Too Many Hats, Too Little Time: eVoice® Small Business Survey Uncovers Time & Work Role Demands

March 28, 2012 - PRLog -- LOS ANGELES, California – What’s the biggest challenge facing many small business owners today?  Performing multiple roles within the organization, according to a new survey conducted by eVoice®, a virtual phone number service offered by j2 Global, Inc.  that enables small business professionals to work more efficiently when managing multiple tasks and roles.  Not having enough time in the day to get things done came in as a close second – outweighing making a profit, staying ahead of competition, and managing employees.

The survey results underscore the need for a successful entrepreneur to use the right tools and master the art of multitasking and wearing multiple hats – including acting in demanding roles such as office receptionist and sales manager, in addition to business owner and visionary – all in the same day.  

Other interesting findings from the survey include:
* Approximately two in five (38 percent) of small business owners say that their time is the most valuable asset for their business. Their computer was the second most valuable asset (36 percent).
* One in four small business owners will pay more than $500 for one extra hour in their work day.
* “Keep up with technology changes” (30 percent) is the most challenging IT issue facing respondents, beating out “No IT support” (16 percent) and “Being more mobile” (15 percent).
* Almost half of respondents (45 percent) plan to move more business services to the cloud in 2012 with online backup and data storage (59 percent), email marketing (35 percent), CRM (28 percent), and customer service (26 percent) being the most likely business functions making the move.
* Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) say they have become more mobile over the past two years.

“As a small business owner it is easy to get overwhelmed with a handful of critical activities,” says Robin Feltner, Supernatural Botanicals CEO and founder. “With the eVoice service I get a virtual assistant. eVoice screens my calls, takes notes for me, transcribes my voicemail and routes vendors and customers to different messages.  Not only do I save money, but so much valuable time.”

Get Help without Hiring: Leverage the Cloud

An eVoice virtual phone number enables small business professionals to work efficiently anytime and anywhere, without the costs and necessity of an administrative staff or on-premises phone system.
Features include:
* Advanced call handling features including call screening
* Enhanced voice mail service with transcriptions and audio files sent to email or as a text message
* 24/7 auto attendant to professionally answer and route inbound calls
* Transfer calls to another destination
* Record calls with one touch (premium feature; must subscribe to call recording to initiate)
* Make and receive phone calls via a WiFi connection or 3G/4G network using VoIP
* Intercom connection to other eVoice extensions using VoIP
* Mobile app that transforms a cell phone into a virtual professional business phone system

Through the end of April, new customers who sign up for eVoice through this special link (http://www.evoice.com/25hourday) will receive free Call Recording (normally $5.95/month) for the life of their eVoice account.

About the Study

The survey was open to current eVoice customers and visitors to eVoice’s website in all 50 states, from March 12, 2012 – March 16, 2012. 400 random participants responded via online and email invitation. Survey participants were not compensated. An infographic representation of the survey results can be viewed at http://go.evoice.com/s/r/eVoice25hourday. More information regarding the survey can be viewed on eVoice’s blog at http://blog.evoice.com/blog/evoice-2/evoice-small-busines.... For complete survey results please visit http://home.evoice.com/s/r/evoice/25HourDaySurveyResults.pdf.

About eVoice®

eVoice is a brand service and trademark of j2 Global (NASDAQ-JCOM.) eVoice, one of the industry's leading virtual phone services, offers a wide selection of local or toll-free numbers and is the only phone service of its type to offer personalized U.S.-based VIP setup and support for new accounts. eVoice is online at http://www.evoice.com.

About j2 Global™

j2 Global  provides cloud services for business, offering Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, online backup, unified communications, and CRM solutions. Founded in 1995, the company’s messaging network spans more than 49 countries on six continents. j2 Global markets its services principally under the brand names eFax®, eVoice®, FuseMail®, Campaigner®, KeepItSafe®, and Onebox®. As of December 31, 2011, j2 Global had achieved 16 consecutive fiscal years of revenue growth. For more information about j2 Global, please visit http://www.j2global.com.

Press Contact

Cheryl Renton
Public Relations Specialist
Email: pr@j2global.com
Website: http://www.evoice.com
Twitter: @eVoice
Facebook: eVoice
Blog: http://blog.evoice.com

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j2 Global  provides cloud services for business, offering Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, online backup, unified communications, and CRM solutions. Founded in 1995, the company’s messaging network spans more than 49 countries on six continents. j2 Global markets its services principally under the brand names eFax®, eVoice®, FuseMail®, Campaigner®, KeepItSafe®, and Onebox®. As of December 31, 2011, j2 Global had achieved 16 consecutive fiscal years of revenue growth. For more information about j2 Global, please visit http://www.j2global.com.