As in, Angie’s List — a premier contractor review site. Okay, so it’s not really like Craigslist, but it provides the same kind of service — looking for someone who can work for you — only with some handy extras.
Not all is peachy keen, though, with this snazzy site from one Angie Hicks, resident of Columbus, Ohio. There are some limits:
You remember those commercial jingles from long ago, a chorus of peppy singers behind the TV screen? Typically it was for a product that could only be sold by phone, not in stores. They were so infectious that we couldn’t help but pick up that phone and dial that number, because we wanted what was being sold so badly that we were willing to sell our souls to the devil just to get it.
Call it an interactive Yellow Pages, call it the true business social site (sorry, LinkedIn). Call it whatever you want. The fact remains: Yelp for Business Owners, a site designed for small businesses to connect with customers on a word-of-mouth level, is a handy little tool! But let’s go in real deep to see why (or why not, if the underlying setbacks are enough to put Yelp at the back of the pack….).
This is simply a state of fact: cyberspace has gotten bigger — and bigger, and bigger — and massive. It’s gotten so big that you can practically harness memory for your business files, pictures, everything — all online!
Sort of changes the game in terms of storage for your small business now, doesn’t it?
Okay, not many people these days are listening to their voicemails. The hustle and bustle of life has gotten so hectic, a businessperson could save 30 minutes a day from erasing every voicemail left on that day! How’s that for efficiency? Still, if you’re a small-business entrepreneur, you need to make sure you’re in contact with your clients. And that, unfortunately, means keeping an eye (actually an ear) on your messages. It’s absolutely crucial.
It’s not that hard a concept to not trip over any of those pesky cables and cords you’d find in an office complex to power your operation. Of course, typically you’ll find that kind of thing in a big corporation!
But what about a small business?
Let me ask you a question: do you picture yourself in college? A degree? If not, you’re not alone. That seems to be the state of the United, well, States, I guess. That’s how the job market has been looking, really –
And how is that? Stagnant, slow. What’s been rising? Entrepreneurship. And guess what: You really don’t technically need a degree for that!
Do you want to know the God-honest truth? Running a small business is hard. I can be honest.
I’m not going to sing songs to you or try to fill up your brains with a lot of positivism, trying to sell you on the American Way of being an entrepreneur and how the limelight and glamour will shine on your skin and make you glow like Edward Cullen getting married to Bella Swan — Vampires, we are not. That’s for sure.
No, really — it stands for the “Small Business Administration.”
But let’s go ahead and give it that nickname!
Why?
Clever, huh? That’s what IVR stands for, for me — Invaluable Viable Resource. No, really, it actually means “Interactive Voice Response.” What the heck do I know, right?
Hopefully, a lot — as this particular article’s going to tell you some of the logistic philosophy surrounding the concept of Interactive Voice Response within a company
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