| One of the most interesting books about personal | | | | your customers to send you faxes while you are |
| time management has got to be Timothy | | | | away from a land-line fax machine. The service |
| Ferriss's Four-Hour Workweek. The book explains | | | | will convert transmitted documents into viewable |
| how individual business owners and even | | | | electronic format so that you can open faxes on |
| over-worked employees can leverage their time | | | | your computer or smartphone, allowing you to be |
| and find ways to enjoy more out of life. As a | | | | truly mobile and still productive. |
| best-seller, this book has exposed many people to | | | | 3. Administrative Assistants. Outsourcing |
| the possibilities of outsourcing a lot of their | | | | administrative tasks like following up with clients |
| administrative tasks as well as using technology to | | | | on receivables, appointment reminders, even |
| their advantage, essentially allowing them to | | | | cold-calls would free up as much as 80% of your |
| portray the image of a Fortune-500 company. | | | | time so that you can focus on more productive |
| The time and, ultimately money that people are | | | | aspects of your business. While outsourcing can |
| able to save through such systems allows them | | | | be cheap, you will still need to train your assistant |
| to enjoy more time with family and doing the | | | | and allow them the flexibility to handle some |
| things that please them most, like vacationing. | | | | aspects of customer relations. |
| In order to set up a virtual office and leverage | | | | As a fourth but optional service, professionals can |
| your time so that you can spend more time doing | | | | also use a web conferencing provider to host |
| what makes you happiest such as spending time | | | | seminars via the internet. This allows sales people |
| with family or focusing more on areas of your life | | | | and relationship managers to communicate directly |
| that are income-generating rather than | | | | with clients in the comfort of their own office and |
| income-consuming, you will to employ the | | | | at times that are convenient to everyone while |
| following services: | | | | eliminating travel time. |
| 1. Virtual PBX Service. This system is essentially a | | | | Setting up a program like the one outlined above |
| fancy telephone solution, allowing you to give your | | | | does not involve a lot of up-front capital, unlike |
| clients a toll-free number (or local number if that | | | | setting up a physical office which often involves |
| works better) and having calls redirected however | | | | pre-paying several months of rent, paying a |
| you choose. A pre-recorded receptionist can take | | | | telephone company to set up and maintain a |
| calls, transfer calls to your cell phone or computer | | | | sophisticated business telephone system (often |
| or land-line, or forward callers to your voicemail | | | | including multiple lines) and so on. Yet these |
| (usually included with the service) which then | | | | services allow business owners to portray a |
| sends you an e-mail or text alerting you to the | | | | professional, large-corporation image to their |
| waiting message. | | | | clients... at a fraction of the cost. |
| 2. Virtual fax service. A virtual fax system allows | | | | |