’t need to pay thousands of dollars to have an elaborate phone system installed. Grasshopper, for example, sells virtual phone systems that enable businesses of any size to use a real, professional answering service that is 100% web-based. You choose a corporate phone number, record a main greeting, add departments and employees, and get your business calls instantly, from anywhere. Customers can leave voice mails, and the entire caller experience is indistinguishable from that of an in-house answering service.

Virtual call centers can also be seamlessly plugged into your company’s infrastructure in a way that is invisible to callers. Customers calling for tech support will dial a number provided by your company and be helped by a remote agent who, as far as the caller is concerned, is in your office and on your payroll. The only substantive difference will be a smaller hit to your company’s bottom line for call center services.

Professional Addresses & Meeting Space

New businesses work hard early on to project a professional image to the world. Of course, it’s hard for outsiders to take a business seriously if their mailing address is clearly a personal residence. It can also be a serious security risk. More cost-effective than opening an office, however, is to simply get a professional mailing address.

Various services will accept your incoming mail at a prestigious, official location and then forward it to you at home. You can even arrange for receptionists at the business address to sign for incoming overnights, deliveries or packages. Document drop-off and pick-up services are available, and some providers offer notaries.

Perhaps you need to hold meetings with customers or partners, but not often enough to justify having a permanent office. Luckily, physical meeting space can be purchased and used in the same on-demand fashion as the other services. Whether you need conference rooms for an hour, a day or a week, business space providers maintain facilities for use whenever your schedule dictates. You can also rent what is known as a “casual workspace”, which is office space available for occasional use whenever you feel the need to work away from home.

The Case For a Virtual Office

If cash is tight and a lack of office amenities is throttling your company, a virtual office is a viable alternative. In addition to the cost savings, consider the often gigantic amount of time that accompanies setting up some of these systems.

To get up and running with an assistant, a receptionist, a business phone system and a call center could realistically take months. Beyond that, the maintenance, upgrading and troubleshooting of this infrastructure would forever be your responsibility. In all likelihood, a new employee or two would be needed for exactly that purpose.

A virtual office, on the other hand, allows you to revel in the fact that you’re paying someone else to do those things and wash your hands of them entirely. And if you have ever run a real office, you know first-hand what a relief that is.

Great 8: Top Entrepreneur Forums on the Web

Gary G — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:14:37 +0000

One of the great things about the entrepreneur community is the willingness and desire to share the trials and tribulations of starting and running a business. From blogs to forums to podcasts and books, there is a lot of really great knowledge out there. We have chosen eight of the best entrepreneur forums where you can ask questions, find info and share your own stories.

Entrepreneur.com – Industry Groups

Link: http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/browse_groups.php

What is it: Entrepreneur.com is a great forum that covers everything around entrepreneurship and business. The forums are even split up into industry-based groups ranging from construction professionals, to franchising, to sales and marketing to online business and young entrepreneurs.

Why you should read it: Entrepreneur.com has long been a trusted source for all kinds of entrepreneurs. Their forum allows people to connect with each other and share their experiences and knowledge. The starting a business section has nearly 1000 discussion topics!

Intuit Community

Link: http://community.intuit.com/start_and_grow

What is it: The Intuit Community splits its forums into two major sections – business forums and industry forums. The business forum encompasses all aspects of starting and running a business, while the industry forum is geared to connect those in the same industries.

Why you should read it: The Intuit Community has some really great information for all entrepreneurs. Their moderators are very active participants in the forum which is helpful to newcomers. One of the best features on this forum is being able to sort through answered and unanswered questions depending on your reason for visiting the forum.

Startup Nation

Link: http://www.startupnation.com/community/

What is it: Startup Nation is exactly what it’s name implies – a great forum for anyone interested in learning about start ups.

Why you should read it: With over 83,000 users, you can bet the Startup Nation forum has information on just about ANY ISSUE that entrepreneurs face when starting up a business. There is quite a bit of basic information but there are also some good discussions around planning and marketing.

Warrior Forum

Link: http://www.warriorforum.com/

What is it: The warrior forum mainly covers internet marketing but is a useful resource for entrepreneurs looking to start an internet-based business. While the forums are free, they do offer a premium forum for a onetime fee of $37.

Why you should read it: Referring to each other as warriors, the users on this forum are all about helping each other and sharing stories about their internet marketing and online business successes as well as failures. Be sure to check out “The war room” with it’s valuable articles and access to a few well known internet marketers.

Young Entrepreneur Forum

Link: http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/forum/

What is it: The Young Entrepreneur forum is a place for young entrepreneurs to discuss a wide range of topics and connect with other young entrepreneurs from all over the world. They also offer two levels of premium membership. Gold members ($29.95 for 1 year, $39.95 for 2 years) receive exclusive monthly premium members-only competitions, access to premium members-only forums, exclusive premium members-only contests as well as the ability to engage in private messaging with other members. Platinum members ($199.95 for 1 year, 299 for 2 years) receive access to a free webinar coaching webinar, website review from experts, invitations to events hosted by the founders of YoungEntrepreneur.com and all of the benefits of being a gold member.

Why you should read it: Young Entrepreneurs are quickly making their mark on the business world. With nearly 65,000 users and 270,000 posts this forum is certainly one of the most popular forums for young entrepreneurs everywhere.

Startups

Link: http://www.startups.co.uk

What is it: Startups is a UK based community with over 10 different forums. Asides from the general discussion forum which has 35,000 posts, the Rate My Website forum is the next most popular forum in the community and can provide you with candid feedback on your site.

Why you should read it: Based in the UK, this forum a great place to help connect with entrepreneurs from all over the world as well as get different perspectives on issues entrepreneurs may face. This is especially helpful for those looking to do business around the world.

The Fast Lane to Millions

Link: http://www.thefastlanetomillions.com/

What is it: The Fast Lane to Millions is a forum designed for entrepreneurs to share their experiences in growing their businesses, as well as a place for them to document their successes and failures.

Why you should read it: Many participants in the Fast Lane to Millions are eager to get/share ideas and stories about money making strategies. Forum topics are dominated by building online businesses and discussions about real estate so if you are looking to make money through real estate, this may be a good place to check out.

Retire at 21

Link: http://www.retireat21.com/forums/

What is it: The Retire at 21 forums gives young entrepreneurs a chance to share stories about how they became online entrepreneurs as well as an open community to ask and answers questions about their experiences.

Why you should read it: The forums at Retire at 21 are saturated with valuable information related to website critique (90% of the post volume is in the website critique portion of the forum). This is a great place to go if you are starting an online business or if you are debating making changes to an existing online business.

What other forums do you visit to get and share ideas?

14 Twitter Feeds Startups/Founders Should Follow

Gary G — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:00:38 +0000

We’ll admit it – the typical Twitter page is more likely to hinder startup success than it is to help. A Google search for “Twitter distraction” generates over 1.8 million results, including in-depth blog posts on how to prevent Twitter from breaking your focus. So we’ll understand if Twitter isn’t currently a big part of your work day. However, it would be unwise for startup founders to unplug completely from Twitter.

In fact, the Twitter accounts of other startups and founders are often treasure troves of relevant, applicable insight. After all, these are folks who have overcome the obstacles you are facing and achieved the goals you are striving for. Who better to learn from? The key to using Twitter productively, of course, is avoiding idle banter and following only those offering concrete, actionable advice. To that end, Grasshopper scoured Twitter for fourteen accounts that any startup founder would be well-served to follow.

Startup Digest

Startup Digest is an awesome service for getting plugged in with your local startup community. They also have a great Twitter list setup for you to follow to filter out some of the noise in your Twitter stream once in awhile and focus on valuable insights from leading tech blogs and entrepreneurs.

Make a Startup

While not itself a startup, Make a Startup‘s Twitter feed is a veritable compendium of startup-specific knowledge. A glance through a typical day’s Tweets turns up such gems as “business models behind the Internet startup” and “3 New Startup Pitfalls to be Aware of.” The ideal person to follow, Make a Startup is someone who wants to understand the deep mechanics of how Internet business and the startup life work. As venture capitalist Paul Graham is fond of saying, “you don’t need to understand physics to be a pitcher, but it never hurts.” That being said, even the “big picture” lessons dispensed on Make a Startup’s Twitter are focused on action, not armchair theorizing.

Perry Marshall

As the world’s premier Google AdWords authority, Perry Marshall works as a marketing consultant to dozens of startups and small to medium sized businesses. The main reason his Twitter is worth following is that he impresses upon readers a constant focus on bottom-line results. While it’s easy to get caught up in fuzzy metrics like “buzz” and “mind share”, Perry’s tweets serve as persistent reminders to focus on whether what you are doing is making money.

His advice on e-mail marketing, split testing and conversion tracking is essential to anyone involved in a startup. Furthermore, his insights on Internet marketing are vital to anyone concerned with bringing more customers into the fray (which, believe it or not, often gets moved to the back burner by startups.)

Startup Report

Startup Report‘s Twitter feed is slightly different than most of the ones we mention, but is eminently worth following nonetheless. Essentially, Startup Report is an up to the minute aggregation of startup news reports – who’s gotten funding, who’s been bought out, who’s gone under, etc. It’s a way for any business owner to take the pulse of what’s going on in the startup world and look for patterns of market activity that ought to influence their decisions. While investors have stock tickers and the Wall Street Journal, those immersed in the startup world have Startup Report.

EntrepreneurUS

EntrepreneurUS is another Twitter account deserving of any founder’s attention. In terms of immediately applicable tips and strategies, it’s tough to beat tweets such as “Watch 25 Entrepreneurs Try To Launch 6 Startups From A Bus In Just 48 Hours.”

EntrepreneurUS also tweets material that is useful to early stage founders, such as how to generate startup ideas if you do not currently have one. And that’s just a sampling of the material submitted on their Twitter on a daily basis. Tune in once in a while and your search for useful business insight will be richly rewarded.

Cool Startups

Described as “a magnet for all the buzz on hot new startups”, Cool Startups is a Twitter feed that is positively packed with valuable how-to information and educational anecdotes on business success. Indicative of the content you will find on Cool Startups are tweets such as “Lessons From Start-Ups on Improving Sales Productivity” and “Startup Professionals Musings: For an Entrepreneur, an MBA is not King.” With such useful advice, it’s no wonder over 2,400 people have decided to follow Cool Startups to date!

Venture Beat

Venture Beat is the Twitter account for those eager to keep up with the latest musings and recommendations of the venture capital industry. While it’s certainly important to absorb all the perspective and wisdom from other founders that you can, it also helps to understand startups as seen from an investor’s point of view. Typical tweets include “an angel investor’s advice for startups” and “Norwest’s Tim Chang wants to invest in the “game-ification” of life.” Perhaps the most useful benefit of following Venture Beat is staying abreast of what types of businesses investors want to invest in.

OfficeDivvy

OfficeDivvy, a startup focused on virtual office solutions, maintains a Twitter feed that offers useful, daily guidance to founders. With tweets such as “Why Business Plans Are a Waste of Time For Startups” and “When to do it yourself, and when to outsource some of your tasks”, founders are sure to find a fresh perspective on the many challenges they face on a regular basis. At time of writing, over 20,000 people have decided that following OfficeDivvy is a worthwhile use of their time.

2BProductive

Some of the more common problems startup founders grapple with are their own mental and habitual roadblocks. No matter how many books or seminars you devour on business strategy, you will never take your business to the next level until you master your own habits as regards time management, goal setting and execution. That’s why 2BProductive is a Twitter feed all of us need to be following.

Every day, 2BProductive dispenses valuable nuggets of insight, including podcasts on action-based agendas, what we can learn from the Olympics for business productivity and more. If you feel that your overall strategy is sound but aren’t sure how to correct unproductive habits, 2BProductive is well worth tuning into.

Daytimer Page

Another Twitter account aimed at providing time management and personal productivity tips is Daytimer Page. While its follower count isn’t astronomical (just over 300 at time of writing) Daytimer Page is a rock-solid resource for anyone looking to improve their own personal effectiveness in the workplace.

Everything from the efficient use of planners to brain dumps to color-coordinated calendars is discussed on a daily basis, resulting in a buffet of tips, advice and strategies for sharp startup founders to choose from. If you feel like time is managing you instead of the other way around, it’s time to follow Daytimer Page and take its advice to heart.

FocusSmallBiz

Focus Small Biz is the ultimate Twitter feed for those seeking hard-nosed answers to practical, immediate questions – such as “what is the best marketing technique for small businesses that budget $50/month?” Other questions tackled by Focus’ daily Twitter feed include “Why don’t banks and traditional lenders provide funds to startups?” and “How to Select a Good Business Webcam.” Why more startups don’t get funding is another frequently addressed topic. Whenever you find yourself struggling to answer a very direct question, it’s a safe bet that perusing the archives of Focus Small Biz will point you in the right direction.

Brand Strategic

For most startups, a social media presence has gone from being “nice to have” to being a baseline necessity. Unfortunately, much of the educational material on doing social media correctly contains more hype and platitudes than actionable advice. A refreshing departure into social media practicality is Brand Strategic, a Twitter feed that dispenses daily tidbits including “11 Free Tools for Social Media Optimization” and “Five insights into the behaviors of social media users.” An occasional glance at Brand Strategic’s updates will leave you feeling confident and ready to implement what you have learned, rather than endlessly searching for answers.

Social Media Solutions

Another excellent Twitter feed to follow with regard to practical social media strategies is Social Media Solutions. Whereas BrandStrategic focuses more on tutorials and resources for using social media for immediate impact, Social Media Solutions tweets examples of major or growing brands using social media in their own activities, allowing you to discern patterns and effective strategies that are working for other businesses.

At time of writing, for instance, readers can learn about Connecticut governor Jodi Rell using social media to release state news, or DirecTV using it in ad campaigns. Those seeking to learn by example from the successful social media pioneering of others need look no further.

VisionQuest MT

VisionQuest MT is a Twitter feed focused on accounting, bookkeeping, and measuring productivity in quantitative terms. Readers will find tweets covering an expansive territory of business topics, ranging from tax breaks to measuring employee productivity to the trade-offs of working at home versus the office. As has been the case with all of the feeds we’ve mentioned, readers can expect a firm focus on actionable tips and wisdom. Most of VisionQuest’s tweets pertain to things you are already doing and have the potential to make an immediate difference for the better.

Stay Up to Date on March Madness with Grasshopper

Gary G — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:49:22 +0000

As the tournament kicks off today, productivity all over the U.S decreases dramatically. For those of us in the office, we can check the scores online and for some brave souls, watch the games at CBS.com with the “Boss Button“.

But what about those who are in meetings or on sales calls and can’t check the score? What if your favorite team is on?

With Grasshopper, this tragedy can be averted.

While you may not be able to break out your phone to check the score, you can take an important call right?

Using your Grasshopper 800 or local number, set up a March Madness extension.

Tell your friends who are not working to call this extension to provide updates (lets just stick with half-time, 12 minutes and final).

When the call is forwarded to your cell phone, you will see the extension and immediately know it’s a score update.

Politely excuse yourself, stating you have to take this call, and immediately get the latest news.

Colleagues and associates will be none the wiser and you won’t have to worry about missing any news about your team.

*We don’t actually recommend doing this but hey, do what you have to do.

Save $$$ with a Virtual Office

Gary G — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:38:31 +0000

A virtual office can be a great asset for any small business. It can be even more valuable for an entrepreneur just getting a company up and running. With the economy still struggling and everyone working hard to stay profitable, cost-cutting measures are vital.

A virtual office can help you save money in three main areas:

Office Space

Whether you are working from home, a coffee shop or a co-working space, you can save a lot of money by not leasing out a big office. There are no costs for rent, furniture, office equipment or utilities.

Even more importantly, if you find yourself traveling a lot, working from home or just not spending much time in the office, you are not locked into a lease.

Travel Expenses

With the average cost of commuting ranging from $110-$648 a month, traveling to work can be expensive. You have gas, maintenance and for some, tolls.

If you don’t have an office space to drive to, you don’t have to pay commuter expenses. Use this calculator to figure out your commuter costs.

Communications

Every business needs a phone and a phone number to communicate with their customers. Phone equipment can be expensive though and so can a professional phone system.

A virtual phone system is a cost-effective solution that can help you sound professional to clients, ensure you can be reached at any time (regardless of where you are) and requires no extra equipment.

Plus, the main greeting and extension features included in a virtual phone system allow you to cut out the cost of a receptionist.

A virtual office is a great way to get your business going without incurring all the huge costs. It can even be beneficial for larger companies looking to save money.

3 Ways to Not Suck at Chat Support

Darren Rosebrugh — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:40:16 +0000

I don’t think online chat is the best way to communicate. In fact, it’s probably the worst. So it may surprise you to hear that we’ve been considering adding chat support to our lineup of support options at Grasshopper.

Why do I think chat sucks?

For one thing, you never really know if the other person is still there, if they’re AFK (that’s chatspeak for away from keyboard) or if they’ve fallen off the face of the planet (that’d be FOTFOTP).

Still, I’m convinced that there are great uses for it. For example, asking quick pre-sales questions when you’ve got laryngitis. That’s why I go out of my way to try other company’s chat support. I’m looking for the company that’s finally found a way to make it work.

I’m told that chat is great because it’s instantaneous and convenient. Well, if that’s true, why do I always feel like I’m waiting for the service rep on the other end to finish their 15 other chats before they finally get back to me? And why does it seem to take forever to finally get across the nature of my issue? I’m always wondering did they really get what my issue was or are they now just too embarrassed to ask me the 5th time around for further clarification.

But I’m like most people, when I have a problem, I’ll go for chat if I think that I’ll end up on hold for a long time when I call. Unfortunately, I often find that I’m instantly chatting with a lower tier of service staffed by agents with the least experience. I’ve had more than one chat session end by the agent asking me to call instead because they don’t have the ability to help me. That was a real time saver.

So what’s a good solution for offering chat support that doesn’t suck? As far as I know, It doesn’t exist yet, but here’s my dos and don’ts:

Do have a click to call button directly on the chat window that allows someone to simply call whoever they are chatting with. Instead of telling me to call in and then start all over explaining myself to a new agent, let us pick up where chat fell short and solve this issue quickly.

Don’t force service reps to cover multiple chat sessions. It’s okay to take on another client when I’m not responding. It’s only fair. But when you’re chatting with, say, 10 clients simultaneously, you’re making no one happy.

Don’t use chat as the training ground for support staff. Unlike the phone, you can’t immediately sense a client’s mood or assess their tone of voice. You need knowledgeable people staffing the chat so they can read between the lines.

Do you have any tips on how to make chat support better?

10 Tips for Writing Better Email

Guest — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:39 +0000

Sonja Jacob, the Founder and Chief Cultivator at The Cultivated Word LLC, and the creator of the Grasshopper “Entrepreneurs Can Change the World” video, gives us ten tips for writing better email.

People receive more email in their inboxes today than ever before–an estimated two million email messages are sent every second–so why not make the email you send stand out for its concision and clarity? By following these ten simple steps, you’ll increase the likelihood that people will understand and act on your email.

Hit the right note.

Sounding positive over email makes people want to communicate with you in the future. Be aware of how terms such as “good” come across as, “eh, it’s ok” in email. If you’re genuinely pleased with someone’s work, avoid “good” and opt for more effusive language.
Avoid sarcasm.

Ever joke in an email only to have it misconstrued by the recipient? Email relies on fewer senses to convey messages, so you don’t see any physical clues to the meaning of words. Avoid sarcasm or jokes in email unless you know the recipient well.

Use bullets when conveying large amounts of info.

Sharing a lot of info with a recipient? Rather than writing lengthy paragraphs, use bullet points to break up info and convey the overall message.
Beware the “to” field.

Most of us feel the need to fill out the “to” field first when writing an email, but consider keeping the “to” field blank until you’ve written the entire email and reviewed it.
Address people by name.

Sending out an email to multiple parties with numerous action items? Address individuals by name when you want to spark action. For example, rather than asking no one in particular if you’ve sent a client an important file, address people directly by name, “Jane, have you sent the client the latest files?”
Remember to review.

Reading over your email before you send it seems like a no-brainer, but many people don’t do it. Give your email a quick review before sending it and you’ll avoid sending email with careless errors.
Show a little gratitude.

Thank people for their time—they probably get tons of email and if you show you’re grateful they’ve taken the time to read yours, it’ll leave a lasting impression.
Leave readers with a question.

Summarize the purpose of your email in closing. This gives people a “refresher” and motivates them to act on the info they’ve just received.
Provide all of the information.

Assigning a project? Give the recipient a deadline in the email, otherwise they’ll have no idea how to prioritize the task you’ve assigned.
Utilize the subject line for action items.

Vague subject lines in emails lead to less than ideal project outcomes. Try to be as specific as possible with your subject line so people know what your email is about right away.

Sonja Jacob is the Founder and Chief Cultivator at The Cultivated Word LLC, a copywriting and creative strategy firm located in Boston. www.thecultivatedword.com. Follow her on Twitter: @tcwsonja.

Featured Entrepreneur: Allan Branch of LessAccounting

Mike Arsenault — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:39:57 +0000

This week we are featuring Allan Branch. He's the co-founder of LessAccounting and also a Grasshopper customer. Could you explain the philosophy of Less? We believe business software should easy. It should get out of your way, allowing you to get back to work and make money. Being a business owner is hard enough without having your software make it harder.

Unlimited Extensions Create Personal Touch with Customers

Gary G — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:49:12 +0000

It recently came to my attention that one of our customers, The KARS Consulting Group, is using our Unlimited Extensions feature in a brilliant way.

As a small consulting company or freelancer with a handful of clients, your relationship with each client is imperative to the success of you and your business. Any extra effort or personal touch goes a long way.

So what is this entrepreneur doing that is so great?

Creating personalized extensions for each client.

Each client has their own extension with a personalized name greeting and voicemail. When the client calls in, they’re addressed with a greeting specifically for their company, the business knows who is calling so the call can be routed to the right person, and even when no one can take the call, there is a personalized voicemail message. What a great concept!

By creating these personal extensions, your business is able to accurately track call time through online call reports, save time by automatically directing calls to the right people and eliminate miscommunication issues. All without any extra costs.

While there are companies out there that help your business handle this process internally, what makes Grasshopper’s virtual phone system so unique is that it actually makes it easier for your customers to communicate with you.

What are the benefits to your customers?

A personalized number, with personalized greetings immediately tells the client they are important to you. The customer has something that is dedicated to them.
Imagine if you called up a business and they greeted you by name before you even said who it was. This isn’t something that commonly happens and can go a long way toward transforming a customer into a brand loyalist.
A customer calls, you see the number and immediately are able to pull up all their information before you even say hello, saving them time.
With a dedicated extension & voice mail, the client knows even if they have to leave a voice mail, it will not get lost in a sea of others.

Creating personalized extensions and greetings is really a great way to use the unlimited extensions feature and definitely something other small businesses should consider. It is an invaluable way to make your clients feel special and helps both parties be more efficient.

Are there any other creative ways companies are using their phone system to make customers feel important?

Create a Good First Impression with Custom Greetings

Gary G — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:35:00 +0000

Remember the Seinfeld episode where George decides to create a catchy jingle for his answering machine?

Aside from a website, your phone greeting could be the first impression customers or potential customers have of your business. While it doesn’t have to be as clever as George’s, it’s important that it sounds professional and helps the caller with what they are looking for.

Here are a few tips for creating a main greeting:

Make sure there is no distracting background noise i.e. ambulances racing by, phones ringing, tv commercials.

When using background music, make sure you choose music that fits your business. Pop music for a spa probably isn’t the best strategy.

Enunciate your words clearly to ensure the caller can understand your greeting. Avoid strong accents.

Keep it succinct. No one wants to listen to three minutes of talking before even hearing their options.

Make sure callers feel welcome. Thank them for calling and let them know how you are going to help them.

Your extensions should be easy to follow and cover the most common topics. Sales, Support, Speak with Customer Representative, etc.

For customers who don’t want to worry about creating their greeting, the Grasshopper voice studio features professional voice talents who can create it for you.

Remember, a poor phone greeting could turn away customers, potential customers, clients, and leads. Take all the necessary steps to create a professional image for your small business.

How To: 800 Forwarding with Grasshopper

Gary G — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:01:36 +0000

One of the top features of the Grasshopper virtual phone system is the ability to forward your 800 number to any number on any phone. No really, ANY phone/phone number in the entire world! Your home phone, your office phone, your cell phone, your mom’s cell phone…it doesn’t matter.

Setting up call forwarding for your 800 (or local) number is easy through your online account manager.

We have broken it down into 3 simple steps:

1. Login to your Grasshopper account, choose “Settings“

2. Under Settings, choose “Call Forwarding“

3. Choose “Add Number” & Put in the desired forwarding number (click image to see full size)

That’s it!

Those simple steps are all it takes to forward your 800 number with our virtual phone system. Easy huh?

Once you put in the number, or numbers (yes, you can forward calls to more than one number), you can choose your call forwarding settings:

Forwarding Schedule (Set specific times)

Call Announce

Direct Connect

Call Screening

PBX Connect

Caller ID (Show your callers # or your Grasshopper #)

Along with 800 number forwarding there are a ton of other great features with the Grasshopper virtual phone system including unlimited extensions, custom greetings and voice mail transcription. Check it out and be sure to contact our 24/7 support with any questions you may have.

Featured Entrepreneur: Jared Taylor of RevitalArts

Casie Gillette — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:01:23 +0000

This week we are featuring Jared Taylor. Jared is the founder of RevitalArts, Sparklight Studios and is also a Grasshopper customer.

First off, you are a great example of a “Young Entrepreneur”. You’ve already been involved in founding how many companies? And are how old?

I’ve founded 2 companies. I started my first, Sparklight Studios, when I was 18 years old. Sparklight is a small creative company specializing in website development, video production and theatrical design. We’ve served nearly 20 clients since we started only 2 years ago, which has been quite an undertaking considering we’re college students. We just launched our new website – http://www.sparklight-studios.com. I also founded RevitalArts (formerly Youth in the Arts) in 2008 with a few friends.

Tell us a little bit about RevitalArts and what makes it so unique.

RevitalArts is an entirely student-run non-profit organization and we received our 501(c)(3) designation by the Federal government in mid-2009. Our mission is to provide young adults with positive, engaging and educational experiences in the arts and to revitalize the participation in and appreciation of the arts. This breaks down into two parts: the first is to put on student-run productions – film festivals, theatrical performances, musical concerts, etc. The second part is to get our local community (in Fairfield/New Haven Counties, CT) interested and engaged in the arts.

We are unique because our organization – from our Board of Directors, to our staff, to our membership, is made up entirely of young people. This is a point we try to push in our PR and fundraising efforts.

Now, I know that you personally have always been involved in music and the arts. What made you want to help others get involved as well?

The arts are my life passion. Some friends and I noticed a lack of summer theatre opportunities in my hometown of Stratford, CT. So we started Square One Teen Theatre, which is now going into it’s 4th summer and is our biggest program. RevitalArts spawned out of the Teen Theatre and another program called the Stratford Film Festival, which was started in 2005. We started the organization as an umbrella company that would oversee programs like the Theatre and Film Festival, and help outside students start their own programs.

Since we were officially formed as of last year, we’ve helped students kick off two brand new programs in Milford and Fairfield, CT. It’s amazing to help and watch these new program grow, because that’s essentially why the organization was started in the first place.

What challenges do you face as a non-profit organization that you don’t in other businesses?

Definitely fundraising. Funding is obviously important for both businesses and non-profits, but it’s very different in our situation. Fundraising involves convincing people that our cause is worthy enough to support monetarily. We had a successful year in 2009 but we still haven’t gotten the full hang of it yet.

Two tips you can give other entrepreneurs looking to start a non-profit:

Build a strong board and staff who will believe in your cause. Start-up non-profits typically have very limited budgets and you, along with your staff, will have to volunteer significant amounts of time to the organization.

Focus a lot on your brand and message. Don’t rush through your name, logo, and mission just to get them over with. Spend a lot of time thinking about what the core of your mission is. Then market the heck out of it. For a new non-profit, nothing is more important than a strong message.

You are involved in RevitalArts, Square One, Sparklight Studios AND you go to school. Where do you find the time for all this? You must have some great time management tips to give our readers?

I’m a huge fan of to do lists. I organize my lists into categories (Personal, RevitalArts, School, etc) and pick which ones I’m going to do each day of the week. I’m also a big proponent of sticky notes. I’m also not afraid to delegate when I need to.

Now, we don’t ask everyone this, but since you are a GH customer and have been for quite some time, what is your favorite feature of the virtual phone system (we had to throw in some self-promotion)?

Getting voicemails as email attachments. Grasshopper has a ton of awesome features, but the reason I originally signed up was the convenience of being able to check our voicemail through my email

Thanks to Jared for taking the time to talk with us. If you want more information on Jared, RevitalArts or Sparklight Studios, check out his about page or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Found on Twitter: 14 Words of Wisdom for Startups

Casie Gillette — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:14:27 +0000

Who you follow on Twitter has a tremendous impact on what you get out of Twitter. There are people tweeting great information on every topic available and there are also people out there using it just for fun. If you are follow the right people (see our previous post on the top entrepreneurs to follow), you increase your chances of finding solid tips and advice.

We’ve gathered 14 tweets from smart people around the web, offering some simple words of wisdom on startups:

Tech startups – be careful about “geeking out” on sales calls. You’re selling solutions to problems not technology. @byosko

Just finished a call with a CEO who is delaying fundraising till he gets more traction. Very smart. You can’t raise $ without validation @startupcfo

Avoid analysis paralysis…been noticing we talk a lot about the interpretation of data, not whether to act…this is the way to do it. @MikeMcDerment

IMHO an amazing co-founder is invaluable – each step in your startup feels more solid, faster, and well thought out. @danmartell

I don’t think school has much to do with being an entrepreneur. @jasonfried

Taking the time to document processes and standards for my own team. Sometimes you need to slow down in order to be able to speed up. @startupcfo

great product expertise can’t be bought. monetization expertise can be. so you look for the product expertise in the founding team @fredwilson

It is not written anywhere that raising money is the first step in starting a company. Or any step at all. @ThisisStartup

Price isn’t the only factor ppl use when buying stuff. Don’t use “lowest price” wins as an excuse. @byosko

(1) Scratch a really painful itch. (2) Tell everyone your idea. (3) Find the right team. (4) Ask more questions #thisisstartup @thomasknoll

It’s the constant surge to “WOW” the customer to build trust, make him come back & give confidence that we are here to deliver! @nandinih

#startup founders: highly recommend getting 1-2 other people to be co-founders. share the burden and share the success. @george_revutsky

How to Kill a Startup: Hire Executives instead of Entrepreneurs from @VCMike. It is all about timing and stage. @dh

And my favorite:

I have an idea for a new startup. @Orli

What other words of wisdom have you found on Twitter?

Hate Traffic? Try Talking to Customers.

Christopher Buchino — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:40:48 +0000

In an effort to engage our customers and help them get the most use of our service, we at Grasshopper make sure that every new customer gets a personal phone call within the first week or so, asking them if they need any help, have any questions, etc.

As a manager, I make a handful of these calls each week and I always end up learning something new from talking to customers – seeing how they use our service to run their business and the types of questions that they have.

I really enjoy making these calls but one of the challenges I face each week is finding the time to make them. Often times the end of the week comes around before I know it and I start stressing out because I have so much left to do – and I still need to make my customer calls. This stress sort of bums me out because I know that the best calls I have with customers are the ones where my full attention can be devoted to them. The last thing I want to do is to haphazardly rush through these calls at the end of the week just so I can get my other work done and also put a checkmark next to my name stating that I made my calls that week.

One day recently, as I was about to leave the office and begin my 75 minute trek home in rush-hour traffic, I again realized that it was Thursday evening and still had not made my customer calls. I then had an interesting thought:

Could I make these calls in my car while sitting in traffic?

At first I told myself that this would not be good for the customers I talked to because I would not be at my computer to assist them. I then challenged that thought with the fact that I was pretty sure I could answer any questions people had off the cuff as I do have a decent amount of product knowledge. I also knew chatting with customers in traffic would allow me to really engage with them in dialogue and not be rushed – like it or not, I was not leaving my car for a good, long time.

I decided I’d conduct this little experiment and see the results. If it went well I’d continue and if not, I wouldn’t. Pretty simple. The results of the experiment were actually quite good. Minus the struggling to dial the phone numbers (I’ll pre-program them next time), the calls were some of the best I have had with customers. I was able to help out a couple of customers with basic setup questions as well as have a nice conversation with someone who has a couple of accounts and really loves our service.

So…if you hate traffic as I do and want to use this time in a more meaningful way than cursing at the people in front of you, try talking to customers and making personal connections with them!

Top Ten Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

Jonathan Kay — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:40:41 +0000

Let’s start with two quick matters of house-keeping: One, I am part of the 10-12% of Americans who call themselves an “Entrepreneur”. Two, I am part of the 63.5 % of internet users who will Google any question, event, person, problem, word, or topic that might potentially interest or be useful to them.

Having said that, a trend I’ve recognized lately is that podcasts are slowly becoming the most popular and convenient source of information. Unlike blogs, you can take them anywhere and listen to them anytime. So, being the insanely curious person I am (and going back to my opening statement), can you guess what I did? I Googled “Top Entrepreneur Podcasts”.

To my shock and disappointment I found ONLY ONE site that legitimately reviews podcasts for entrepreneurs, a brilliant “Top 100 Article” written by Staci Wood and Anita Campbell over at Small Business Trends. Kudos to them, and I would highly recommend taking a look.

In an effort to offer entrepreneurs the resources they need and deserve, I’ve spent the better part of the last month listening to and researching different podcasts for entrepreneurs. Enjoy the list, I hope it helps, and please tell me what you think in the comments section below, as feedback is critical to success.

Top 10 Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

(click for full size)

Help My Business Sucks

I am a real fan of Andrew Lock’s work on HMBS. He has managed to find a way to make marketing fun with his witty comments, real life examples, and sheer passion. Also, when it comes to sponsors, Andrew only recommends products/service that he truly believes in and would use himself. He takes the time to learn about your company and speak to his audience about you.

Frequency: Weekly (every Wednesday) Avg. Length: 14 minutes

Mixergy

If you spend any amount of time on Andrew Warner’s website it becomes immediately apparent that this guy lives and breathes entrepreneurship. His passion and excitement bleed through each and every video podcast he does. My favorite thing about Andrew’s work is that his interviews are REAL conversations; you not only learn a lot about his guest’s business but you also get a sense for who they are as people.

Frequency: 6-8 per month Avg. Length: 1 hour & 5 minutes

Duct Tape Marketing

This podcast, organized and hosted by John Jantsch, is full of well known and interesting guests (I was actually quite impressed when I looked back through past episodes). Although John’s show might not be as fun, and entertaining as some of our other recommendations, the content is certainly valuable.

Frequency: 2-4 per month Avg. Length: 15-20 minutes

Quick and Dirty Tips

Quick and Dirty Tips has about 15 different podcasts they produce but the two I am going to highly recommend here are “Get-It-Done Guy” and “The Digital Marketer”. Aliza Sherman, the Digital Marketer provides quick and useful tips to navigating the internet. However, I will note I was disappointed by the lack of conversation & audience interaction (Aliza provides all her contact info, yet when I reached out to her I could not even get a response! Too bad).

Frequency: Weekly Avg. Length: 6 minutes

WSJ Small Business Bulletin

This extremely short podcast by Joe Connolly completely blew me away. I was and still am notably impressed. In merely two minutes Joe manages to discuss a useful business topic and then enforce his point by bringing on a live everyday small business owners to share a real life example. Now if only the Wall St Journal would get more involved in social media, more people would have heard about this! (See @WSJPodcasts)

Frequency: 3-5 per month Avg. Length: 1.5-2 minutes

Startup Nation

This show by the Sloan Brothers is the official StartupNation.com podcast. While I think they could do a better job with guests the content is certainly there. My favorite part of this podcast is the Sloan Brothers themselves, great hosts. I was surprised how small of a social media presence their podcast has. You would think such a “start up savvy” company would do a better job promoting themselves!

Frequency: 2 per month Avg. Length: 15 minutes

TWIST (ThisWeekInStartups)

This podcast is featured by the infamous Jason Calacanis (Yes, Jason you not only made our Case Study, but our Top 10 list as well!). Jason does a good job of making this podcast very conversational and compiling a guest list filled with intriguing Small Biz CEOs. My only question is, how does anyone find 2 HOURS out of their day to listen to this??? (If you are a TWIST listener please help me understand this in the comments section!)

Frequency: 4-5 per month Avg. Length: 1 hr 45 mins – 2 hours

VentureVoice

Now this is an interesting podcast by Greg Gallant. Greg has some really good guests and asks quite insightful questions. I have enjoyed every show I have listened to from him. However, why ONLY 7 shows the entire year? This affected my “content rating” and I think it hurts the number of people who follow the show as well. Greg, we love your work please give us more!

Frequency: 7 total in 2009 Avg. Length: 1 hour & 5 minutes

Small Business Trends Radio

This podcast run by Staci Wood (Operations Manager) and hosted by Anita Campbell was one of my first exposures to SMB podcasts. I have to give it up for Staci; she runs and organizes quite a professional show. Everything is extremely organized and the content/questions are amazing. My only complaint is that it sounds too much like an everyday radio show and there is not enough audience/listener interaction (either during or after the show). In my opinion, this is a recipe for eventual decline in viewership.

Frequency: Weekly Avg. Length: 30 minutes

Harvard Business IdeaCast

This podcast caught me a bit off-guard, I thought it was a long shot to make my list but having spent some time listening I was quite impressed. It is a bit different than some of the others I recommend, as the guest list consists mostly of authors and professors. However, the show is well hosted and covers very relevant topics for small business owners.

Frequency: Weekly Avg. Length: 13.5 minutes

Honorable mention

37 Signals Podcast

Jason Fried and 37 signals just launched their first ever podcast. I would keep my eye on this as they could make a case to crack the leader board and be in the next edition of “Grasshoppers Top 10 Podcasts for Entrepreneurs”

4 Tips to Organize Your Business with a Virtual Number

Casie Gillette — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:05:16 +0000

Your Grasshopper virtual phone system makes it easy to organize yourself AND your small business. There are many simple tricks you can use with Grasshopper to avoid the chaos and clutter often associated with trying to run a company. Below are several tips to help you get organized:

1. Only Give Out One Number

Giving out just one phone number instead of an office, fax and cell phone makes things simple for you and even simpler for those trying to reach you. Clients, colleagues and friends will know they can always reach you when they dial your Grasshopper number.

One phone number can ring up to six numbers including your home, office and cell phone. And if you can’t take the call (or simply don’t want to), our advanced voicemail and fax handling options allow you to easily check and manage messages.

2. Throw Out Your Fax Machine

While we don’t advise actually throwing away your old fax machine, our virtual fax feature will ensure you use it a lot less. With our virtual phone system you can use your toll free or local number to receive faxes. Each fax can then be viewed from any computer or compatible mobile device.

If you have an advanced number then you are already capable of receiving faxes. Callers can simply send faxes to your number just like any other fax number.

To set up forwarding faxes via email:

Click Settings
Click on Notification
Enter the email addresses where you would like to receive your faxes

3. Save Voicemails and Faxes to Your Computer

Have you ever had to listen to saved message after saved message to find the one you were looking for? Grasshopper’s virtual phone system allows you to save all of your messages and faxes and then download them to your computer. Keep your messages organized and your inbox clean.

To save voicemail messages:

Click to play the message
Click the download icon (arrow under type)
Click Save
In this next window choose file name and location to save

4. Give Clients 24/7 Access to Frequently Requested Documents

Fax-on-Demand allows your callers to instantly access important forms and printed information without needing your help. This is a great way to get menus, order forms and other documents into the hands of your customers faster.

Call in to your Grasshopper account from a fax machine
From your Main Greeting press *
Enter 6 followed by #
Enter the PIN for the Fax-on-Demand extension
Continue to follow the voice prompts to store or delete documents

If you want more information about any of our features, take a look at our How It Works page.