Hello to all my Followers!
It is July – Do you know what the real meaning of July 4th is? Here is your history lesson: July 4th commemorates the passing of the Declaration of Independence – that allows us to be free and Independent States. How does this relate to my business you might ask? Well we are in business for various reasons, some of us want to do what we love and be free to make our own decisions, some of us want to be able to take care of our families on our own terms. We have freedom to choose who we do business with and who we do not.
I started my business on July 9, 2021. We are celebrating 3 years in business. I started with me, myself and I – and zero clients. Right now we have 3 employees in addition to myself and have over 50 clients. My first year as a new business owner I signed up for items I thought I could not live with out for my business. Example: I had a web teleconferencing service and a VOIP phone service. I did not have a land line and did not want to have to carry two cell phones around. The VOIP allows me to have an app on my phone for my business, thus reducing the need for two phones. Cool but I was paying the same amount for my teleconferencing service, so year 2 I was like OK let’s take a look to see if I can do better.
I found a VOIP service provider that provides phone and teleconferencing service, at a lower amount. Thus saving me over $275 per month. I know not a huge amount but for a new business that is HUGE!
Topic
While I am doing bookkeeping I see lots of charges for Internet, cell phones, utilities, etc. When was the last time you looked at your expenses to see if there were better options out there?
Introduction
Let me introduce you to Jessica Pracca! She is a Senior Business Account Executive with Comcast. I am proud to say that I am a loyal Comcast Customer. Here are some things I did not know – BUT in speaking with Jessica learned about Comcast:
DID you know that they are offering a 5 year Price LOCK? OMG that is such a bookkeeper friendly item! To be able to lock your cost/expense for 5 years. Ok sorry for the freak out!
Did you know that they provide Phone services? Not just desk phones, but cell service as well. They are one of the leading providers for Internet, but did you know that they offer GIG Speed?
So When was the last time you looked at your business phone, cell phone, and internet services.
I interviewed Jessica this past month and really picked her brain on how important communication is and how every business needs reliable communication.
Challenge
I challenge you to look at your current services for Internet and Phone. How much are you paying? Can you save money? Is the service reliable? Call Jessica to schedule some time to find out what Comcast can do for you!
Top 5
Here are my top 5 Reasons Why – Communication is Key!
1. Increases: Do you look at your bookkeeping to know how much you are paying for internet, or cell phone. Would you know if your bill was higher than normal?
2. Site Visits: Do your current vendors schedule a time with you to check in on your services, or see how things are going? If they do not they need to be. That is one thing I know Jessica does – it might be old school, but it’s nice to put a face with a name.
3. Customer Service: How is the customer service you receive from your Vendors? Do they treat you the same way you treat your customers? Are you waiting on hold for ever? Honestly, I got a new payroll customer because their current payroll provider would never answer her questions. They like dealing with a human.
4. Change in Needs: What if you have more employees, or your internet needs increase. You want to know that your vendors can expend with your growth, with out needing a bank loan to expand. You want to have a partner to help you come up with other options. Do you vendors call you to ask if your needs have changed?
5. Cutting Expenses: If you called one of your vendors to say “Hey my Bookkeeper says I need to cut expenses” – would they meet with you to see what options they can offer at a lower rate, but same quality? Or would they say – “Ok, and”? Chances are you as the business owner have to be proactive in looking at your expenses each year and shopping the current market to see if there are other options out there.
Checking out your communication costs, and making sure you are getting a great ROI is your goal for this month!
Next month – I am going to talk about the service behind my new Newsletter!
Be safe! Be free!
Jill