A virtual business address refers to an address that you use for your business that is not your physical address. There are organizations that have a physical office with a physical address. They share the address with others permitting them to use it as their address. By doing so they are allowing other businesses to have a business address without being physically present at the address. This is a convenient option for a home business that needs an address for the records.
We look at five reasons why it makes sense for to get a virtual business address for your business. After going through these reasons, you will understand why you should consider booking a virtual business address.
5 Reasons to Get a Virtual Business Address
Finding the right virtual business address is important; but before you do your research, you need to understand why you actually need one. Here are five reasons for you to consider.
1. It allows you to work from home while having a professional address – affordably
A virtual address is the best option for home businesses. The growth of freelancing has led to the rise of home-based businesses. Sharing the home address is considered risky by many business owners. At the same time, they want an office address to display on their visiting cards and on their website. A virtual address is the perfect solution for their needs.
They can continue to work from home but use a virtual address for all practical purposes. By paying a small fee to the service provider they can share the virtual address with their clients and others. This makes the business appear professional since they can show an address in a commercial location. While getting a post office box number is an option, it is not professional. Sharing a PO Box number is an open admission that you don’t have any office. To make your business look professional, you can get a virtual business address and use it.
2. You can save money on a real office
Business persons who operate from their home don’t want to spend money on a real office. Most of such businesses would be a single-person concern. They really don’t need an office since they can’t all their work using their laptop at home. For them to open an office just to get a physical address is a waste of money.
A real office costs a lot of money. There is a rental to be paid. There are other expenses like electricity, telephone, etc.
Home businesses cannot afford so many expenses. This is why a virtual business address makes a lot of sense for them. They need to pay only a small fee to use the virtual address. They can continue working from home but showcase the virtual address thus saving on rent and other expenses. Home businesses can save a lot of money that they would otherwise need to spend for a real office.
3. You can ensure privacy and security at your home
Most home businesses work from home because it is convenient. They would like to spend time at home and maybe take care of children or others. Their work is also such that they don’t need a real office. But once a business is commenced, an address is required.
While one can share the home address, there are many problems that result. The biggest problem is of privacy. A home address is personal and sharing it with the world affects the privacy of the business persons. You just don’t want unwanted visitors visit your home just because you have your home address printed on your business card/website. Moreover, those who have children at home would be concerned about security by making their home address public.
Making the home address as the office address also leads to other problems like receiving a lot of mail like marketing mail. Your family members may not want to handle all these. Getting a virtual address will solve these problems.
4. A virtual address lends credibility and legitimacy to your home business
A major problem that home businesses face is credibility. Since they are small concerns with just one or two employees, it is difficult for them to compete with larger companies. The problem is worsened by the fact that they don’t have an office address. Using their home address or a post box number tends to make the business look less credible.
On the other hand, if they are able to get a virtual address that is physically located at a commercial area, it adds to the credibility of the business. Now that clients are others can see your address, they would be assured that they are dealing with a legitimate business that has a proper address. All of these at a fraction of the cost of leasing an actual office.
5. It works just like a real address and you can get mails delivered
A virtual address is not a real one. It is an address belonging to someone else that you are using with their permission. A question you may have is – what then happens to mails, couriers, and parcels sent to the address? The answer to this explains one of the major benefits of having a virtual business address. The office at the virtual business address is staffed by professionals.
Whenever any letter, parcel, or post is sent to your address, it would be promptly forwarded to your home address. This ensures you can get mail sent to your office to your home conveniently. For clients and other stakeholders, they can send the mail to your virtual address, and it would reach you on time. Even though the business address is virtual, it functions like a real address by forwarding your mail. This ensures your virtual address works like a real office.
Conclusion
A virtual address is used for businesses that do not have a physical office of its own, such as a home business. The home business needs to have an address for legal reasons, as well as other reasons. The option available is to use a post box number, which does not look professional. This is why businesses prefer to use a virtual business address.
There are plenty of options when it comes to choosing your virtual business address. That’s why it’s important to choose the right address – or the service which can help you in deciding the best address for your business.