Business Calls is a company that produces monthly newsletters intended for the customers of Telephone Answering Services.

Every good newsletter article answers six basic questions about the subject: Who, What, Where, How, Why and When, in no particular order.

WHO?

Donna West and Kelly Gillis.

For over 20 years these two ladies have been writing newsletters and newsletter articles for the telephone answering service industry.

Donna West is the owner of Focus Telecommunications, Inc., which was founded in 1987. Three years later she began writing her own client newsletter and has continued to this day.
Donna enjoys working with two sons and two daughters-in-law who carry much of the load. She is thrilled that her eldest grandchild is also an agent at Focus.

In her spare time Donna spends quality time with her 13 grandkids, and creates miniature homes and businesses in one-inch to one-foot scale. She and her Lilac-point Siamese, Benny live in Clarksville, Maryland where her door is always open to friends in the industry.

Kelly Gillis has been a part of the call center industry since 1994. Since then, she and Donna have produced a number of different publications together, from in house employee and client newsletters, to industry newsletters, and, most recently, Answer OnLine, an online magazine for the members of ATSI. She has a BA in English from the University of Maryland.

In her spare time, Kelly enjoys cooking and sings in a local band. She has a passion for animal rescue, and volunteers for a local rescue group, from which she adopted Riley, her 150-pound Newfoundland mix and consumate couch potato.

Donna and Kelly write:

• The Focal Point!, the Focus client newsletter upon which Business Calls is based.
• The Galaxy, a publication for SNUG members.
• The Constellation, a publication for the employees of the TAS industry.
• Answer OnLine, an e-zine for the members of ATSI.

And NOW, they bring you Business Calls, a newsletter for the customers of telephone answering services.

Testimonials

"Hear Hear!!! Donna always does good work and she has a knack for finding good topics. Thanks to all who contributed and a special thanks to Kelli in Donna's office who does the hard stuff :-)"
-Mary Jones , Answer 1 Communications "I just finished reading over the two copies of Answer Online. WOW. What a spectacular piece of work. Can someone tell me who all was responsible for this project. It must have taken hundreds of hours."
-Paul Lloyd, The PasWord Group Inc. "This is fantastic! … Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. . . for all your hard work. You all have your own company's to run and yet you take the time to educate all of us, this is absolutely amazing :0)"
-Lori Jenkins “I’d like to commend whoever it is who writes your newsletter. (The Focal Point) I always know what is going on at Focus, and what you are doing to make your service better. I’d like someone to call me about having a different recording put on my line prior to having your people answer. You mentioned in the last newsletter that this could give our residents information about problems in advance and help lower our bill.
-Mrs. T F K, An apartment community manager. "I thought I’d take a minute to say “Thanks” for your newsletter. I’ve learned something new from just about every one of them. Today I laughed out loud at the “Gotta giggle” about the turkey. Thanks for making it fun as well as informational."
-Ms YSW A receptionist for a plumber