A virtual call center involves representatives who answer and monitor calls from anywhere in the world, instead of being in the same geographical location as each other, or as the business. A virtual call center business can cater to businesses who handle incoming customer service or technical calls, but don’t want to incur the investment of a dedicated in-house staff. This type of business can be started quickly and relatively inexpensively, and it has the potential to produce significant levels of income.
If you are reliable and have a highly professional telephone presence, a virtual call center business is a business idea you may want to explore.
The Pros of Starting a Virtual Call Center Business
As you get started researching a virtual call center business, here are some of the benefits worth considering:
- Startup costs are low, and there is the potential for high profits.
- Virtual call centers are typically operated as home-based businesses.
- There is a growing demand as businesses are reverting to live help for their callers.
- It’s an excellent business for people who are outgoing, and love to talk and help others.
- You can service local clients as well as remote clients via the Internet.
- You can expand as the business grows by using other virtual workers.
The Cons of Starting a Virtual Call Center Business
A virtual call center business has many benefits, but it’s not without challenges. Some of the potential challenges of starting a virtual call center business include:
- You need standard office equipment, including a computer, fax, printer, good quality, and a multi-line phone or virtual phone system.
- You may need an initial investment for home-based call center equipment.
- You may need to be flexible on your hours of operation and willing to work evenings and weekends to accommodate clients in different time zones.
- The greatest competition comes from offshore services, so you need to find a way to differentiate yourself.
- It can be challenging to market your business and find clients.
Recommended Resources for Starting a Virtual Call Center Business
The resources below provide a great starting point for conducting research into your virtual call center business idea:
As you get started with making your virtual call center business idea a reality, take time to create a business plan to guide you, even if it is a quick streamlined version. And learn from these common startup mistakes so you don’t make the same errors when getting your business up a running.
