As a freelance writer, you own your own small business. So that begs a question about phone lines - should you own a business number? Here are the pros and cons:

Pros to having a Business Number:

• You’ll never tie up your phone line wen other members of the family want to use it, or worry about tying up the line with personal calls when a client is trying to call.
  

  Image: sxc.hu

• It helps to legitimize your business.
• You don’t have to worry about accidentally dialing a client when you meant to call a friend at 2 in the morning.
• You can turn off the phone during weekends and holidays.
• It can be a business expensive if you use it just for business.

Cons to having a Business Number:

• Clients are more like to email freelancers, so your business phone may go unused most of the time.
• You’ll have to get your business cards reprinted with your new number.
• It’s an extra monthly expense, even if you do get to write it off.
• Sometimes, it is better to email a client than call so you have a written record of what needs to be done; a business line could encourage clients to call more often.

Personally, I don’t have a business number - I have a single business/personal line. I just don’t call people often enough (for business OR pleasure) to make it a financially sound decision to have another line. For you, it may actually be a great business decision.

Do you have a business line or are you considering getting one?

Fairpoint Communications has mentioned the dreaded “b” word in its latest filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could make it the next company of many to file for bankruptcy in these harsh times. According to the filing, Fairpoint will go forward with bankruptcy if cannot negotiate an extension on its interest payments with its debt holders.
 
Based in North Carolina, Fairpoint recently took over Verizon’s landline phone network in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Despite its recent acquisition, Fairpoint has struggled with a variety of problems, not the least of them being the interest payments on its $530 million worth of loans.
 
This puts the ball in the lenders’ court, giving them the power to decide whether or not Fairpoint will have to undergo dramatic restructuring or not. A spokesperson for Fairpoint has confirmed that Fairpoint has other options if the debt holders to not agree to give Fairpoint more time to pay, but has also encouraged its lenders to reconsider.

Image: Flickr

Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis became billionaires when the sold the Internet phone company to eBay in 2005 for over $3 billion. Since selling their baby, the duo hasn’t slowed down - they’ve founded a venture capital firm and supported video service Joost.

Now, however, it seems that the two have another business move in mind - buying back Skype. When eBay bought the service, it had around 53 million users, but today, there are more than 405 million people using Skype to make free calls between one another and very cheap international calls to non-Skype users. In the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, Skype posted $145 million in revenue. According to research, Skype is the company of choice for about 8% of all international calling minutes.

eBay’s CEO, John J. Donahoe, has said multiple times that he’d be willing to sell Skype for the right price, and sources close to Zennstrom and Friis say that the two have already raised about $1 billion from private investors to put towards purchasing Skype. Experts say that eBay is probably looking for a sale price of at least $1.7 billion.

In the past, the founders and eBay have had their differences, and they’re still disputing whether or not they had breached their contract with Joltid, another service Zennstrom and Friis created. Selling Skype to anyone else is unlikely until this dispute is settled, which could take months or even years. If Zennstrom and Friis purchase the service, it could be a much-needed boost for eBay’s United States division.

Image via skype.com.

I happen to love talking with clients, both old and new, on the phone. But I was reminded that’s not true for every freelance writer when I read CalalystBlogger Jennifer’s post called: The Freelancer’s Guide to Giving Good Phone

Jennifer doesn’t really like the phone, but she’s figured out what she needs to do to use it effectively. It’s a great list and it’s all easy to do. The only thing I’d add is, when you’re going to make an important call, stand up to do it. Just standing up while you talk will infuse you with more energy. Oh heck, there’s one more trick, and that’s smile… not all the time, but when it’s appropriate. Phone pros actually put a mirror in front of them while they are making calls because they know their facial expressions influence how they sound.

Write well and often,

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Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Over in our forum we got into a brief discussion about telephones and how we use them. My stance has always been that since I pay for my phone, I can decide when to answer it. Way back when, not answering a phone meant just ignoring the ring, but today, with answering machines, caller ID and the ability to turn a ringer off, we really have choice.

I turn off my phone’s ring a lot. Since I work at home, I don’t want to deal with clients early in the morning or over dinner or later. Then there are times during the day when I don’t want to be disturbed. Maybe I’m concentrating on a piece of writing or maybe I’m taking a nap.

I actually warn my clients that I’m not always available, but I do it in a fun way. I tell them they are welcome to call me any time, and then I warn them that I turn off my phone when I don’t want to take calls.

Incidentally, my friends get roughly the same treatment and it seems to work for me. How do you handle your phone?

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.