With the ability to get things done from virtually anywhere, our customers have some great stories that we’d like to share. Today, we’re featuring Amy Westerman-Sinclair, the owner of Ears of Experience, LLC – a travel company that specializes in Disney destinations. Although she’s based in Charleston, South Carolina, she stays connected with six outside agents across the country and a growing support staff. And, with frequent trips to Disney World, she considers “The Happiest Place on Earth” to be a literal extension of her office!
We wanted to find out more about Amy, her unique workplace and how her team stays in sync from multiple locations (including Disney World). Here’s what she had to say.
How do you use RingCentral from your workplace?
We use RingCentral as our primary phone and fax for clients and our vendors, whether we’re working from our home office or are on the road.
Are there any particular challenges affecting your business?
We need to work harder, smarter and be flexible with our hours to meet the needs of our clients, and I love how I can, with the simple click of a mouse, keep the phone lines open or change our office hours quickly on the way out the door, if we are closing early like on Labor Day.
Does working outside of a traditional office environment give you a competitive edge & how?
Absolutely! I can get a call from a client while in the bank, mailing a packet to a client, at my daughter’s gymnastics class. All this and they are getting our professional answering system that sounds like I am in the office when they call, not just me on my cell running errands. When you are out and about, you are meeting new people, growing your business, not waiting for the phone to ring, and multi-tasking. I always tell our agents, get out and meet people. RingCentral allows me to run a more efficient office, while also enabling me to get out and grow my business. We can also work from Disney which is HUGE!!!! We go down every two to three months to do research, to make sure everything we tell our clients is accurate, and ensure restaurants are still good and itineraries are smooth. I can be getting faxes on my BlackBerry while literally riding Space Mountain and go over it with my support staff who also got it on the office desktop back in Charleston.
What technologies enable you to work from multiple locations?
Fax and phone from my BlackBerry with forwarding to my mobile. I get everything forwarded to my mobile, and it also comes in on my laptop and the support staff desktop. We will also be adding extensions to all the agents soon, as well.
Do you have office space as well?
We do have a dedicated portion of our home as office space.
Do you have any stories to tell or advice to give other small business owners?
I have used very detailed VoIP systems in the past. And, when they went down, you were done for the day – no clients could get a hold of me until some local tech could come out and fix it. This would kill us! I would spend more time trying to fix these things on my own to get us back online. Now with a company I can trust and knowing if something were to happen, I can focus on what I do best which is not phones. I can leave the phones to the experts.
Originally published Sep 11, 2010, updated Aug 12, 2020
