The way we do business has undeniably changed. Today, many freelancers, LLCs, and small business owners don’t have (or need) physical office space or a physical location to use as a storefront.
The freedom to work wherever you want is a game changer— but, unfortunately, you still need a business address for tax and legal reasons. And that’s where virtual addresses come in.
A virtual address is a real, physical street address that you can use as your business address, no matter where you’re actually located. The address provider receives and manages mail on your behalf, shredding, digitizing, or forwarding it as needed.
Many businesses are turning to virtual business addresses to establish a more professional business presence, remain legally compliant, and simplify their operations.
Here are four reasons you should join them.
There are all sorts of benefits to using a virtual business address. But if your business receives mail from clients or customers, improving the mail handling process is one of the most valuable perks.
Customer experience is everything, and for most businesses, there’s a direct line between the quality of internal operations and the customer experience.
How does it make a customer feel when a business, vendor, or employee is inconsistent or slow in responding — or, even worse, loses track of your communications altogether?
When it comes to mail management, a lost check or misplaced document can derail a transaction, create unwarranted penalties, or even cause a lost customer for life.
On the other hand, excellent management of physical mail sends a positive message. Faster response times, more efficient processing, and better overall organization all push your customer experience in the right direction.
Virtual business address services help your business improve mail organization in several ways.
First, your provider can digitize your mail, so you can view and access it from anywhere. Imagine the ability to almost instantly reference a nugget of information tucked away in a piece of mail — no rifling through papers or worrying whether that piece of paper already got shredded. That's a powerful organizational enhancement.
By eliminating unnecessary physical mail arriving at your workplace, you’ll also minimize clutter. This is especially important if your physical address is a place where you don’t want to be receiving business mail (like your home or a coworking space that isn’t set up to handle it).
Take Verbit, for example. Receiving large volumes of mail at their WeWork space was inefficient at best, and switching to Stable saved them roughly four hours a week.
Read the case study to see how Verbit did it!
A virtual address also increases collaboration potential. Authorized users can access documents digitally, even if they’re located in another city (or on another continent).
Setting up a virtual mailbox is a huge privacy win, especially for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and startup founders who operate their businesses from home.
Even if you aren’t receiving pallets of packages or stacks of mail every week, you might not want customers unwittingly showing up at your front door thinking it’s your storefront. And you probably don’t want the broader internet to know where you and your family sleep at night.
By setting up a virtual business address, you can keep your home address out of the public eye, protecting both your privacy and peace of mind.
There’s a second related reason here: professionalism. Some people live at street addresses that sound reasonably business-like (say, 75 North 5th Street), but when a customer brings up Google Maps and sees a home in the suburbs, they may not take you seriously.
So, if you run a business that requires an air of professionalism, like an accounting firm, you might be better off with a virtual business address. Stable gets you a premium address in a business district in one of eight major U.S. locales. You’ll protect your privacy and increase your brand’s professional image at the same time.
Yes, but they each come with drawbacks compared to a virtual address, which is the safest option.
USPS P.O. boxes are a traditional option for receiving mail. And this approach may work in certain situations and in certain states. However, some states won’t allow you to use a P.O. box as a business address, in an attempt to reduce fraud. You might have issues with banks as well.
Using your home address is an option, but then you run into the privacy and professionalism concerns we already mentioned. You’ll also have to navigate local regulations like zoning restrictions, HOA limitations, and possibly liability concerns.
Another viable approach is a virtual office, which provides a physical workspace, reception, meeting rooms, and a virtual business address. Virtual office services are great if your business needs all those things, but the costs for virtual office plans are typically much higher than those of a stand-alone virtual address.
Getting a virtual address (or several) is a great way to establish a local presence without physically setting up shop in those places.
For example, a digital marketing agency might want to show its ability to serve businesses across a region. Opening “satellite offices” (via virtual addresses) in neighboring states could be a part of the social proof a prospect wants to see.
Plus, to operate in a U.S. state, you must have a registered agent in that state who can receive and respond to official mail. Choosing a virtual mail provider that offers registered agent services will extend your legal ability to operate outside your home state — without the need to open a physical office or storefront.
It’s fair to ask: how much does this matter? Do consumers (or other businesses) care about supporting local businesses like yours?
In many cases, the answer is yes. Take that digital marketing agency, for example. Do you have to live within 15 minutes of a client to support them with digital marketing services? Of course not. But do your clients want to know that you understand their local geography, culture, competition, and opportunities? They absolutely do.
You can prove your ability to do this through your work, whether you’re five miles or 500 miles away, but a local address gets you in the door.
What about consumer-facing businesses? Over 65% of American consumers say they visit their local downtown shops regularly and are willing to spend more — $150 a month, on average — to make sure they thrive. Even if your product or service isn’t something you sell at a downtown storefront, the idea of locality still carries significant weight.
The state where your business is located or incorporated can affect numerous elements, including how much you pay in taxes.
It’s why 67.6% of all Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware and more than 2 million businesses call Delaware “home.” (To put that in perspective, there are only around a million people actually living in Delaware!)
Registering in a different state might sound like extra work. But if it drastically simplifies your business structure and regulatory requirements and saves you on business taxes, it’s certainly worth the effort.
A virtual address service is one way to establish a presence in a different state so you can take advantage of its state-specific benefits.
Delaware, California, and Wyoming are some of the best states to operate businesses in.
Other honorable mention best-for-business states include Texas, Florida, Indiana, Arizona, and North Carolina.
Getting started with a virtual mail service is much simpler than you might think. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
That’s it! Your virtual mailbox provider will receive and digitize your mail, so you can manage it from a secure online dashboard. You choose what to forward to your physical address, what to shred, and what to store securely.
If you’re ready to secure a virtual business address for your company, then Stable is the partner you need. Stable gives you a cost-effective professional business address in a prime office location, along with valuable mail management services that simplify your operations.
With a virtual address from Stable, you can get organized, improve your privacy, expand your local presence in new markets, and enjoy state-specific tax and business formation benefits.
Stable offers high-quality addresses in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, along with options in tax-friendly states like Delaware, Wyoming, and Texas.
