Telecom company finds big customer base in small business

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Monday, March 21, 2005 9:08 PM PST ∞

ENCINITAS ---- The baby crying in the background. The botched call transfer. The full voice mailbox.

These are examples of what local entrepreneur Eric Thomas calls the "perception problem" ---- things that give the perception that small businesses are less stable or not as trustworthy than large companies.

"There's a question of whether you'll be around, whether you're a professional," said Thomas, who encountered the perception problems in the early 1990s as owner of a small biotechnology company.

Today, Thomas' company, FreedomVOICE, offers small businesses an array of advanced telecommunication services to help them reach out and listen to customers the way large companies do. No special equipment is needed to use the company's services, which are provided through the company's own network and bank of computers.

Service options include toll-free voice mail, fax by e-mail and live-call transfer, starting at $10 a month and going to $30 a month. Toll-free phone calls are offered at rates from 4.5 cents per minute. The company can also add customized options, Thomas said, because it designs its own telecom software.

"They're awesome," said Chris Dougherty, president of Beyond Marketing Corp., also based in Encinitas. "They cater to whatever your needs are."

Dougherty said Beyond Marketing uses FreedomVOICE to route its calls to the right voice mail boxes and extensions, saving time and ensuring the calls go to the right people.

With 17 employees, FreedomVOICE pulled in an estimated $5.2 million in revenue for 2004, Thomas said, compared with $3.4 million in 2003 and just $42,200 in 1996, when Thomas founded the company. The company is profitable, he said, declining to reveal the amount.

The number of FreedomVOICE customers rose from 189 in 1996 to 11,200 in 2004. While most customers are small businesses, some are large, including the San Diego Zoo.

The company was founded in Sorrento Valley, a hub of telecommunications activity, but then moved to Encinitas for the "lifestyle," Thomas said. Most of the employees live north of the I-5/805 merge, so the Encinitas location makes their commute much easier, he said.

"We've got a much nicer environment, within walking distance to the beach," said Thomas, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe. "I ride my bicycle to work."

Information is available at tinyurl.com/3zupr or by calling (800) 477-1477, Ext 1.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at bfikes@nctimes.com or (760) 739-6641.

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