For a lot of small UK businesses, the mobile phone is the business. Electricians, cleaners, mobile hairdressers, market traders and consultants often run everything from a single 07 number. That has real advantages, along with a few downsides worth knowing about.
Why so many small firms rely on a mobile
- Customers can reach you anywhere. On a job, in the van or at a client's house, you don't miss enquiries.
- It's cheap. One contract covers calls, texts and data, with no separate landline to pay for.
- Messaging is expected. Many customers prefer to text or use WhatsApp to send photos of a job or confirm a time.
- You can keep the number. Switching networks doesn't mean changing the number on your van or website.
The downsides
- Work never switches off. If your personal and business number are the same, calls arrive at dinner, at weekends and on holiday.
- It can look less established. Some customers, especially businesses, trust a landline or 03 number more than a mobile.
- Your personal number is public. Putting your only number on a website, flyers and directories exposes it to marketing lists and scammers.
One phone or two?
A popular middle ground is a second number on the same phone. Many phones support two SIMs (often one physical and one eSIM), so you can have a work line that you can mute out of hours. Internet phone apps can also give you a landline-style or 03 number that rings on your mobile, which can make a one-person business look more established.
Scams aimed at business numbers
A published business number attracts its own kind of scam call:
- Fake directory or advertising renewals: "Your listing is about to expire", followed by an invoice for something you never ordered.
- Energy contract calls: claims that your business energy deal is ending and you must switch today, sometimes "confirmed" by a recorded yes.
- Fake HMRC calls about unpaid VAT or Corporation Tax.
- Invoice redirection: a "supplier" calls to say their bank details have changed.
The defence is the same as for personal calls: don't agree to anything or pay anything on a cold call. Check independently, using contact details you already hold.
Check before you call back
Business owners return a lot of missed calls, which makes them ideal targets for one-ring scams. Get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar numbers on Who Called Me Check before ringing back, especially anything starting 070, 09 or an international code.
Not sure about a call you had?
Look the number up to see what kind of line it is, where it's from and what other people said about it.