# Business Start up



## rick4897 (Mar 15, 2010)

Ok I have a screen printing business, Is it better to be online or home based. I am getting business calls but everyone keeps asking where I am located and I have to tell them I am home based then they well say they will get back to me. So the question is what do I need to do or is there any one that had good business being home based?


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## GN (Aug 1, 2011)

Go to usps and get a "fake" address. It's like a poBOX but an actual street address. YOu can then use this address for your business. You can even accept deliveries to this address and pic up your packages later (restrictions apply). It costs like $10 a month, but it's worth it b/c you can place that address on your webpage, business cards and give it out to people when they ask. If they say, "what is yoru address?" you can answer by saying, "if you'd like to mail correspondance or have a return then use our business address which is xxxxxx, xx, " This is much better than using your real address or possibly losing business.


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## Flagrant-T (Nov 11, 2009)

Get a nice website made. Include pictures of your work. I'd suggest getting some pictures professionally taken, and possibly hiring someone to design the website (at least the landing page, and the overall layout). Make sure everything looks professional on the website. If you have nice equipment, get some good pictures of that up on the site too. This will give potential customers a better feeling that you are legit and not just a hobbie!

Good luck!
Nick


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## michellefanfan (Oct 26, 2009)

GN said:


> Go to usps and get a "fake" address. It's like a poBOX but an actual street address. YOu can then use this address for your business. You can even accept deliveries to this address and pic up your packages later (restrictions apply). It costs like $10 a month, but it's worth it b/c you can place that address on your webpage, business cards and give it out to people when they ask. If they say, "what is yoru address?" you can answer by saying, "if you'd like to mail correspondance or have a return then use our business address which is xxxxxx, xx, " This is much better than using your real address or possibly losing business.


GN has a great opinion, seems it is a good way out for your biz, many biz dealers don't like to work with home-based business, especially when they have a big order, they worry about the quality. Use a word "fake", i tend to use "virtual" office. : ). Anyway, keep up good work will spread out your biz from client to client. Good luck.

Bill


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## Ribcage (Nov 4, 2010)

All good suggestions. I run a home based screen printing business too. When someone asks where you are located, never be ashamed that you are home based. Offer to meet them for a cup of coffee at a nice cafe and treat; after all, you're saving big money on rent. The meeting will be remembered and often result in sales and referrals.


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## Say It Loud (Jun 5, 2012)

Love the USPS suggestion, GN! I didn't even realize that they offered this service! On a related note, i recently received word from my landlord that I cannot operate my business out of my apartment. Short of moving, are there any newer options re virtual offices? I really need a phone line and mail service. Any for less than $50/month?


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## islk (Mar 28, 2011)

Here ya go:

1. I'm not sure how it is overseas (except Germany), but if you're serious about your business, you need a business address. USPS was a good idea GN. It's called "Street Addressing". UPS and many others also offer this service. For as long as I can remember (even in college), I've always been told to NEVER use your private home address as your business address (even if you work out of your home), unless you have a storefront, and you live in the back.

2. If you have clients who wish to meet, choose a central location somewhere, like outside, at a bookstore (before they're all gone), a hotel, etc... or a Virtual Office (see #3 below).

3. Virtual Office. Once you are comfortable with spending between $50 and $400 per month, you can get a virtual office. Depending on the package you get, it could consist of a business address (usually downtown in the city of your choice, or near an airport), your company's name on the building's entrance directory, phone answering service, mail delivery/forwarding, office and conference room usage for a certain number of times per month, etc... Two of the largest companies we know of is Regus and VirtualOffice. These were the two that we thought were the best when we were looking into getting a virtual office in another state.

3. You can get a virtual call center phone number for your company (a toll free number). An online service we used to use is GotVMail (now called Grasshopper). Starting at $12 per month, you can get a phone service like the big boys, with an answering attendant leading your customers through menus, background music while they wait for the next customer representative (you), etc. The system then calls whatever phone numbers you tell it to call, and in the order you tell it to call your numbers in. You set all of this up yourself, but it's really easy. If you wanted, you could also pay someone from their company to voice over the script that you write for your phone menus (if they still provide this service).

4. So, let's say you get something like the $25 5x5 USPS Box and choose to use the street address option (you have to choose that option in the beginning, because you can't use a P.O. Box number at the same time). And then you go to some site like grasshopper to get a PBX phone solution for $24 per month. You'll hit just under $60 (I'm assuming some type of taxes).

Tomas


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

So you are working on small or one off retail orders. That is a problem. If you want to remain home based you need to make the sales call at the customer site and deliver to them. Otherwise you will need a retail location and staff it during normal business hours.


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