Three Reasons You Need Second Phone Number

Having a single phone number has been the default for a long time due to the expense and complexity of having a second phone number: it’s often meant installing a second phone line, owning a second phone (and cell phone plan/contract) or a second SIM. However, Hushed makes it easy and affordable to add a second (or third, or forth…) phone number, making it possible to organize all the inbound calls you receive.

Here are three reasons you may want to consider having a second, or even multiple phone numbers.

Appear more professional and composed

It can be a good thing to have a phone number (or phone numbers) with a polished-sounding voicemail to receive calls for your business website (check out tips on making a killer voicemail greeting). It also means when you’re answering calls or checking messages, it’s easy to tell which ones are personal and which are business-related, keeping you more organized and lessening the risk of missing something important.

Finally, when you receive a call from a business number, you know to compose yourself, rather than starting with a more casual greeting you might use when answering your personal number.

Protect your work-life balance

If you’re already working long hours (or WFH), managing staff and having to keep track of dozens of responsibilities, the time you get in a day when you’re not “on” is probably small (and maybe non-existent). This is made particularly difficult for freelancers or small businesses, where your personal phone might also function as your business phone, making it more difficult to know whether you should answer your phone or not.

Having a second phone number lets you easily separate business and personal calls. When your workday is done, you can silence the other number or forward to voicemail, giving you time to rest and relax.

Privacy and security

In our technological society where all so much of our lives are connected to the internet, your personal and business information is always under threat from people that would take advantage of you. Even big corporations have to deal with it.

Much like protecting your work-life balance, using a phone number that’s not your personal number for your business can protect your privacy. Think of all the passwords, accounts, and credit cards your personal number is connected – now understand that all it takes is one successful hack, or falling for a phishing scam (learn about common phishing scams targeting smartphone users), and you will have lost control of all that information.

There are also situations in your personal life where you might not want to share your regular personal number, such as online dating, buying or selling items online, or using services where you want to remain anonymous. Having a second (or disposable) phone number prevents people from contacting your regular phone (or using your phone number to search for information about you).

Having a separate phone number for organizing your personal and professional calls, a hacker might still be able to compromise one number, but the other will still be safe. This also minimizes the risk and hassle if you’re forced to change one of your phone numbers for any reason.