Often people are misled into thinking that they only way to have a home business is to use the internet. That is far from the truth. Many people run a home based business without ever having to do anything online. These small home based business operations are using the telephone and local advertising to build a lucrative profit. The telephone is an often overlooked and underused business asset. Many times people get so wrapped into the internet and its many possibilities that they forget home business has been around since long before the internet was a household name.

Using just a telephone and local advertising to start a home based business is not difficult and actually can prove more profitable than any online business. It is easier to target a customer base, easier to reach potential customers and costs much less than keeping a website up and running. Today there are many phone companies that offer great deals that include unlimited long distance which allows a person the ability to grow outside of their local area easily without much extra cost. Besides the telephone is a tool everyone knows how to use, so there is no learning how to do anything, unlike the internet where there is plenty for the novice user to learn before they can even start their home based business.

The biggest obstacle in a telephone home online business is knowing how to charge customers or clients, as they are referred to. It really depends on the business as to how to charge. Some charge a subscription fee where the client pays for a certain amount of time. Other charge based on a per call fee which charges for the number of calls they make. These are the two basic ways of charging for telephone work and the choice will most likely be determined by the types of calls being made.

The type of work at home online business that would be most likely to use a subscription pricing plan would be where there are going to be regular blocks of times the business would be making calls for the client. When the business owner knows they will be calling for x number of hours for a client they can quote them a flat subscription fee. The type of home based business that would charge a per call fee would be one where the calls are going to be made randomly or when the amount of time is unknown. In cases where the client has a list of numbers to call and just wants all the numbers called a per call fee could be charged.

Using the telephone for business is definitely not a new idea. It is just one that has been forgotten or overlooked in the frenzy of the internet marketplace. Setting up a home based business that uses the telephone is a nice alternative to setting up a website and working only online. A telephone is easy to use, easy to set up and a great business tool.