Telephone Answering Service

Startup Costs: $2,000 - $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Franchises Available? No
Online Operation? No

The only talents needed to start a home based telephone answering service are a pleasant telephone manner and excellent communication skills. Business owners, professionals and sales consultants are all starting to realize that customers want the personalized service of talking to a live person when they call a business, not a prerecorded message. Many business owners are turning to forwarding their calls to a telephone answering service after normal business hours, on weekends, during lunch breaks and when no one is available to take incoming calls. Services provided by a telephone answering service include: answering incoming calls, answering basic customer questions, forwarding messages and often additional office services, such as sending and receiving faxes and e-mails. Rates are based on the number of services provided for clients, and standard nonbusiness-hour telephone answering rates start at about $200 per month. Securing 10 to 15 clients for the service could easily generate business revenues in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 per month.

Telephone Answering Service Ideas

Referral Service

Help people find businesses that can help them out.

Management Consulting and Training

Help other entrepreneurs train top-notch management.

Logo Design

Here's a quick guide on how to get paid for creating logos.

More from Business Ideas

Side Hustle

This Is the Highest-Earning Winter Side Hustle — Plus 7 Others That Can Boost Your Income

Could a seasonal side hustle help save your wallet?

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Side Hustle

How to Start a Side Hustle With Facebook, From 4 People Who Did It and Are Earning More Than $1 Million a Year

More than a third of U.S. adults have a side hustle — and online opportunities abound.