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Q: How can small business owners stay focused and productive while handling all aspects of their business?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A: <\/strong>The best way to boost productivity is to reduce the amount of multitasking in your day. While some amount of multitasking may be inevitable, delegating your phones using a service like a virtual receptionist can help you stay focused on the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Small business is booming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the pandemic resulting in huge rates of job loss and remote work<\/a>, an unprecedented number of people have shifted to working for themselves. Thanks to the internet, it\u2019s never been easier to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As more people start their own small businesses, many are realizing the scope of such an undertaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Small business owners are responsible for logistics, sales, marketing, and customer interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, many business owners find themselves constantly having to multitask to get everything done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only does this increased stress, but it can seriously impact the customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How can remote small business owners reduce their multitasking and provide better customer service when there\u2019s so much to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Small business owners typically start off with ideas for a product or service. They have a passion for something and want to make that passion their career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when first starting out, they might not realize how many other tasks they\u2019ll be responsible for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Production is only a small part of getting a business up and running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Larger businesses delegate many tasks among a large network of employees. Lean startups don\u2019t have this luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, small business owners typically wind up with extremely chaotic schedules that usually involve: <\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of all that, they have to stay flexible. While a small business owner can and should maintain a well-thought-out schedule, random emergencies and opportunities can pop up at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, small business owners are forced to multitask. They simply have to split their focus between the many different to-dos if they are to accomplish everything on schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Impressive as multitasking is, it comes with a few serious downsides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Multitasking inherently breaks your concentration on any one task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This keeps you from entering a flow state, the state where the effort required from the task at hand is perfectly suited to your abilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By keeping you from entering into a flow state, multitasking reduces your efficiency. It keeps you from being your most productive because you\u2019re losing energy every time you start and stop a task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, multitasking has been shown to increase stress<\/a>. Not only is stress bad for your physical and mental wellbeing, but it also reduces your creativity and effectiveness when working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, multitasking keeps you stuck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While bouncing around from task to task might allow you to get everything across the finish line, it leaves little room to actually improve anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Critical business traits like product innovation improved marketing strategy, and better customer service goes unattended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multitasking would probably be a part of any startup even in the calmest of cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Business is rarely calm though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of running a business on your own involves answering your business phone directly. While this might seem like a good idea initially, it can seriously harm you in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incoming phone calls force you into multitasking. If you\u2019re in the middle of a project and the phone rings, you have to stop the project to give the caller your full attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When this happens, even the most well-planned schedule can result in missed deadlines and higher stress levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternatively, some small business owners will try to answer the phone while continuing to work on whatever they were doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This might seem like the perfect way to keep productivity high, but it isn\u2019t. Your customer service will be worse, and you likely won\u2019t be able to focus on what you were doing anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a lose-lose scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, there is a solution for remote business owners. Better customer service and less multitasking are within reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A virtual receptionist<\/a> is a receptionist that links to your business phone and answers your calls remotely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual receptionists allow remote small businesses to access all the services a traditional receptionist would offer without the cost of a full-time salary or the need to rent an office space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While virtual receptionist services of the past were largely automated, the market has improved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Small business owners can now gain access to a human receptionist from anywhere, providing a convenient solution for modern small business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest benefits of a virtual receptionist is that they help you build a better customer experience<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When a customer calls with a question or complaint, they want to feel important. The best way to accomplish this is to give them your undivided attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you are forced to multitask during business calls, the customer feels like you don\u2019t care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual receptionists eliminate this problem. Their sole focus is on providing better customer service to your callers, ensuring each feels heard and cared for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t stop at better customer service. Your workload also directly benefits from a virtual receptionist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When a virtual receptionist takes your incoming calls, your schedule becomes calmer. You can effectively plan and execute your duties with more focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By reducing the amount of multitasking in your day, you can keep accomplishing more while simultaneously reducing your stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re working on a new product or setting up a landing page<\/a>, you\u2019ll be able to bring your best to the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some business calls will still require your direct attention. You are the head of the company after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When these calls come in, your virtual receptionist will answer, take a message, and pass it along to you in a convenient and organized format. You won\u2019t have to pause what you\u2019re doing or try to multitask while handling important calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This allows you to give each call your full attention, resulting in better customer satisfaction and a greater sense of professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a very interactive business, you may be losing hours to incoming calls each day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Better customer service is among the top concerns of the modern entrepreneur. With reviews weighing heavily<\/a> on a remote business\u2019s success, having a great customer experience is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Many Roles of a Small Business Owner <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHow Multitasking Hurts You <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMultitasking During Business Calls <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhat is a Virtual Receptionist? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHow Can A Virtual Receptionist Help Your Small Business? <\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBetter Customer Service <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reduces competing duties <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Passes along messages so you can call back when calm and focused<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHow does this help your business grow?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Frees you to focus on other important tasks <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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