Using your home address as your business address can be an excellent way to open a business remotely while saving money and time, but this approach also comes with a few serious concerns that you should be aware of.
If that’s the case, what other options do you have if you want to open your business remotely?
That’s where virtual business addresses come in: they’re a great way to solve these issues with nearly no effort on your part, and they’re also pretty efficient in terms of cost and time.
In this blog post, I’ll go through everything you need to know about opening a business remotely through virtual business addresses.
What Do I Need In Order To Register A Business?
A physical street address and a company name are two of the essential requirements when registering a business.
A name for your business is an easier requirement to take care of, but locations are a completely different issue. Eligible addresses are a UPS Mailbox, an actual physical location that you own, or a virtual business address.
Why Can’t I Use My Home Address As My Business Address?
Although using your home address as your business address might be tempting due to how convenient it is, it also brings plenty of problems to the table.
For starters, using your home address as your business address makes your home address publicly accessible, which is a considerable threat to your privacy.
It also doesn’t look very professional, which can significantly affect the credibility of your business.
What Is A Virtual Business Address?
A virtual business address is a physical street address at either a prominent office building location or a mail center that you can choose as a safe-keeping location to receive your business mail and packages.
However, you can also use your virtual business address as your main business address. If you want to open a business remotely or you want to expand your firm’s presence into new areas, a virtual business address is a must. The best virtual business addresses also offer a lot more.
How Do Virtual Business Addresses Work?
Virtual business addresses are pretty straightforward to use: once you’ve signed up for the service, you can use it as your company address as you’re in the process of registering it.
You can also list this virtual address on your business website or cards, and it even allows you to safely get your company’s correspondence and deposit checks on your behalf.
Mail center locations from virtual business addresses are generally real street addresses at either reputable office buildings with executive business centers or professional retail pack-and-ship stores.
Once you start using your virtual business address, your mail and packages will be received, stored, and handled there instead of being delivered to a central processing facility.
You’ll be notified via email whenever you get any mail, along with a scan of the correspondence (without opening it unless you want a more thorough scan) and relevant information so you can easily identify every item you’ve received.
After that, you’ll be able to forward mail and packages to any address with just a few clicks. You’ll see real-time shipping prices for different carriers and levels of service through the app as well, which allows you to know what each shipment will cost and when they will arrive in advance.
Now, there aren’t many costs involved when opening a relatively hands-off business like a blog, and this might make you question the need for a virtual address. However, using a virtual business address is a good way to generate some legitimacy.
How Do I Use A Virtual Business Address As My Business Address?
All you have to do is follow these 3 steps:
- Sign up for the virtual business address service of your choice: This will grant you access to a physical address in the US that can be used for your business.
- Complete any mandatory legal forms: This will grant your virtual business address provider permission to use their location as your business address, as well as receive and process business mail on your behalf.
- Use your new virtual business address: By this point in the process, you can already start using your virtual business address as your business address. You can also check important information related to your business mail online with a few clicks.
How Does Mail Forwarding and Mail Handling Work with a Virtual Business Address?
Here is how a virtual business address plan works:
- Select the city of your choice from any virtual business address service in the country you’re currently in.
- Get mail sent directly to the selected destination.
- Let administrative professionals receive and scan your mail for you.
As for the different options you have to receive mail, you have:
- In-Person Pick-Up: Go to your virtual business address mailing center to get your mail directly.
- Mail Scanning: If you don’t reside in the city you chose as your virtual business address but still want a mailing address there, you can let administrative team members at your chosen office can scan it and virtually send it to you.
- Mail Forwarding: You can also choose to have incoming mail arrive directly at your selected commercial address and be delivered by the office staff to you.
- Direct Deposit: Your chosen virtual business address’s personnel will deposit checks directly into your account.
In Summary
If you’re looking for a more convenient way to run your business, using a virtual address is an excellent option.
Not only can it save you time and money, but the mail forwarding service will ensure that each piece of correspondence sent to your company arrives safely at its intended destination.