Exhausted, Jay returned to his office to discover his answering machine was blinking 14. Frustrated, Jay set his toolbox down with a thud and plopped into his chair. He grabbed a scrap of paper and hit “play.”

The air was filled with urgent calls from businesses with computer issues and network problems. Jay scribbled madly as he listened to each of the fourteen messages. Then, he left his desk to grab some coffee.

Jay was both pleased and overwhelmed. His new business, Link Technology Systems, was becoming busier every day. For Jay, it meant the long hours he had spent over the past year were beginning to pay off; he finally had enough business to make ends meet. However, Jay was a new entrepreneur who had sunk everything he had into his new business. He did everything from client consultations, to the bookkeeping, to cleaning the restroom.

Unfortunately he spent most of his day out of the office, with only his answering machine to greet prospective customers. Jay wanted callers to feel like they were reaching a larger, established company. But as things were, Link Technology sounded like a second-stringer.

Returning to his desk, Jay searched for his list of fourteen clients to call. He couldn’t find it. Frantically, he ruffled through pile after pile of the papers on his desk. Nothing. He searched the trash basket. Nothing. He checked his pockets. Empty.

Panicked, he walked around the office until he reached the coffee pot. There, in a pool of spilled coffee, was his note, with the ink now spread into illegible ribbons on the page. Fourteen potential clients. Fourteen prospects lost. He slumped back into his chair. Something had to change.

A few days later, Jay was running CAT-5 cable when he received a text message. Smiling, he glanced at the screen. One of his regular clients had another project for him, scheduled at 9 a.m. the following day. Then he returned to work.

Jay had outsourced his telephone, scheduling, and dispatching needs to a professional team at a nearby telephone answering service. They enabled him to sound just as professional as his larger competitors. His messages were instantly texted to his smartphone, and his appointments were entered into a scheduling package his answering service had set up just for him. Best of all, the cost of the answering service was a fraction of hiring a full-time receptionist with benefits. Grinning as he tested the network connectors, Jay reflected on his decision. Things were indeed looking up.

Image by David McEachan from Pexel