Small business secrets...

With women representing more than 60% of our teams, managers and senior managers, at bOnline, we’re committed to celebrating women each day. Our team is breaking the bias in unique ways and embracing the power, zeal and passion of women all around the world.

The digital age has revolutionised the way people work. Even more so after the pandemic began. 

Gone are the days of people wanting traditional landlines using 100-year-old technology for their business. After BT announced that the traditional phone lines will become obsolete by 2025, many businesses are now switching to digital landlines and VoIP phone systems and benefiting. 

While it’s often overlooked, caller experience is a major customer touchpoint that shouldn’t be overlooked. Setting up these four critical in-call announcements can help you present a professional image to all callers. 

By presenting clear messages containing relevant information about your business shows callers you value their time and want to assist.

Starting a small business requires a lot of effort. There's a lot consider such as proper documentation, legal obstacles along with marketing and strategic development. However, this can be easily navigated if you have the right skill set and support. 

We have actionable and easy steps to help you get off on the right foot when looking into entrepreneurship. 

Let's face it, running your own small business is expensive, in fact, 90% of small businesses fail in their first year of trading. There's a lot to consider when first setting up a business, expenses, employees and stock. All of this can add up quickly when going about day to day business operations. It's important to have cost-saving measures in place to avoid problems with cash flow.

Here are six actionable tips to start saving money for your small business.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, business and workplace culture can change instantly with regards to working, networking, and keeping your business afloat. 'Unprecedented circumstances' was the chosen buzzword for 2020 and with it a complete shake-up to how small businesses operate.

It's imperative to make sure your small business has a way of keeping up with changing times and to future-proof your organisation.

Working as a sole trader can be heavy-handed at best and isolating at worst, you're responsible for every aspect of your business from customer service to sales to business admin. It's important to be able to switch off every now and then to preserve your mental health.

Here are some tips on how to create a work-life balance as a sole trader.

No matter the size of your business, it's important to present a professional appearance to anyone who interacts with your business. This can apply to the email address you present on your website and more importantly a phone number. It's important to have a reliable and stable landline presenting number with added benefits such as call management features.

When the phone rings at your small business what happens? There are a number of scenarios that can happen such as the call is answered immediately, there is an auto attendant that directs the caller or hold music. All this is vital to the caller experience that your customers or stakeholders experience. It's important to know which one your small business is projecting day to day.