- The day has finally arrived.
I'm ready to start my business and finally form my LLC.
Let's fill out some of this formation paperwork.
Okay, let's see, business address.
Well, I'll be working from home.
So, I guess I should use my home address for that, right?
Well, wait, is that gonna be public record?
It is.
Okay. Well, I don't want that.
So, maybe I'll just go get a PO Box instead.
Will that be acceptable?
It's not.
Hmm.
Don't go anywhere
'cause I'm about to give you a few tips
on what addresses to use
when you're setting up your business.
(lighthearted guitar music)
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Hi, everyone.
I'm Attorney Aiden Durham
with 180 Law Co. in Colorado,
and welcome back to All Up In Yo' Business.
Before we get into it,
please be sure to like, subscribe, and share,
and check the description
for links to additional information and resources.
I'd also like to thank
our very special partners for this episode:
our friends over at Alliance Virtual Offices.
Alliance Virtual Offices provides everything you need
to start and grow your business flexibly.
Whether you need a professional, incredible,
commercially-recognized address for your business,
a dedicated business phone number,
live receptionists to answer that phone number
or access to private meeting spaces,
coworking spaces, and private offices,
Alliance has you covered.
And with over 1,200 locations worldwide,
you can access your services with Alliance virtual offices,
wherever you are.
I've got a special hookup for you guys, of course.
You can use this code
to save 50% off the setup fee
when you sign up for a new virtual office address
with Alliance.
You can check them out
and learn more about how Alliance Virtual Offices
can help you start your business
by visiting this link or at this phone number for more info.
All of this info is gonna be in the description as well.
So, contact them here.
And again, don't forget to use my promo code GO180LAWCO
to save 50% on the setup fee
for a new virtual office address
with Alliance Virtual Offices.
All right, so when you're forming an LLC or a corporation,
or if you're registering to do business
in a different state,
you're gonna need at least two addresses
to use on the forms that you're gonna submit
to the Secretary of State's office.
The first is gonna be the principal office address.
This might be called the primary office address
or some other term.
In a nutshell, you're gonna need an address
for your business.
The second is going to be the registered agent address.
If you have an actual physical office or a storefront,
then this part's pretty easy.
You can use that address as the principal office address
and the registered agent address
if you're gonna be acting as your own registered agent.
But what if you're like many of us who work from home?
The business address and the registered agent address
are gonna be publicly available.
This is public information.
If somebody looks up your LLC's info
on the Secretary of State,
they're gonna see your business address
and your registered agent address,
which, if that's your home address,
now they're seeing your home address.
I don't know about you guys,
but I wouldn't really want my home address
to be available for anybody and everybody to find.
And in some areas, Homeowners Association laws
or rental agreements might prohibit you
from using your home address to run a business.
Or what if you're mobile?
What if you're traveling around the country in an RV
or live in that van life,
or whatever it is the kids are doing these days?
So, what do you do if you either can't
or just don't want to use your home address
when you're setting up your business?
A lot of people jump straight to getting a PO Box,
but that's not always the right thing to do.
You can certainly use a PO Box as the mailing address
for the business or the registered agent.
That's perfectly fine.
But many states, Colorado included,
require that the principal office address
be an actual physical street address.
A PO Box isn't gonna cut it.
Sure, it's also an option to get a private mailbox address
with a UPS store or some other mailing service.
At least, here, we're not getting a PO Box.
It's an actual physical address.
But if someone goes online and looks up that address,
they're gonna see, "Wait, this is a UPS store."
That could reflect negatively on your business's image.
And I don't necessarily buy into it,
but a lot of people
feel like it makes you look less professional
if you have a PO Box for your business.
And every state requires
that the registered agent
have an actual physical street address in that state.
And there should be somebody present at that address;
for the most part, every day during normal business hours
and the registered agent needs to consent
to being the registered agent.
So, even if the private mailbox address
is a physical street address,
I don't know that the clerks at that store
have necessarily consented to acting
as the registered agent for your company.
Real quick, for those of you who don't already know.
A registered agent is the person or entity
who is designated to accept a process
on behalf of an LLC or a corporation.
So, if the LLC is sued,
the person doing the suing
is going to serve the LLC with a court paperwork
and the registered agent
is the person designated to accept that service of process
on behalf of the company.
So, if you use a PO Box as the registered agent address,
not only are you not complying with the legal requirements,
you're also putting yourself
and your business at a lot of risk.
Because if somebody serves your company
with court paperwork at an inappropriate address
and you don't get notification of it,
you're not aware of it,
and you don't respond to that paperwork
in the timeframe that you're supposed to,
you could be at risk for getting a default judgment
entered against you.
So, what other options are there
if we don't wanna use home address,
if we shouldn't use a PO Box or a private mailbox,
and if we want to have
this kind of professional-looking address?
In these cases, this is when I recommend
using a virtual office address.
This gives you an actual physical address,
physical street address
that you can use for your business address.
You can use it on your formation paperwork,
you can use it in your marketing and advertising materials;
an actual credible business address.
It helps your business look a little bit more legit
and credible.
It can help in establishing credit
if you're trying to get funding or a loan for your business.
And, of course, most importantly,
it keeps you in compliance with legal requirements.
And that's why I'm such a big fan
of Alliance Virtual Offices.
Alliance gives you a lot of options.
They have over 1,200 locations around the world.
So, there's a pretty good chance
that there's one near you wherever you are.
So, of course, you can get set up with them
to have a business address for your business,
so you don't have to worry about using your home address
or a PO Box.
They'll accept mail on your behalf,
you can come pick it up,
or have it forwarded to you wherever you are.
Alliance also offers virtual phone numbers
and live receptionist service
if you want professional, friendly receptionist
answering your business phone,
so you don't have to do it yourself all the time.
They also offer private meeting rooms and coworking spaces.
So, if you need a nice, professional-looking space
to meet with a client,
or if you actually go into an office
and not just work from home all the time,
but you don't want all the expense and hassle
that comes with actually renting
a full-on office for yourself,
Alliance is a great option either way.
If you wanna check out Alliance
and support your favorite YouTube lawyer,
you can contact them here
and I'm gonna put that info in the description as well.
And don't forget to use this promo code
for a very special 50% discount on the setup fee
when you sign up for a new virtual office address
with Alliance.
So, that takes care of the business address.
What about the registered agent address?
Sometimes, a virtual office
doesn't want you to use
their address as the business's registered agent.
Some do, some are okay with it, but not all of them.
In that instance,
I suggest using a corporate-registered agent service.
This is a company that typically has locations
in every state where that's their sole job,
their sole role and purpose
is to act as registered agents for companies.
Even if you do have your own office or physical location
or if you don't necessarily mind using your home address,
I think it's always better to use
a corporate-registered agent service.
That way, in case you're not home that day,
or you're not in the office that day,
or if you have a client in the office,
or you have friends over at your house,
you don't run the risk of getting served court paperwork
in front of those people,
or, again, you don't risk missing the delivery
of that service of process.
I'm gonna link to a few
of my favorite registered agent services
down in the description.
When it comes down to it,
the key takeaway here
is if you don't wanna use your home address
for your business address, don't use a PO Box.
Not only are you not complying with legal requirements,
you're also putting yourself and your business at risk.
Instead, use a service like Alliance
for a virtual office address.
That's all for this episode, folks.
Drop a comment below, let me know what you think.
And again, don't forget to check the description
for links to additional information and resources
and to find out how you can save 50% off the setup fee
when you sign up for a new virtual office address
with Alliance Virtual Offices.
Thank you all so much for watching.
I'm Aiden Durham, and I'll see you next time.
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