Just a few years ago, it was practically unheard of for a business to not have a physical mailing address. But these days, it’s become increasingly common for start-ups to operate out of an entrepreneur’s home with remote employees scattered all over the world. This trend has led many business owners to wonder whether a physical address is still important in today’s society or whether a PO Box for business will do just fine.
This article will discuss why it’s still so important for your business to have a physical address rather than a PO Box and how you can utilize a virtual business address to create a powerful and professional image.
The Downsides of a PO Box for Business
It’s very understandable that not every business can afford a monthly lease to run their operations, especially in New York City. But companies run many troubling risks by only listing a PO Box on their website, on social media, and on business cards. In today’s cut-throat start-up environment, you need every tool at your disposal to get noticed and move ahead of the competition.
One issue with listing no address at all for your business is that is hurts your SEO ranking and makes it more difficult for customers to find your business online. Just think how many search results you’re missing out on by not listing the city you’re based in! Even if you list your city, state, and zip code, there is still a widespread perception that a company with only a PO Box is a fly-by-night operation that may not be legitimate or stable. Businesses with PO Boxes are also commonly viewed as “too small” to be worth a big client’s time. Even in today’s modern world, most people view online businesses as more credible and as having a more trustworthy reputation if they share a physical address and an established local connection.
Benefits of Having a Real Business Address
On the flip side, there are many benefits of having real business address to create the professional corporate image you desire. So many things in business are all about first impressions, and a business address instantly improves your images and authority in your chosen industry. Having a physical address also helps improve communication between colleagues and clients, especially if someone needs to overnight documents to you via FedEx or use a courier service.
It makes you look stable, established, and locally invested in the community as well. To improve relations between small businesses, it is often very important to be involved in local affairs and connected to the people who live where you do business. There’s a sense of transparency involved in providing a legitimate business address that still gets noticed in the business world.
In terms of online advertising, having a business address will help your company appear in more search results and make it easy to advertise on AdWords as a local business. If you have a physical location for your business, this space can also be a place to conduct meetings in a professional and productive way.
Although tempting, it can be a tricky endeavor to simply use your home address as your business address. Not only does this practice discourage a healthy separation between your work life and personal life, but it can also expose you to unexpected guests at your doorstep and significant security concerns. Living in an apartment in New York City is the norm, but having an apartment number tied to your business address instantly reduces your credibility. If new clients or customers realize that you are working out of a small home office, they may lose confidence that you are able to handle large projects or orders, even if that’s truly not the case at all. We’re not saying that these perceptions are necessarily accurate or fair, but it’s a hard truth that serious business owners must accept and work around.
Not Just Any Business Address Will Do
But it’s important to know that not all street addresses are the equal in this regard. It’s so easy for a potential client or customer to check Google Maps’ satellite view to see exactly where you’re located and what your neighborhood looks like. Whether there’s any truth to stereotypes and preconceived notions or not, where you’re located says a lot about you as a person and also about the type of business you run. Having a prestigious business address in Midtown Manhattan, for example, can exude a sense of success, power, and sustainability.
Certain types of companies depend on mail delivery as a normal course of business, so you don’t want to use an unreliable address and risk losing important letters and packages. Even in a digital age where most things seem to be sent via email, mail is still widely used in the business world and depended on to obtain essential signatures, documents, and even checks.
What Is a Virtual Business Address?
Since not every business can afford to rent an office in Midtown Manhattan, NYC Office Suites has come up with some creative solutions to give business owners the best of both worlds. We offer virtual offices that provide businesses of all shapes and sizes with a virtual business address and so much more.
Essentially, a virtual business address is a professional corporate address that is exclusively connected to you and an address where you can receive your mail. It’s a huge asset to businesses looking to take a more professional approach while keeping costs low.
How a Virtual Address Works
What’s great about a virtual business address is that you don’t even have to show up at its location to pick up your mail. Our Mail Me program includes a high-profile mailing address in Midtown Manhattan, which is perfect for listing your company’s location on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and your own website. Better yet, we offer prime NYC locations, such as the Plaza District (1350 6th Avenue at 55th Street), the Commerce Building (708 3rd Avenue at 44th Street), the Graybar Building (420 Lexington Avenue at 44th Street, and Midtown East (733 3rd Avenue at 45th Street).
With rates starting at low as $75 per month, virtual business customers will also enjoy the benefits of mail collection by attentive virtual assistants, secure mail storage, mail forwarding, and a lobby listing. For mail forwarding, we can send mail received at your professional address to your home address, a PO Box, or wherever you are working remotely at that time. It’s a smart idea to utilize an experienced and reliable company, like NYC Office Suites, to set up your virtual office to give you peace of mind that your mail is being received and forwarded discretely, securely, and promptly.
Solutions for Your Virtual Business
At NYC Office Suites, we are committed to helping virtual business owners just like you succeed in an affordable and professional way. Our Mail Me program is just one of many virtual office options that we offer, so don’t hesitate to ask us about our flexible office space for uninterrupted work days, private meeting rooms by the day or by the hour, and local phone services to establish your New York City voice presence.
Contact us today to set up your NYC virtual office and establish the credibility and image that you deserve and that your business needs! The way the world works may be changing, but having a professional business address is just as important now as in the past…perhaps even more so to stand out and get noticed!