What are the disadvantages of using a home address as your business address?

You’ve got a business idea, you’ve got the funding, you’ve thought of a funky catchy and relevant business name and now you need to register the business. Often with SME’s its easier to use your home address to register your business, as lets face it, you’ll be working from that small spare room until you’ve made your millions but by registering your business to your home address has its disadvantages and these are often overlooked before signing all the paperwork to embark on your new business adventure:

1. Privacy / Marketing – It is the law to publicise your registered address on your company website and also with Companies House. The world literally has access to your home address and to protect yourself and your family its best to avoid this. Also if you use Mail Chimp you will quickly realise that sending out emails to your database requires you to enter your registered address which will be included in the email.
2. Reputation  – If you’re a start up, you want to start your business journey off with a bang by looking professional and standing out from your competition. First impressions count so it may not give the right perception to your customers if your business is a personal address as opposed to a registered business address and may concern some prospective clients.
3. Junk Mail – Its bad enough at home having the endless amounts of marketing material or “junk mail” that lands on your doorstep but couple that with business “junk mail” and you’ll be requiring an additional recycling bin for your home!
4. Waiting in for key post or  parcels – Do you ever have to wait in all day for that important mail or parcel you are expecting? Yes of course you have
5. Legal contracts – If you’re signing or exchanging contracts with clients and suppliers which is a legal document will require your business address on there, do you really want your home address on those important binding documents?
6. Local business directories – A good way of advertising your business is to be in the local business directory. However they will require a local address for you to be listed, so again is advertising your home address in this way a good idea?

Virtual office services are a quick to set-up, simple and cost effective  solution where you can use a third parties address to register your business. As well as tackling all the above issues, some virtual office companies have different services that can offer e.g. mail forwarding, a call answering service and even some meeting space. You can find a number of dedicated mail box service companies on the high street while service offices and coworking spaces increasingly offer this service.

Virtual Office Services at MyWorkSpot

If you’re Maidenhead or Berkshire based SME with these issues and would like to register your business at a professional address (town centre Maidenhead), check out our range of virtual services that not only include marketing, Companies House or Director’s  address services, but we also bundle in physical space options incl. meeting room or hot desk options as and when you need them.  MyWorkSpot memberships