Small business articles and tips

The 9-to-5 grind has its perks, but it just isn’t for everyone. That’s how Mo and Tatiana felt, at least. After each pursuing a decade-long career in marketing and engineering, respectively, the couple were inspired to take their vocations into their own hands by combining business with passion.

“About five years ago, we joined a climbing gym with a couple of friends as a fun way to stay in shape, and pretty soon we were climbing four or five times a week,” explains Mo. “We soon realized that our lives outside the office revolved around climbing because that’s what made us truly happy. Once we decided to translate that passion into a business plan, the rest is history,” recounts Tatiana.

The couple got to work building a plan for opening their own climbing gym. With her background in structural engineering, Tatiana has the knowledge and connections to build the actual equipment, while Mo put his business background to work on a financial plan. “The one thing we realized early on was that we had zero experience in tech,” laughs Mo. “Navigating that portion proved to be a bit of a challenge.”

The couple admitted to starting off with a low-cost tech carrier in order to bring their budget down. “Besides, opening a climbing gym doesn’t necessarily scream ‘high-tech needs’ right off the bat,” says Tatiana. Soon after though, they realized that their service provider just wasn’t cutting it. “We were all over the map throughout the day – either running around the gym or running out to get supplies. Sitting at a desk and answering calls was never our reality, so we needed to find a plan that fit accordingly.” That’s when they discovered advanced phone - Bell Total Connect.

“With Bell Total Connect, we have each of our mobile phones plus the office landline set up to ring whenever someone calls our business number. On top of that, it lets us make calls on the go that appear as our business caller ID,” explains Mo. “We’re also really loving the automatic menu of the Auto Attendant feature. It answers calls with our personalized greeting and gives callers options to navigate, like prices, opening hours, and location. Plus, it lets us pretend we can actually afford a receptionist (laughs).”

The best part, according to Tatiana? “We don’t have to worry about tech – it just works, and works well. The Bell technicians set everything up, and it’s been so easy to use since Day One. I’ve got enough on my plate – I’m thankful to not spend my time having to manage that side of the business.”

Bell Total Connect: There for you

The level of communication customization offered from Bell Total Connect gives these budding entrepreneurs a newfound flexibility, allowing them to increase efficiencies while never missing a call. This, plus its many other features, are why Bell was recently awarded the Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership in the Canadian hosted Internet protocol (IP) telephony and unified communications as-a-service (UCaaS) industry for Bell Total Connect. The award is presented on an annual basis to forward-thinking businesses around the world who increasingly adopt cloud communications solutions to realize key benefits for their clients. Bell is proud to be recognized for their efforts, and even prouder to be able to help small business owners like Tatiana and Mo help realize their small business goals.

Learn more about our Advanced Phone system, Bell Total Connect.