It’s time to make your business a business. If you’ve been using your social security number when you join affiliate programs and conduct other business, you may want to rethink things.
As your business grows, there are a number of reasons why you might want to incorporate.
Reasons to incorporate your business include people taking you seriously. When you add “Inc.” to your company name, it makes your business appear bigger and more established than somebody working solo in their home office.
Also, there can be tax benefits when you incorporate a business, as well as some liability protection. Check in with your lawyer and accountant (they are also key for a growing business to be sure you are doing things correctly).
If you are aiming to convey that your business is a real workplace, you’ll want to get a business phone line. Do you want potential business partners hearing the cute outgoing message on your regular home phone?
There’s a really neat alternative to getting a business line from your local phone carrier. It’s a company called ConnectMeVoice.
ConnectMeVoice is a great service for affiliates, as it includes all sorts of features to help establish that you’ve got a real company. This service works with your existing phone line.
Packages start at $9.95 a month and enable you to get:
- 800 number
- Automated attendant (“Hello, Thank you for calling Your Company Name. If you are looking for Merchant Relationships, dial 1; Ellen Smith, dial 2; hear about our deal of the week, dial 3; and to receive a fax outlining our placement fees, dial 4.”)
- Up to 25 extensions
- Voicemail
- Fax to e-mail
- Vanity numbers
- Web interface – view messages and faxes online
Another step to consider to enhance your image as a real business is to have your domains registered and you business mail directed to a P.O. Box or a mailbox at the UPS Store.
Not only does this give a more professional impression, but it enables you to maintain privacy by not sharing your home address so openly.