Businesses want an actual person answering their calls. People are getting tired of talking to machines and going through endless prompts. Voicemail and answering machine messages get mixed up or lost.
You would be answering the phone as if you are a part of the business and take a message in a professional manner.
Offline and online businesses are in great need of an actual person to handle messages. Think about any business owner who cannot sit at their desk all day answering phones, not if they want to get their job done and they are in need of an answering service. See "Potential Customers" for a possible client list.
Contractors, landscapers, handyman, any delivery services, caterer and painters are all potential customers. Go through our list of Business Ideas and think about each job as a potential customer.