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telemarketers, nomorobo, telemarketing, telemarketer, voip, voipo, phone

Best Tool for Stopping Automated Telemarketers

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In this modern age of notifications, telemarketers are finding new ways to reach us no matter where we are.  Did you know that there are more than 200,000 employed telemarketers and 250,000 known robocallers out there? Probability says that you have probably been a victim of at least a few of their calls.

In 2003 the FTC implemented the Do Not Call List Registry in an effort to fight telemarketers off.  While that helped to stymie the number of unwanted sales calls, it also prompted telemarketing companies to search for new ways to reach people.

Today telemarketing remains a massive industry reporting nearly $500 billion a year in business.  That amount of money makes automated calling services aimed at selling you products even more valuable.  According to Private Citizen, more than 148 million telemarketing phone calls are made per day.  Many of these calls are dialed by robocallers which use computerized systems to call you with pre-recorded messages.  Fortunately, technology has also created services to help protect you from these unwanted disturbances.

The Only Tool You Need

Nomorobo, is the tool you need.  It uses a growing list of more than 250,000 known robocallers to screen your calls.  The FTC even chose them as the winner of the FTC Robocall Challenge which challenged entrepreneurs to find a way to prevent automated telemarketing systems for a cash prize.

The best part about Nomorobo: it’s free to use on your home phone as long as your service provider offers it!  They recently released an extension service to protect your mobile phone as well.

Check out their website HERE.

P.S. If you are already a VOIPo customer, it is easy to activate Nomorobo on your device.  Contact us today!

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State of the Small Business Landscape and What You Need to Know

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The world is moving at a faster pace today and we all need to find ways to move with it.  For small businesses this means having an understanding of the current business landscape.  The 2013 U.S. Census revealed that the U.S. is home to more than 28 million small businesses.  Yes, that is not a typo; 28 million.  That number seems a bit less startling when you note the fact that approximately 400,000 new small businesses are started each month and 52% of these are home-based.  The turnover for small businesses is also high.  In fact 5 out of 10 new firms will not make it to their fifth birthday.
The best way to prepare for what is ahead, is to do your best to understand where we are at today. The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an amazing resource dedicated to helping small businesses with everything from acquiring funding to mentorship.  Earlier this month the SBA released its’ “Small Business Bulletin” which, profiles the important details of the state of small businesses in the United States.
Here are the 8 most surprising facts about startups and small businesses: 
  • Small businesses continue to add more new net jobs than large businesses.
  • Businesses with less than 50 employees added up to 39% of net new jobs in the first three quarters of 2014.
  • New business establishment openings are outpacing business establishment closings.  Q3 of 2013 through 2014 saw quarterly establishment openings of more than 375,000 while closings during that same period were all below 375,000.
  • Small businesses, between 250-499 employees, export value improved by 4.5% between 2012-2013.  Compare this to the growth of U.S. exports during the same period which was a mere 1.4%.
  • The first quarter in 2015 saw the most venture capital raised in a Q1 since 2000.  Traditionally the first quarter is a slow time for venture capital. Q1 2015 investments totaled $13.4 Billion.
  • The top five VC Deals in Q1 2015 were as follows: Uber $1 Billion, SpaceX just under $1 Billion, Lyft $530 Million, Pinterest $367 Million, SoFi $213 Million.
  • Q1 2015 became the fifth straight quarter to see VC investments totaling more than $10 Billion.
  • Q1 2015 also saw the lowest number of seed-stage deals since reporting on this began in 1996.  Investors overlooked more early-stage startups in lieu of making investments into more mature small businesses.

To see the full report click HERE.