April 10, 2014
Running an Enterprise From a Smartphone
More “garage entrepreneurs” are turning up in cities other than Silicon Valley, while small businesses are scaling down operations, right down to phone lines. Hushed reveals data which highlights the trend of downsized communication. With over 32,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs now utilizing the app for their operations, which represents a nearly 65 percent growth from 2012 to 2013. Additionally, an increasing number of foreign business, hailing from China and Hong Kong, just to name a few, are using Hushed to conduct business with North America.
Toronto, ON – March 17, 2014
Small business phone services are evolving. People are running enterprises directly from their smartphones. It used to be that hooking up the phone lines for a new company said, “Now we’re in business!” However, an increasing number of small businesses are cutting costs and avoiding the hassle of multiple phone lines with the help of disposable phone number apps.
Hushed found that 32,450 small business owners and entrepreneurs in North America have found a new way to conduct business: using disposable phone number apps for internal departments. These unique numbers are being utilized in Finance Departments, for Business Affairs, and even in Customer Service.
Since 2012, the number of business owners conducting business via Hushed has shot up by 64.7 percent from the previous 19,700 who used the app.
These findings were part of a report released by Hushed, which outlines the increased usage of disposable phone numbers worldwide. The report not only highlights this increasing trend but also reveals who uses the discreet app and why. Over 405,000 mobile users now utilize Hushed, which boasts over 500,000 downloads to date.
Small business owners and entrepreneur were among the Top 10 Users of Disposable Phone Numbers in 2013.
Leading Countries That Use Hushed for Business
(These were countries that purchased phones with country codes outside of their own for business purposes)
- United States
- Canada
- China
- Hong Kong
- United Kingdom
“Many people are uncomfortable with the word ‘illusion’, but in the business world you have to keep up appearance,” says Hushed Founder and CEO, Justin Shimoon. “Having a separate line for each department shows legitimacy and organization. Our services have the added benefit of allowing any business with any size budget to achieve credibility.”
A small business used to be defined as a privately owned corporation, partnerships, or sole proprietorships with fewer than 15 employees. That model has changed with the emergence of “garage entrepreneurs” the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter all started from the same model. In those days, founders would need to operate on one phone line for all business matters. But with increasing competition, small business owners and entrepreneurs need to keep up appearances of a full-scale operation on a start-up budget.
Each business account on Hushed uses an average of six different phone lines. In addition, these accounts keep each phone number for a longer period than the average user. The average Hushed user will have 2 or 3 different phone numbers during a 30-day period. Business accounts account for the majority of 365-day North American plans purchases with 9,380 users.
Hushed is based in North-America, but services are available worldwide. App users can choose from hundreds of area codes in more than 40 countries. Hushed offers free, 7-day, 30-day, and 365-day North American plans as well as a 30-day International Plan.
About HUSHED
Hushed is the leading mobile application for disposable phone numbers, with a growing community of over 500,000 users. Founded by Justin Shimoon, a successful Canadian entrepreneur and 2008 recipient of the “Forty under 40 Award,” Hushed is the premiere service for discreet communication.
