If you’re a small business owner operating from home, but aren’t ready for a serviced office just yet (let us know when you are), have you considered using a mail forwarding service as a way to boost your business’ profile?
A mail forwarding service enables an individual or business to have their mail sent to the address of their service provider, instead of their own address. This mail is then posted to wherever they want.
In this article, we take a look at the benefits of signing up for a mail forwarding service for home-based small businesses. Let’s get started.
Businesses need to provide an address at which they can be contacted by customers, suppliers and partners. Even if a business operates entirely online, an address generally needs to be given. If your business is home-based, this typically means the only address that you can provide is your residential address.
However, this compromises your privacy, with unwelcome visitors like irate customers being a possible consequence.
A mail forwarding address is a solution to this problem, as it prevents a private address from becoming public knowledge. Instead of publishing a home address on websites, business cards, listing sites, invoices and stationery, a business owner can publish an alternative address that they have been given permission to use.
A business may actually have a workplace, but one that is not appropriate for visitors - perhaps it’s an unwelcoming warehouse, or an office that’s simply too small to accommodate guests. Again, a mail forwarding service can be the solution, as it provides a business with a suitable address that it can use as its front-facing address. Not only does it serve to handle mail, but if visitors arrive, they are politely turned away.
Consumers are spoilt for choice. This means first impressions of a business truly do matter. Seemingly small things, such as where your business is based, can play a pivotal role in someone choosing your services over a competitor.
Mail forwarding services are often based in bustling, prestigious locations synonymous with money - locations that businesses of all shapes and sizes would be thrilled to call home. Service providers are able to ‘lend’ their thriving locales to business owners who are looking to give themselves a competitive edge. This can make all the difference between winning and losing a customer.
If your business is a small one that you’re operating from your home, a mail forwarding service can give the impression that you’re running a professional outfit from an office.
Alternatively, if your workplace is not home-based, but is located in an undesirable part of town, a mail forwarding service can shift focus from a questionable location to one regularly associated with success. Status is important in business. With a mail forwarding service, you’re elevating yours.
A mail forwarding service can be a useful facility if you spend large amounts of time travelling and don't always have access to your mail.
Rather than having to update each of your contacts with your new address every time you are in a new location, you simply notify your provider of your new address. Mail that arrives for you can then be forwarded to wherever you are on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. This essentially means you can run your business from anywhere in the world.
What’s more, it’s now common for mail forwarding service providers to offer a scan option, whereby the mail that is delivered can be opened, scanned and then emailed to you - meaning you get to see your mail immediately, regardless of where you are. Important mail, where a hard copy is required (such as cheques) is then posted, whereas where just a scan will suffice the original is securely destroyed.
Scans remain in your digital account, where they’re available to view wherever you are and whenever you want, so there’s an added bonus: no more losing important business documents.
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When you publish an address online, for example on your website or Google Business Profile, you will immediately start receiving swathes of junk mail. This may sound like a small thing, but as a business owner you have better things to do with your time than sifting through your mail to determine what is unwanted nuisance mail and what is genuine mail.
A mail forwarding service can provide a useful filter, as the team handling your mail will be familiar with the types of correspondence that businesses receive. The obvious junk mail is destroyed and the legitimate mail is processed according to your specifications.
That’s why your home based business should use a mail forwarding service. We hope you have found this article useful.
Are you interested in signing up for a mail forwarding service? Our sister company 1st Formations can help.
With the Business Address Service - priced at only £96.00 per year - you can use their Covent Garden address as your business address. Then, whenever your business’ mail is received at their location, it will be forwarded on to an address of your choice, wherever you are based (Royal Mail fees apply alongside a 15% handling fee).
Alternatively, you can choose to ‘go digital’ and have items scanned instead, saving you the cost of postage.
Find out more about the Business Address Service now
