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Starting Business Credit: Yes, Your Business Address Matters and Why

By: Dominique Brun

Did you know that your business address matters when it comes to starting business credit? I felt compelled to write this because I've been running into this questions a lot during my livestreams, webinars and when we sit down with clients.

Common question I get is.... "do I really need to change my home address to a physical address?" Or "my home address is one place and my business address is listed somewhere else. Can I get a P.O. Box?" My friends - your address matters! And there are other things that make a difference.

With that said, here's how you start off on the right foot when it comes to business credit! 👊

When you first start your business, you might not be thinking about anything other than how to pay for it and how to get customers. Many businesses start small from home. They're operating in either an extremely intimate area, have home offices or they work mostly online. Especially now with the rise of social media-based and e-commerce businesses that have exploded in recent years.

It's not a shock (knowing that), new business owners are simply often using their residential address as their business address. It's the easiest thing to do, and makes sense after all. I mean, if you're running your business out of your house, and you're not working with an advisor or a mentor, then why wouldn't you use your home address right?

But I need you to look into the future. At The Domino Effect, we believe that small actions can lead to significant change. By empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses to be prepared and well-equipped, THAT'S how we start breaking down the barriers that have historically denied diverse groups access loans and capital.

So looking into the future...you need to build business credit and for that, your business needs its own address, separate from your personal address.

Why Is Starting Business Credit Important

If you have great personal credit, business credit probably never even crossed your mind. You just figure you can get all the funding you need based on the quality of your personal credit score. If your personal score isn't the best, maybe you explored other options and just now realized that business credit is a thing.

Well let me share something with you you might not know. You can't just apply for credit in your business name and assume that any credit you get is business credit. Unless you set up your business in a very specific way and follow a very intentional process, those accounts are going to report to your personal credit. Even if you apply with your business name.

Why does this matter? Well there's a few reasons actually:

1. Your personal credit simply can't handle the spending necessary to build the business. You'll either exceed your limits continually or consistently teeter right near them. Even if you pay off your cards each month, staying near limits affects your score negatively, causing high debt-to-credit ratio, and that drops your personal score!

2. On the flip side, cards obtained on the merits of your business credit will usually have higher limits. And you know what that means....MORE SPENDING POWER!

   Not only that, but if there's an issue with your business, you've protected your personal credit because those accounts won't be reported on your personal credit report.

How to Get a Business Address💼

Alright - now you know why you need business credit so let's talk about how to get it.

Like i said, there's more to it than just applying for credit using your business name. Your business HAS to be set up a certain way - your Foundation. Be intentional about getting accounts that report to the business credit and not your personal.

What do I mean by Foundation? Well, for your business to be set up in a way that smoothly builds business credit, it needs to be easily recognizable as a fundable entity separate from the owner. That makes your business attractive to the lenders rather than them immediately dismissing you. And of the first step to do this is to have an address different from your home.

I mentioned earlier the questions most business owners ask. Essentially, how do you get a business address that isn't my home? I guess that would be the first obvious option if you don't have a physical brick and mortar but that might work for some things. Unfortunately, in this case, it does not and some lenders want to see a physical address. Not a P.O. Box.

"But Dominique ~ I run by business from my office or online. What do i do now?" The answer is a virtual office.

What's a Virtual Office and How Does it Work? 🏢

A virtual office allows businesses to have a physical address and "office-related services" without the overhead of leases or staff. Pretty cool huh? What once barred a lot of businesses now opened up some new possibilities.

Basically, virtual offices operate as a single unit. Sometimes there's a physical location that has meeting room, private offices, lobbies, you can book times to work inside the office as well and receive your mail. These are ideal for those that need a physical address but not an actual office.

🌟Bonus: 3 Options for Virtual Offices

All 3 of these offer physical addresses, mail and phone answering services starting at just $49 to $150+ (depending on the plan you choose). I have many clients who use both. Click the links to learn more.

💎Alliance Virtual Offices: Check out Alliance here

💎Regus: Find out More here

💎Davinci: Call for a quote or go here to learn more.

What Else Matters: 5 Other Things You Didn't Know Make a Difference When Starting Business Credit

Separating your business from yourself for the purpose of starting business credit takes more than having a separate business address. Here are some other steps you'll need to take to make your business appear fundable and attractive to lenders and investors on its own.

Yes - You Need a Business Phone Number☎️

This is pretty much the same reason that you need a business address that is different from your own. Your address and phone number are identifiers that point back to your personal credit report.

If you associate them with your business, you run the risk of business accounts reporting on your personal credit.

Make sure it's toll-free and listed in the business directors. You can handle this at: https://www.listyourself.net/ListYourself/

You Need a Professional Business Website

Think about it Dominoes. In today's world, if you aren't online, do you really even exist? The FIRST place anyone looks for anything is online. Having a business website is a must. And you can't just throw something together guys. Put some effort it because this is a reflection of you. It's essential your website be user friendly and well put together.

It's almost always worth it to pay a professional to handle this. OH! BONUS HERE: Don't use a free hosting service because that doesn't look professional. Pay for hosting through a service like GoDaddy or Profitlifter (who I absolutely LOVE).

You Need a Dedicated Business Email Address

This goes along with the other separate business contact information. Remember ~ we're following the correct steps. Utilizing the SYSTEM OF PREPARATION to LEVERAGE OPPORTUNITY.

Don't use your personal email address as your email. This means no gmail, no hotmail, no yahoo. Also make sure your business email has the same url as your website. Now you can have these emails and use them for other purposes but you still need to make sure you have a dedicated business email as well.

The EIN WINS in the Battle of EIN vs. SSN When Applying🏆

Ladies and Gentlemen, when a cute little baby is born into this world - they get a cute little blanket, a tiny fuzzy hat to warm their warm, they get wrapped up in mama's arms and receive a unique identifier called a social. Well just like that cute little baby, the birth of your business (though maybe not as adorable :-), coming into this world needs a unique identifier as well and that's in the form of your EIN.

I'll tell you right now - if you use your SSN to apply for credit for your business, your personal credit is now involved. By using a unique identifier specifically for your business, you're ensuring that separation between personal and business. You can get an EIN for free here.

You Have to Have a DUNS Number

Here's why. Dun & Bradstreet is the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency. If you don't have a DUNS number, you can't have a business credit profile with the business credit reporting agencies.

Once You Have Your Business Set Up Properly...🌟

you can start building business credit. If you don't already have strong business credit, you'll have to start at the bottom credit tier, know as the vendor tier. There are business credit cards for startups that will offer net terms on invoices without checking your credit. Then they'll report your payments to the credit reporting agencies.

However, they'll often want to see an EIN, business bank account, or a listing in the business directors along with certain amount of time in business or annual revenue. This is just ONE of the many reasons why setting up your business properly is so important.

After you get a few of these accounts reporting, you can apply for the next tier, which is retail. These are cards you can only use in the stores that issue them, like a Best Buy card or an Office Depot card.

Once you have several of these accounts reporting positive payment history, you can apply for cards in the fleet tier. Those are cards from companies that can be used for fuel and auto repair and maintenance.

Get enough cards fro the fleet tier, you can move on up the cash credit tier. These are the cards that don't have limits on where you can ues them or what types of expenses you can use them to pay. This is the top tier, and once you hit it you will see your business credit score start to grow like a snowball rolling downhill. That is, of course, if you handle your credit responsibly.

Not Having a Business Address can Kill Your Chances

Alright well there's so much more to getting business credit than just having a separate business address. That's why I threw in so many bonuses (and there's a ton more)!

However, if you have everything you need and you don't have a business address, then what are we doing here? Essentially just stalling the process. Not having that could definitely throw a chink in the chain and stop the process.

Remember you're building your foundation. Make sure you set up everything that separates the business from yourself. After that, you can start building business credit because we're going to be right there, helping you get the funding you need to run and grow your business.

Other resources to help you get started with Building Your Business Credit

Start building your business credit:

Here is a quick checklist to get you started below. Remember imperfect action beats inaction, get started and keep publishing.

• CLAIM YOUR Free Business Credit Building Guide: Download

• Start Planning Ahead & Take Advantage of Your Free Finance Assessment TODAY

• Join The Domino Effect Private Community for exclusive pitch events, networking and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. Learn more here

• Support and Subscribe to our YouTube for FREE resources, business credit and lending tips, lenders, and resources!

• Check out the website and apply at: DominoFX Group

• Speak with an advisor today! Call 888-488-4145

• 💯DominoFX Group is on a mission to create IMPACT by helping diverse businesses across the nation get funded. Our goal is to drive $1B into communities for small businesses, entrepreneurs and ownership. We can’t do it alone and need your supports in order to create an entrepreneur school in every state. 🌏