Solving the Physical Address Dilemma for the Home Business

Operating your business out of your home, as great as it may be, does have several challenges to overcome. One of these challenges has to do with your physical location. What should you do about the physical location of your business? Should you —

• have a non-existent physical location,
• list your home address,
• or find a different solution?

In this blog, we will consider virtual solutions to address the problem of a physical location. In my next blog I will weigh in on solutions for the storage of inventory.
We will break the information into two sections:

• Virtual mail
• Virtual Office

Before starting, you should consider two questions:

• What is wrong with not having a physical address?  This may not be a problem if your business operates online and all your products are digital. But if you have non-digital products, it may be necessary to list a physical address. This will help to provide legitimacy for your business.
• Why should I not use my home address as the physical business address? There are several downsides to using your home address as your physical address:
  • Security and privacy of your home
  • Lease or homeowners association rules
  • Zoning regulations
  • Liability concerns

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Virtual Mail

Before getting to the virtual solutions, there are some simple, longstanding physical alternatives you may want to consider. These are standard mailbox services:

• USPS –  Renting PO Boxes from the US Postal service has been around for decades. Though a PO Box is not new or virtual, it is still an alternative.
• UPS  – Securing a mailbox from UPS is also an alternative that has been with us for years.
• FedEx – Yet another mailbox rental option.
• Local Options – Search your local area, and you are sure to find several more options.

If you want an excuse for a break from your home office, these options may serve you well. But, convenience will not be their strong suit. They do require you to retrieve your mail.

The following table gives you a quick reference to the benefits offered by five virtual mail services. You will note that they all provide a physical address with the mail service. To enlarge the table use CTRL & + keys together. To return to the default size, use CTRL + 0 keys. You can also use this link to download a PDF of both tables below – (Download PDF of following tables)

Using the table reference, you should be able to quickly select the features you want. From there you can go to their websites to look more closely at their information. Each service will have differing details about charges you will incur should you go over the allotted amounts. Links for each product is below the table.

• Anytime Mailbox
• Traveling Mailbox
• PostScan Mail
• iPostal1
• Digital Mailroom

Virtual Office

The virtual office is an expansion of the mail service. It amounts to a suite of virtual services, including mail, phone, and fax. Unlike virtual mailboxes, the virtual office packages cannot be listed in a table showing how they compare. Since each virtual office package is unique, I have listed each one individually.

• Start Hub Centers
• iPostal1
• Alliance Virtual Offices

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Digital Chowder: A Home Business Guide to Digital Resources

What sets Digital Chowder apart?

This blog is intended to get you up to speed on Digital Chowder. What exactly is Digital Chowder? We are “The home business guide to digital resources” as our slogan states. But, what exactly does the name “Digital Chowder” imply? It’s based on the notion of a “Digital Soup,” which was inspired by Jon Gordon

Soup, Inc is a soup company that has been around for decades. Nancy, the firm’s new CEO, learns the secrets to resurrecting her company. It becomes her recipe for success. The term “digital Chowder” refers to the home business and, in particular, to digital features. What are the components of a successful house-based business’s online presence? To put it another way, what makes up the digital soup? Instead of soup, though, we use chowder to describe something richer and thicker in nature. As a result, our objective is to provide rich digital resources that may serve as “digital chowder” for your home business.

Digital Chowder is a community dedicated to helping home-based businesses develop and succeed. We want to make your job more efficient and effective. I combine decades of study with my own experience managing a home-based business office. To learn more about the growing variety of digital resources available, please visit digitalchowder.com frequently. We provide a bi-weekly email delivered to your inbox with our latest findings. You may sign up for this blog by using the contact form in the right column of this page. My blogs will offer helpful hints while searching for new resources since they will be based on an objective and honest point of view. My aim is not to be a resource reviewer

I’d want my blogs to go beyond my personal discoveries and concentrate on issues that you, as a reader, may be dealing with. I’d want to hear about readers’ discoveries and the challenges they’re attempting to tackle. As a reader, what would you want me to research about digital resources for the home-based business and include in a blog? I invite you to use the form in the right column of this page to send an idea or a research request.

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Digital Challenges of a Home Business

Home-based businesses fall into two main categories: 

• Those with one employee: This category addresses businesses with one employee who must wear many hats. This individual is the entrepreneur, marketer, secretary, and so on. The list of hats may be endless, and it seems never-ending. Solo business owners are constantly looking for methods to automate or subcontract portions of their job in order to free up time for other responsibilities. They must identify those tasks that only they can do and for which they are gifted. Then, learn methods to address additional tasks under a restricted budget. How do I know if the money is limited? Because the owner is flying solo. There would be other workers if the budget permitted. How can I assist those in this area who are having difficulties finding solutions to automate or outsource their work? It’s an important aspect of my study

• Those with one or more employees: Employees of a home-based business with several people will operate out of home offices. On the one hand, these companies may have some of the same concerns as single-employee businesses. However, they will also have problems associated with enterprises that work in a single physical location. Such difficulties as integrating their digital assets are an example. How can I help those in this category? I’ll be addressing some of these issues in my study. And for this need, I’d like to collaborate with you in finding answers to your digital difficulties. I will not only report what I learn but will also share it on my blog so that others may benefit from it.

Qualifying Digital Topics

Topics I plan to address include but are not limited to the following list. Keep in mind, though, that these topics only qualify as they apply to the home-based business:

• Software/Apps
• Hardware such as computers, printers, networks, etc.
• Electronic devices
• Online solutions. I consider almost any online solution to be digital.

This list covers four main categories of digital topics I will address. Still, it isn’t easy to list all the possibilities, especially with the continual development of new solutions.
With my emphasis on the home-based business, topics may come to mind that is not digital, and I would not include them in my blogs. Examples include:

• Personal development or Lifehacks.
• Best business practices
• How to’s
• A particular business model or type of business
• Etc.

Personal Invitation

If you have checked my website, which is the home of my blogs, you will see that I am just getting started. So far, I have addressed only a few topics. I understand that this might discourage you from staying around or returning. But, my encouragement is to return as I might be addressing your need soon. My invitation, on the other hand, is to offer you my services as a free ‘personal assistant.’ To submit an issue for which you want me to assist you or discover a solution, use this form in the right column of this page. My decades of expertise as a home worker have involved technical issues. These experiences include: 

• Web design and development, 
• Working in PHP and MySQL, 
• Working in Python, 
• Networking solutions, 
• Computer troubleshooting, etc. 

So, I may already know an answer but have not yet mentioned it in a blog. 

If I don’t already have a solution for you, I’ll look into it for you. Yes, you can conduct research just like I do, but I may save you some time. Furthermore, because of my technical knowledge, I may be able to break through the jargon and understand the advantages and disadvantages of one option versus another.

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Finding the Right Computer for Your Home Business

In this blog, I will be discussing considerations to help impact your computer choice. I’m not referring to a brand choice, but the type of computer. And in particular, which kind of computer will best suit the needs of the home-based business. Is it a desktop, laptop, or all-in-one computer? In case you are not familiar with the all-in-one computer, it is one in which the monitor and computer are one unit. 

I should emphasize that this is not an assessment of which is the better computer in general. Such efforts will likely end in a draw. This old debate between desktop and laptop has become pointless. Laptops have improved to the point of being equal to the power of the average desktop computer. So our question is about which computer best meets the needs of your home-based office?

Step One – Computing Location:

Stationary or Mobile – Let’s begin with the question,  “Where will you be using your computer  most of the time?” Will your answer to this question need a stationary or portable computer? Or might it include both?If your answer is ‘stationary,’ all three options are still in the running.  Skip Step Two and proceed to Step Three to consider your computing requirements.

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Step Two – Computing Location Part 2:

If your answer in Step One was ‘mobile,’ your next question is, “How much of your work is mobile and how much is in the office?”  

• If one-half or more of your work is in the office, move on to Step Three. 
• If less than one-half of your work is in the office, selecting a laptop may be your best choice. In that case, and you can stop here and begin shopping for your laptop computer unless you want to continue.

NOTE:  If more than one-half of your work is away from your office,  I’m assuming that your computing requirements are lite. So they will not go beyond the capabilities of a laptop. If I am wrong in this assumption about your work, you will need to continue with Step three.

Step Three – Computing Requirements:

Now our questions change direction. No longer are we talking about the location of your work, but of usage. For what functions do you use your computer most often?

Standard processes:

• Word processing & spreadsheets?
• Are we accounting with QuickBooks or similar software?
• Web design?

More demanding processes:

• Graphic design?
• Video editing?
• Photography?

Is more than one-half of your work outside your office? Does your computer usage fall within the standard processes? A laptop computer should be a good fit for you. Regardless of your computer choice, you still want to avoid a low-end computer. You do not want to be spending a lot of your time watching wheels spin as you wait on your computer. Here are some recommended minimum specifications:

• At least 8 GB of RAM 
• An Intel Core i5 or equal processor
• An 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz wireless network adapter. 

Do your regular tasks fall within the more demanding processes? Your computer may need some extra specifications not found in the list above. If you are an experienced graphic designer, for instance, you may already know what you need. But a beginning graphic designer needs to get input from those experienced in design. I will not try to address the specifications of these specialties. I wish to point out that specific computing tasks may need more specifications. So I recommend that you explore those specifications based on your computing requirements. If you need beefed up specifications in your computer, your choice may need to be a desktop. A desktop will allow greater flexibility and capacity. 

Step Four – Desktop vs Laptop vs All-In-One vs Docking Station:

By this point, we may have left mobile users behind. A laptop is the best, and may be, the only choice. There is no need to consider anything else.
If the bulk of your work is in the office, all three computers can compete for your choice:

• In-office & standard usage – If most of your work is in the office you need not default to a desktop computer. Particularly if your computer usage falls within normal processes. A laptop or even an all-in-one may be the best choice for you.
  • You may prefer the simplicity of the laptop. Set it on the desk, plug it in (or not), and you are ready! The same goes for the all-in-one. The only difference is that the keyboard is not built-in.
  • Or, your desk may be too small to squeeze a monitor and keyboard on it along with everything else. And where will you set the case? This same argument may apply to the all-in-one, or it may not. It will save space over a desktop computer but not over a laptop.
  • Even if your work is not mobile, you may want to take your work to the patio or elsewhere on occasion. This argument doesn’t work well for the all-in-one. It is not hard to move but will not fit on your lap. It will also need a power source which is not true of a laptop.
  • Screen size is a significant advantage for the all-in-one over the laptop. All-in-one computers come with up to 27-inch screens. Of course, this is no advantage over the desktop.
• Docking Station – A docking station can serve as an alternative to the all-in-one computer. It is a good solution for the person who prefers a laptop but also wants a larger screen. When in the office, connect your laptop to the docking station. The docking station will, in turn, connect the laptop to one or more screens of whatever size you want.
• In-office & more demanding usage – Does your work stay in the office and is your computer usage of a more challenging nature? If your work needs fit this description, I am not attempting to address your needs in this blog. The possibilities are too many and diverse. 

The Best of Two Worlds:

There is one last consideration in your choice of computer. This consideration has been on your mind throughout this blog if you are like me. Why not have the best of both worlds and choose a desktop AND a laptop? That is my choice. More than one-half of my work is at my desk, and I like a little more power and larger, dual screens. So I invest a little more in my desktop and not as much in a laptop. If less than one-half of my work was at the desk, I would invest more in the laptop than the desktop. Using two computers can also be a solution for the person who needs to be mobile while needing a more powerful computer for graphics work.

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