Service based businesses such as contractors and consultants often get their start by operating from their home. This can be an affordable way to get started and after-all, your customers are mostly smal businesses or residential and you don’t need a brick and mortar location to serve those clients. If you are a small family owned business that operates from a home office or the kitchen table then there is often a convenience and cost savings by keeping your overhead low.

As your business begins to grow, there are several limitations and disadvantages from having your home office as your “corporate headquarters”.

• Without a verified business address and Google Business Profile you will miss out on customers of all types. The first place customers look is online and showing up there is essential. A membership at a coworking space or business center may be an affordable option as long as it meets Google criteria. You are required to be able to see/meet customers and have permanent signage.
• With a verified business address you can begin by placing that location on your website and adding that exact business name, address and phone number in online directories and social media profiles.
• A common mistake by small businesses is to use the owner’s personal mobile number as the primary business number. This will hamstring the business as you grow since the owner is the only one that can answer the phone and it will be very difficult in the future to update across the internet. A better option is to create a separate phone number with call routing to forward those calls to your mobile. This can be done for free with Google Voice or with more features and controls with a paid solution.
• Many small businesses and independent contractors begin their brand with a free email solution such as gmail. This creates a similar problem for the owner since all emails come to them, it’s difficult to change later and it makes your business seem smaller and less professional. A better solution is to create email using your business domain name and choose an email plan like G Suites that has calendar integration. A commercial/business customer will expect that you setup a meeting using a calendar invite.