Starting an Answering Service Business

With the current economy and job market, many qualified individuals are now without a job, trying to figure out their next step.  At-home businesses are on the rise, offering advantages of being a business owner and working from a home office.  One such option is a home-based answering service business.  Numerous studies have been conducted specific to this opportunity showing that of all in-home businesses, a telephone answering service is among the most lucrative and easiest to establish.

With an answering service business set up within the home, people can earn as much as $150,000 in annual revenue.  This type of business can be operated by one individual and with incredible success.  On the other end of the spectrum, smaller businesses needing remote customer service enjoy the many benefits associated with someone who offers live phone answering services.

This type of service might seem simple but the impact it has on a company’s success is significant.  After all, a small company is in tight competition with larger companies, those that have more money and therefore, more capability for handling customer issues.  If the person who runs an answering service business can provide the smaller company with professional support, an order taking service, or even disaster recovery services, the small company now becomes more competitive.

The problem for most small business owners is that they spend the majority of their time handling sales, accounting, and dealing with on-site issues.  For these people, the added cost to have someone in the office full-time, whether during the day or after hours is beyond the budget.  An answering service business established as an in-home office is more cost effective while still being the lifeblood of the company by ensuring customers are taken care of in a professional manner.

While there are many incredible opportunities for the person who wants to start an in-home answering service business, the group of business owners that gain the most would be anyone on-call 24 hours a day.  For this reason, people starting a business such as this should market the services toward doctor’s offices, tow services, heating and cooling repair people, apartment complexes, plumbers, and electricians.

People in general are tired of making phone calls after hours only to be met with a voice recording advising that multiple buttons have to be pressed and directions followed before a message can be recorded. Once the message has been left, the caller has no guaranteed when a return call will come.  With answering services, callers are greeted with a friendly and professional live person that can answer questions, provide information, make suggestions, or take messages to be passed on immediately.