I use a virtual phone service as I didn't want to use my personal number. I imagine that if Hushd goes under that I would port my number to my cell provider. I am privacy focused and leery about using a Google or Meta service. I'm fairly sure that if you use an iPhone, you can run a  eSIM for a second number on the same hardware.

Like any other service, phone lines can face interruptions. To stay connected, I’m using an additional line on my phone through Mingle Mobile:  https://www.minglemobile.com/pages/our-plans

They offer eSIM options, so you can have two lines on the same phone. This lets you separate personal and business calls by labeling each line, and it works the same for texts—all on one device. No need to carry an extra phone!

You can start with their 3-month option for the best plan, paid upfront at $27 total. Once it expires, you can downgrade to the $9/month plan, which is what I plan to do. The service is great—there are times I get a signal with Mingle Mobile in areas where Verizon doesn’t even show SOS coverage.

If you’re already paying for a virtual line, consider Mingle Mobile as a second line for calls and texts. It’s reliable and works well where my primary service often struggles.

1 Gig $9/mo

• Unlimited talk & text
• No contract (cancel anytime)
• No hidden fees
• All taxes & fees on us
• Free easy-to-use mobile app
• Free activation
• Free number porting
• Join the largest & fastest 5G network

We've utilized virtual offices, assistants and phone numbers since 2018. 
If you need (1) extra phone number, use Google voice. It's free and you dont have to worry about them going anywhere. If you're looking for something with a bit more options, utilize Goconnect.

As with any utility you may purchase, or for that matter things like your domain name, web hosting, etc. it really just gets down to how well you trust the provider. These are not the areas where you want to cut corners, but it's not necessarily hard to find providers who have a good reputation and which won't fold overnight. Two suggestions I would have for small business VoIP would be:

- Google Voice
- Grasshopper.com

Either of these are going to work well with the primarily cell-phone driven situation and give you an app which will let you transparently make and receive calls and texts without exposing your personal cell number. And these are just the first two examples off the top of my head.

We switched everything to Dialpad.com. It's been amazing!

There is definitely a learning curve required.

We have used twilio for years and it's amazing. You can either port your number or pay a very low rate for a new local number (usually $1-3/month). You can use the number to redirect to another number or program any sort of interaction if you want to get more complex.

For incoming sales numbers, we have an automation that connects to a CRM (Jobber or Pipedrive), looks up if the number exists and creates a task/lead etc.

The possibilities are endless if you really want to scale you business or just use the number knowing this company will be around for a long time. Feel free to reach out if you need help.