I’m home right now . . . I’m just screening my calls. So just start talking and if you’re someone I want to speak to I’ll pick up the phone. Otherwise, well, what can I say?
23. Hello, you’ve reached [X company]. We are currently closed. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, from [x time] to [x time] [time zone]. Please visit our website at [company website URL] for more information, or leave us your name, phone number, and the reason for your call and we will get back to you on [X day]. Thank you for calling [X company].

Hi, you have reached (names) voicemail. If you want money or to sell us something, we a) gave at the office, b) already have it, or c) don’t want it. If you are a friend, trying to give us money or just want to talk, then leave a message or try my cell phone number. I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know what you want.
With a small or mid-sized company, you have fewer staff dedicated to answering the phone, and fewer resources to invest in a phone answering service. In fact, the most recent government data indicates that 80 percent of US businesses are “nonemployers,” meaning a single person runs their own company and doesn’t have any employees.