Do you have different personal & business cell numbers?

[tx2step]

After dealing with some health issues, I'm restarting my electrical contracting/service business. I don't plan to hire any help -- i'll do everything myself. How do you other single person operations handle your phones? I have my personal cell phone (iPhone), with the phone number that I've had for years. I'm hesitant to put that phone number on business cards and documents. I'm thinking i may need to get a second cheap cell phone with it's own number and use it on all my business cards & documents. That way I can keep personal calls separate from my business calls. How do you guys do it? Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[PetrosA]

I use one number, one phone. I have enough trouble keeping track of one phone, so for me two phones would be out of the question. You can use two numbers on one phone, but only for incoming calls (the second number gets automatically forwarded to your main number). The other option, which would mean saying goodbye to the iPhone is to get a dual SIM phone where you actually have two fully functional numbers on the same phone.

 

[LEO2854]

After dealing with some health issues, I'm restarting my electrical contracting/service business. I don't plan to hire any help -- i'll do everything myself. How do you other single person operations handle your phones? I have my personal cell phone (iPhone), with the phone number that I've had for years. I'm hesitant to put that phone number on business cards and documents. I'm thinking i may need to get a second cheap cell phone with it's own number and use it on all my business cards & documents. That way I can keep personal calls separate from my business calls. How do you guys do it? Do you have any other suggestions?

My iPhone does it all, Business and personal, each call comes in with caller ID, calls without caller ID or show Blocked I let go to voice mail, exception: If I am waiting for an electrical inspector they call on their cell with the number Blocked, then I will answer and it had better be the inspector, otherwise I will press the red button.

I use my iPhone for it all and I do not have a land line, I use Verizon for my service they seem to have the best coverage, the iPhone cost enough per month and I take all the calls as a one man band.

Good luck getting the business going again-----let the fun begin...

 

[Jraef]

If you get a second iPhone and tie them to the iCloud using the same AppleID, you will see each one ring on the other, but it will tell you that the incoming call is from the other phone. That's how I have mine set up. So someone calls on my work iPhone, it rings on that, and a few seconds later it rings on my personal phone too. I can answer from either one, the called ID only shows them the number they called. I do it this way because my now personal phone used to be my business phone and I have a lot of contacts still from that, but I don't want them calling me on the business line, because that is not mine now and everything I do on that phone is monitored. Not a big deal, I'm just not comfortable with it. At the same time, I don't want my company contacts to start calling my personal line, because I pay for the time on that one. So I can I see on the incoming call which phone number they were calling and decide whether or not I want to answer it or let it go to VM.

For this to work, you have to have an iPhone 4S or better, updated to iOS 8.0 or higher, both logged to the same AppleID account on iCloud.

 

[James L]

I have one phone number for everything, and I manage just fine. During work hours, if a friend or family member calls me, I'm just liable to send the call to voicemail.

Same for after work hours, I'll send a call to voicemail if I don't know the number.

My Windows phone keeps my voicemails in a list with the numbers, where I can single out one individually and listen to it.

If you're going to be a one man show, this might come in handy in one regard. I have several customers who have become personal friends. They don't have to remember to call one number to hire me and another number to invite me to a BBQ

 

[infinity]

You can use Google Voice to get a second phone number for free and have all calls forwarded to your original number. GV also offers customization where you can decide when the phone will actually ring or go directly to voice mail etc.

https://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

 

[petersonra]

You can use Google Voice to get a second phone number for free and have all calls forwarded to your original number. GV also offers customization where you can decide when the phone will actually ring or go directly to voice mail etc.

https://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

I have a google voice number. Gets very little use though.

 

[mjf]

I've been using the same cellphone # for business and personal (don't tell the tax man) for 15 years. Seems to work for me.

 

[YourElectricianOC]

Huge fan of google voice.

I started out with just my personal # as my business number. Google voice is super versatile and easy to use. The only drawback is in the field if you have a crappy data connection you can't call out with the google voice number. My provider is Verizon, so the coverage is pretty solid though.

 

[kwired]

One number is simpler to handle. If the caller is not in my contacts, is not a local number, etc. voicemail answers the call. If it is a legitimate call (to me anyway) I will call back if they leave message. If I know you and you still opt to block caller ID you will never get an answer and will always need to leave a voice mail message - sorry but that is just the way it is.

 

[mjf]

One number is simpler to handle. If the caller is not in my contacts, is not a local number, etc. voicemail answers the call. If it is a legitimate call (to me anyway) I will call back if they leave message. If I know you and you still opt to block caller ID you will never get an answer and will always need to leave a voice mail message - sorry but that is just the way it is.

I do the same thing. Reminds me of the guy I met in the deli over the summer looking for an electrician. I gave him a card and told him to give me a call.

A few days later ......blocked call. Voice mail says "hey, it's XXXXXXX, give me a call if you want to look at that job". He doesn't leave a number.

I'm driving by that deli 2 days later and ask the owner if he knows the guy. Owner tells me the guy is in there every day. I tell him about the blocked call and not leaving a number. He says he'll pass it along. Never heard back from the guy.

I figure I'm better off anyway. Not too keen on folks that block their number anyway. What (who) are they hiding from?

 

[tx2step]

Sounds like I'm over-thinking the issue, and just sticking with a single number will work ok. I'm still a few days away from making business cards, etc. Have to get GL insurance in place & get Contractors License number from the State to put on business cards, etc. I have a Masters License, but you have to go through the administrative process with the state to add the Contractors License.

So if any of you have horror stories about having used one phone for both personal and business (and how it ruined your sanity and life...:rant I'd really like to hear them. I'd also like to hear anything more on how all of you one-horse operators handle your phone, good or bad.

Thanks!!!

 

[kwired]

Sounds like I'm over-thinking the issue, and just sticking with a single number will work ok. I'm still a few days away from making business cards, etc. Have to get GL insurance in place & get Contractors License number from the State to put on business cards, etc. I have a Masters License, but you have to go through the administrative process with the state to add the Contractors License.

So if any of you have horror stories about having used one phone for both personal and business (and how it ruined your sanity and life...:rant I'd really like to hear them. I'd also like to hear anything more on how all of you one-horse operators handle your phone, good or bad.

Thanks!!!

Sometimes you just have to turn the phone off, ignore it, or leave it in the truck or you don't get anything done.

Depending on what kind of clients you have that may or may not be good though. If all you do is residential work, you don't really have that many calls that can't wait to be returned at least a few minutes or even a few hours, even though clients don't always see it that way:roll: We live in a world where everyone wants immediate results on everything - but don't want to pay any extra for it either. IMO we all need to slow down and enjoy life a little, after all we only get one chance at it.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I have two phones one for work and one personal. Not really too big of a deal other than I'm on a 24 hour call list for work and we have a 20 year old son that likes to stay out late. So when the phone goes off at 3:00 in the morning it can be a little hard trying to figure out which one is ringing.

Now that said. I hate talking on the phone, the only real reason I even carry a personal one is that I work in town and my grandkids are here as well as my elderly dad and my elderly mother-in-law. At night when I get home, the first thing I do is set both of my phones on my dresser. So calling me after 5:00 can be hit or miss.

 

[jnaas2]

2 phones, 1 for business and 1 private with different ring tones that way, depending how I feel I know when I want to answer a business call or not

 

[James L]

2 phones, 1 for business and 1 private with different ring tones that way, depending how I feel I know when I want to answer a business call or not

You can have different ring tones with one phone and number. You would select a "group" of people who would represent personal calls - friends, family, etc. - with a ring tone assigned for that group.

Then a different ring tone for anybody not in the group.

Even old flip phones can do this kind of stuff

 

[mgookin]

It depends how much you use your phone for personal and how much you (will soon) use it for business. If they are both high usage and you don't do 24/7 emergency work, you may want to segregate them. If you don't use the phone for personal use much, you'll probably do fine with just one phone.

 

[jaylectricity]

Not anymore. I had a home phone at the turn of the century. When I got a cell phone I still gave out my home phone as the business number. At some point I got rid of the land line but transferred the number over to my cell phone account. It was an extra $20. I still have that number but I don't ever have that phone turned on. All of my customers in the last 10 years have my cell phone number.

I checked the voicemails of the old phone number in October and there was a message from somebody who needed me in June. She said a couple of times, "We wanted to know if you're still doing electrical work. If you're not, please call us and let us know."

I still haven't called her. I figure it's been this long...I just can't understand why she didn't call my cell phone. I know she had that number at one point.

 

[KennethR]

contractors license

contractors license

I use one number and one cellphone, i think if it is not that important don't just put your number there. Maybe reserve it for more important cases.

 

[ptonsparky]

A step past the one man show, but barely. Office phone goes to my cell when the office help leaves. I used to answer it 24/7 but occasionally "forget" it at the shop now. Night time it charges in another room. Those that really need me know my home landline. Yup, a holdout in that age group.