Dear Friends,

It seems impossible that 2025 is nearly over. Small businesses like ours have been on a yoyo all year long. Not just the normal rhythmic ups and downs we have come to expect, but we’ve been hit with all those old yoyo tricks, snapping around, over the top, stalled at the bottom, sliding back and forth on doubled strings. It’s enough to make us dizzy.

I’ve found the best thing is to just take each day (and crisis) as it comes, with as much calm and optimism as I can. The lows have not been as bad as anticipated, and the highs sometimes actually pan out! Last year I marked several calendar days throughout the year to keep open and found that worked very well. Did I use some of those days for unexpected work? Yes! But they were there for that purpose. I also used a few for much deserved down time; and I have already marked my 2026 calendar the same way.

This is a gift to yourself that I encourage everyone to take. I am wishing you, and every small business person, a successful new year! RTC is here to help you in any way we can. May we all thrive!

With Appreciation,
Herb Chinoski

Life in 25 Words or Less: “And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.
—Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s that magical time of year again, and we are thrilled to share a favorite holiday tradition! Santa Claus has once again turned his Santa Hotline over to the friendly staff at RTC. He and Mrs. Claus have trusted us for many years, especially when toy-making season gets busy and their phones ring off the hook. From elves calling about last-minute parts to the reindeer’s vet checking in before the big flight, Santa depends on us to make sure nothing interrupts his concentration while he checks those naughty and nice lists.

Santa even recorded a special message for all who call. Children (and kids at heart!) can leave their own message for him, and our elves will be listening with big holiday smiles. To hear Santa’s greeting, call 248-650-1450.

And once Christmas Eve arrives, don’t forget to follow Santa’s journey around the world! NORAD began tracking Santa back in 1955 after a misprinted phone number connected eager children to the Continental Air Defense Command’s hotline. The tradition continued when NORAD was formed in 1958, and today volunteers handle thousands of calls and emails as they share Santa’s location in real time. Track Santa’s flight at www.noradsanta.org.

Most of us no longer answer calls when we don’t know who is calling. It is the smart thing to do. The FCC has required phone companies to install filters and ID information so calls can be traced, but many have not yet done so. If you want people to answer when you call from your business phone be sure to register your business name with the national Caller ID Name (CNAM) Database.

Here’s How:

1. Contact your phone provider and ask them to set up your outbound CNAM.
2. Update through your system if you have a VoIP or Cloud phone system, directions may be available on how to display your business name through your online customer portal or dashboard with no additional assistance.
3. Register with a third-party CNAM database (for example “freecallerregistry” since carriers often use these databases to display names to their subscribers. (There may be a fee for this service, especially for mobile phones.)

Good to know –

• Create your name to fit into 15 characters (including spaces)
• You may need to provide your Employer ID number.
• It could take up to a month for your name to be changed through all the networks
• Other databases could override the CNAM information. (Google’s Business Profile or Samsung’s Smart Call, for instance.

Give it time (a few weeks to a month) and then test your number to see if your name appears correctly.

There are many software programs being used by our customers. Ideally, your answering service could answer your calls, enter your portal and take orders, schedule appointments, and make CRM entries for you—right in your own software. We could; the technology is there.

The problem, as we quickly found, is that our employees who are answering your phones simply can’t learn the hundreds of software systems that our clients collectively use. In fact, even giving them half a dozen different software packages can create confusion because so many programs look and function alike. And confusion leads to mistakes. Years ago, working with just three different software packages became a nightmare and a disappointment for everyone involved.

Now our vendor has given us an API (that stands for Application Programming Interface), which is a little program that lets two software functions communicate. This means our message-taking software can communicate with your specialized software. With the right API connection in place, the information we take in our messaging software can be securely passed to your appointment-scheduling software, portal, or CRM—essentially as if we were typing directly into your program.

If you’re curious about what may be possible with your software, call today to learn more.