Challenge: As an entrepreneur, Shirley needed to find a reliable option for conducting business using high-quality conference calls that were cost-effective, yet professional.
Solution: FreeConferenceCall.com provided a no-cost conferencing solution that could grow with Shirley’s business.
Result: Shirley’s business now has national reach — using a technology that allows her to minimize overhead costs.
Stephanie (Bennis) Shirley is the founder and owner ofBennis Public Relations, a Harrisburg-based public relations firm. At just 23 years old, Shirley took the entrepreneurial leap to start her own business.
The Challenge: Run a Lean Business that Looks Professional
When Shirley first entered the marketplace, she needed to find as many low-cost or no-cost business solutions as she could that would show she’s professional while conserving costs. From day one, she relied on FreeConferenceCall.com to meet her conferencing needs.
As her business grew, she never felt the need to switch to a paid platform. Her requirements continued to be straightforward: a simple, reliable and cost-effective way to conduct business using conference calls. Yet according to Shirley, that’s not necessarily easy to find.
“What’s amazing is how other solutions out there don’t meet this, as I see it, basic need for businesses of all sizes and industries,” Shirley explained. “FreeConferenceCall.com has met this need for me for over six years, never once imposing a cost or trying to upsell me with something I don’t want or need. It’s been essential to helping me run a lean business.”
The Solution: Using FreeConferenceCall.com to Support a Disruptive Business Model
Shirley’s business model disrupts the common — and often ineffective — relationship between large consulting firms and the businesses they aim to serve. She works intimately with each client, delivering customized solutions while eliminating the rigid policies and large overhead often associated with hiring a PR firm.
Since starting out six years ago, Shirley has worked with hundreds of clients across the nation serving as their strategic communications partner. FreeConferenceCall.com allows her to collaborate with clients coast to coast. “Even with local clients, FreeConferenceCall.com saves me the time and resources of trying to meet in person,” states Shirley. “I really like that FreeConferenceCall.com gives me my own dedicated conference line. I have used this same line for at least 40 different clients over the years, and I always look professional when I can offer ‘my’ conference line as a means to collaborate.”
The Results: A Technology with Benefits that Minimize Overhead
What are the stand-out benefits of using FreeConferenceCall.com? The substantial savings of both time and money. “Turning in-person meetings into conference calls, when possible, saves me the time of traveling to a meeting. Also, conference calls tend to keep everyone focused — they wrap up a lot sooner than in-person meetings, where side-talk can drag on for 20 minutes or more.”
As for saving money, it’s obvious that a free service will do that — but Shirley has found the savings to be even more than eliminating a monthly conferencing bill. “With the ability to conference call, I can conduct business just as easily from my home office as I would from a large, expensive office building. Technologies that afford me the ability to minimize my overhead are as good as direct income!”
And the proof is in the pudding. At the time of this writing, Shirley is managing a portfolio of 22 active client accounts with corporate profits quickly approaching $1 million.
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