For freelancers and small business owners, Skype software is an excellent tool for making your business work. Not only does Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), make a lot of sense for entrepreneurs who do a lot of business all over the country and the world, but the service is often free!

Here are five ways you can make Skype work for you:

Save your Pennies

The first and very important reason why Skype is an important business tool is because it saves you money! Long distance dialing really can rack up your bills. For rates as low as $3 a month, you can call to landlines and cell phones. The best news is you can call to other Skype users for free!

Let's See

Using Skype will allow you to see your clients, regardless of what continent they may be corresponding from. While technology is making it easier for us to get into contact with one another, it can also deter us from having the all important human contact. It is amazing that our clients don't have to stem entirely from our own county or country these days, however that all important discussion or meeting over coffee can still apply. Using Skype allows you to make some face time and see that you are not just dealing with a robot at the other end.

Hold a Meetingt

Holding a meeting with your clients can be easy with Skype if you know the right tools! Skype provides a service called Yugma, which allows you to share desktops, connecting with up to 10 people for free. Yugma is compatible for Mac, Windows and Linux users.

Fax it

No need to set up that fax machine. Having equipment for your every need will only take up space! Use Skype to fax over a document. Skype teams up with Pamfax to offer cheap faxing services from pay as you go to monthly payments.

Leave a Message

Skype can act like your answering machine with its voice mail service. Download Pretty May Voice Plugin or Call Recorder and you won't have to be a slave to your phone for long. You automatically have your own assistant taking the calls for you!