This article was originally published at Davinci.com and is being distributed here with approval.
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As an entrepreneur you quickly learn that the amount of mail you get for your business is way more than you might have expected. You will have to deal with samples, brochures, fliers, invitations, guides, and even spam coming your way, in what seems like a never-ending stream of paper.
But don’t panic. There are a few tools at your disposal that will make it easy for you to handle all of that incoming business mail.
When going about receiving mail for your business you basically have three options:
1. You use your home address as your business address.
This might seem like the most obvious answer. You already live and do most of your work at your home anyway, so why not just receive your business mail there?
Well using your home address as your business address is the equivalent of wearing crocs and baggy sweatpants on a first date. Remember that convenience and comfort usually come at the expense of image, and in today’s interconnected world how people perceive you can be the difference between growing your business exponentially and struggling to keep your few clients.
2. You rent a P.O. Box at your local Postal Office.
A P.O. Box is another simple solution to having a proper business address. By getting a P.O. Box you are getting great advantages such as getting an address you can use permanently, maintaining the privacy of your home address, keeping your mail secure, and even getting faster delivery of mail and packages. Athough this option is definitely better than using your home address it still has many disadvantages. For starters a P.O. Box doesn’t provide your business with a professional image, and you would still need to register your company at a physical street address. You should also take into account the fact that your PO Box can only receive mail that has been delivered through USPS, so forget about other carriers. You have to stay on top of your mail to make sure that your Box doesn’t overfill and mail forwarding from a PO Box exists, but is isn’t cheap.
3. You get a virtual business address by setting up a virtual office.
With a virtual office you can get a very impressive business address in the 15 minutes that takes to set it all up. Imagine having your business listed at the lobby directory of one of the most recognizable office buildings anywhere in the world! Like the Rockefeller Center in New York, Michigan Avenue in Chicago, or even near the Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE. With a virtual address it is also easy to get your business registered.
Besides giving your business an impressive address, a virtual office also gives you access to fully equipped meeting spaces that you should definitely use to meet potential clients.
Finally you can also easily receive all your business mail at your virtual address and then you can pick it up at the location or just have it forwarded on a scheduled basis to wherever you are.
