Most home businesses owners communicate with their customers and vendors over phone and email, so  having a reliable phone system is important. The phone should have a good speaker so that other staff can also participate in the conversation. It should have a facility for conference calling also, so that the user can speak to multiple customers or vendors simultaneously if required.

Depending on the number of calls received, the business owner can select an intercom, with more than 2+ lines and multiple extensions. In many cases, a single phone with access to 2 or more lines, with a speakerphone is adequate. SKYPE is a free software for making phone calls online , which is popular with small business owners

Some of the popular phone manufacturers are:
1. AT&T
2. Panasonic
3. Nortel – new and refurbished equipment available according to the budget

Compared to other businesses, home businesses have few financial resources to launch high profile marketing campaigns, so they have to rely on the ingenuity of the business owner to promote the product or service. Compared to other media like television , magazines and newspaper , where advertising is expensive, advertising online can be very effective and bring traffic at a low cost.

Some of the methods a small business can use to generate leads online are

1) Create a blog pertaining to your field , and update it regularly. WordPress and Blogger blogs are indexed in search engines

2) Use Yahoo! Local & Yahoo! Groups – it will be easier for prospective buyers to find you. Most online yellow pages also allow free listing of local businesses.

3) Write articles pertaining to your field and/or expertise and submit to article directories like Ezinearticles and related websites.

4) Advertise on Craiglist and other free classifieds

5) Start an affiliate program, so related websites will promote your product . You can pay them a  percentage of your online profits

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