A phone answering service is definitely something you can operate from home as a home-based business. There are some turn-key business opportunities where companies actually recruit home-based phone answering service providers, generally to accept inquiry calls for product information. Some of these involve sales, some involve technical support, and some are as simple as taking down a person's address and phone number and scheduling them for a follow-up call or visit, or taking a message.

Another option is to start your very own phone answering service and to build your own client base. Sometimes this is a better alternative than going with turn-key opportunities because, with a turn-key operation, if the company you are working for goes under, your business is shot. When you've built your own client- base, it may hurt your business to lose a client, but you can always get busy finding new clients to compensate for the loss of business.

One woman I knew signed up to answer phones for a company that sold tarot readings. She figured it was a scam, but there were no start-up costs involved, so she decided to give it a try. The way the phone answering service worked was, when she was ready to answer phones, she dialed a number and signed into the system. When she was signed in, inquiry calls were forwarded to her home phone. She got paid a flat fee for every phone call she answered through her phone answering service, and then got paid a bonus if she scheduled an appointment with the tarot reader for the caller. She received weekly checks for the calls that she took, plus the bonuses.

The benefits of this type of arrangement are, you don't have to do much work to get started, and you can work when you want to. The main disadvantage is, it is an opportunity that could be here today and gone tomorrow. Stability is sometimes a concern if you are depending on the income and the company shuts down, or even decreases their marketing because your volume of calls depends upon their efforts, not your own.

If you start your own phone answering service, you may have some trouble getting clients. Only certain types of businesses actually hire phone answering services and many of them are declining due to the availability of cell phones. Even so, some service conscious entrepreneurs and service providers who simply do not want their customers to have to speak to voice mail, and some don't want their work interrupted by phone calls, so there is still a demand for home-based phone answering services.

If you open your own home-based phone answering service, you can define a broad target market and get clients that are not local; however, in many cases, the best place to get clients is from your community. Entrepreneurs who provide services at a customer's home or place of business are great targets for a home-based phone answering service. Plumbers, electricians, painters, contractors, roofers, carpet and tile layers, landscapers, home remodelers, home decorators, and so forth are good examples. For instance, if they are roofing a house, they don't want to stop what they are doing to answer the phone, and having office staff to answer the phone is not usually financially viable for small trade businesses such as these. Your home-based phone answering service may be just what they need to keep their business professional without the overhead costs of an office.

Some home-based phone answering services provide services for standard office tasks as well. Typing, entering data into a bookkeeping system, preparing bills and other mail, or filling orders are some services you can offer that are complementary to a phone answering service. By offering additional services, you will make the most of your time, rather than just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. With a little thought and innovation, and a good sales pitch to pick up clients, you can make money from a home-based phone answering service.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope, fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing advice you're getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing, or a website owner who wants to make more money from your website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your internet business at http://BiznessTips.com