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Business Address for LLC Tips - Using a Virtual Address for Business - YouTube
Channel: All Up In Yo' Business with Attorney Aiden Durham
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- The day has finally arrived.
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I'm ready to start my business
and finally form my LLC.
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Let's fill out some of
this formation paperwork.
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Okay, let's see, business address.
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Well, I'll be working from home.
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So, I guess I should use my
home address for that, right?
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Well, wait, is that
gonna be public record?
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It is.
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Okay. Well, I don't want that.
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So, maybe I'll just go
get a PO Box instead.
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Will that be acceptable?
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It's not.
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Hmm.
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Don't go anywhere
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'cause I'm about to give you a few tips
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on what addresses to use
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when you're setting up your business.
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(lighthearted guitar music)
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(keyboard clacking)
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(lighthearted guitar music)
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Hi, everyone.
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I'm Attorney Aiden Durham
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with 180 Law Co. in Colorado,
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and welcome back to
All Up In Yo' Business.
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Before we get into it,
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please be sure to like,
subscribe, and share,
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and check the description
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for links to additional
information and resources.
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I'd also like to thank
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our very special partners
for this episode:
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our friends over at
Alliance Virtual Offices.
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Alliance Virtual Offices
provides everything you need
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to start and grow your business flexibly.
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Whether you need a
professional, incredible,
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commercially-recognized
address for your business,
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a dedicated business phone number,
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live receptionists to
answer that phone number
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or access to private meeting spaces,
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coworking spaces, and private offices,
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Alliance has you covered.
[90]
And with over 1,200 locations worldwide,
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you can access your services
with Alliance virtual offices,
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wherever you are.
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I've got a special hookup
for you guys, of course.
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You can use this code
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to save 50% off the setup fee
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when you sign up for a
new virtual office address
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with Alliance.
[110]
You can check them out
[111]
and learn more about how
Alliance Virtual Offices
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can help you start your business
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by visiting this link or at
this phone number for more info.
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All of this info is gonna be
in the description as well.
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So, contact them here.
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And again, don't forget to
use my promo code GO180LAWCO
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to save 50% on the setup fee
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for a new virtual office address
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with Alliance Virtual Offices.
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All right, so when you're
forming an LLC or a corporation,
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or if you're registering to do business
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in a different state,
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you're gonna need at least two addresses
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to use on the forms
that you're gonna submit
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to the Secretary of State's office.
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The first is gonna be the
principal office address.
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This might be called the
primary office address
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or some other term.
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In a nutshell, you're
gonna need an address
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for your business.
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The second is going to be
the registered agent address.
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If you have an actual physical
office or a storefront,
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then this part's pretty easy.
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You can use that address as
the principal office address
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and the registered agent address
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if you're gonna be acting as
your own registered agent.
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But what if you're like many
of us who work from home?
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The business address and
the registered agent address
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are gonna be publicly available.
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This is public information.
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If somebody looks up your LLC's info
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on the Secretary of State,
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they're gonna see your business address
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and your registered agent address,
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which, if that's your home address,
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now they're seeing your home address.
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I don't know about you guys,
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but I wouldn't really want my home address
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to be available for anybody
and everybody to find.
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And in some areas,
Homeowners Association laws
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or rental agreements might prohibit you
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from using your home
address to run a business.
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Or what if you're mobile?
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What if you're traveling
around the country in an RV
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or live in that van life,
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or whatever it is the
kids are doing these days?
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So, what do you do if you either can't
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or just don't want to
use your home address
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when you're setting up your business?
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A lot of people jump
straight to getting a PO Box,
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but that's not always
the right thing to do.
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You can certainly use a PO
Box as the mailing address
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for the business or the registered agent.
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That's perfectly fine.
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But many states, Colorado included,
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require that the principal office address
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be an actual physical street address.
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A PO Box isn't gonna cut it.
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Sure, it's also an option to
get a private mailbox address
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with a UPS store or some
other mailing service.
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At least, here, we're
not getting a PO Box.
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It's an actual physical address.
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But if someone goes online
and looks up that address,
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they're gonna see, "Wait,
this is a UPS store."
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That could reflect negatively
on your business's image.
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And I don't necessarily buy into it,
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but a lot of people
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feel like it makes you
look less professional
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if you have a PO Box for your business.
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And every state requires
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that the registered agent
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have an actual physical
street address in that state.
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And there should be somebody
present at that address;
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for the most part, every day
during normal business hours
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and the registered agent needs to consent
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to being the registered agent.
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So, even if the private mailbox address
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is a physical street address,
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I don't know that the clerks at that store
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have necessarily consented to acting
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as the registered agent for your company.
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Real quick, for those of
you who don't already know.
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A registered agent is the person or entity
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who is designated to accept a process
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on behalf of an LLC or a corporation.
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So, if the LLC is sued,
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the person doing the suing
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is going to serve the LLC
with a court paperwork
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and the registered agent
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is the person designated to
accept that service of process
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on behalf of the company.
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So, if you use a PO Box as
the registered agent address,
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not only are you not complying
with the legal requirements,
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you're also putting yourself
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and your business at a lot of risk.
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Because if somebody serves your company
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with court paperwork at
an inappropriate address
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and you don't get notification of it,
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you're not aware of it,
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and you don't respond to that paperwork
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in the timeframe that you're supposed to,
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you could be at risk for
getting a default judgment
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entered against you.
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So, what other options are there
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if we don't wanna use home address,
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if we shouldn't use a PO
Box or a private mailbox,
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and if we want to have
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this kind of professional-looking address?
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In these cases, this is when I recommend
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using a virtual office address.
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This gives you an actual physical address,
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physical street address
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that you can use for
your business address.
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You can use it on your
formation paperwork,
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you can use it in your marketing
and advertising materials;
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an actual credible business address.
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It helps your business look
a little bit more legit
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and credible.
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It can help in establishing credit
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if you're trying to get funding
or a loan for your business.
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And, of course, most importantly,
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it keeps you in compliance
with legal requirements.
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And that's why I'm such a big fan
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of Alliance Virtual Offices.
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Alliance gives you a lot of options.
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They have over 1,200
locations around the world.
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So, there's a pretty good chance
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that there's one near
you wherever you are.
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So, of course, you can
get set up with them
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to have a business
address for your business,
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so you don't have to worry
about using your home address
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or a PO Box.
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They'll accept mail on your behalf,
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you can come pick it up,
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or have it forwarded to
you wherever you are.
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Alliance also offers virtual phone numbers
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and live receptionist service
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if you want professional,
friendly receptionist
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answering your business phone,
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so you don't have to do
it yourself all the time.
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They also offer private meeting
rooms and coworking spaces.
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So, if you need a nice,
professional-looking space
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to meet with a client,
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or if you actually go into an office
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and not just work from home all the time,
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but you don't want all
the expense and hassle
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that comes with actually renting
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a full-on office for yourself,
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Alliance is a great option either way.
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If you wanna check out Alliance
[503]
and support your favorite YouTube lawyer,
[505]
you can contact them here
[508]
and I'm gonna put that info
in the description as well.
[510]
And don't forget to use this promo code
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for a very special 50%
discount on the setup fee
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when you sign up for a
new virtual office address
[520]
with Alliance.
[521]
So, that takes care of
the business address.
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What about the registered agent address?
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Sometimes, a virtual office
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doesn't want you to use
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their address as the
business's registered agent.
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Some do, some are okay with
it, but not all of them.
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In that instance,
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I suggest using a
corporate-registered agent service.
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This is a company that
typically has locations
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in every state where
that's their sole job,
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their sole role and purpose
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is to act as registered
agents for companies.
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Even if you do have your own
office or physical location
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or if you don't necessarily
mind using your home address,
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I think it's always better to use
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a corporate-registered agent service.
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That way, in case you're
not home that day,
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or you're not in the office that day,
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or if you have a client in the office,
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or you have friends over at your house,
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you don't run the risk of
getting served court paperwork
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in front of those people,
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or, again, you don't
risk missing the delivery
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of that service of process.
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I'm gonna link to a few
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of my favorite registered agent services
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down in the description.
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When it comes down to it,
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the key takeaway here
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is if you don't wanna
use your home address
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for your business address,
don't use a PO Box.
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Not only are you not complying
with legal requirements,
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you're also putting yourself
and your business at risk.
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Instead, use a service like Alliance
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for a virtual office address.
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That's all for this episode, folks.
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Drop a comment below, let
me know what you think.
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And again, don't forget
to check the description
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for links to additional
information and resources
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and to find out how you can
save 50% off the setup fee
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when you sign up for a
new virtual office address
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with Alliance Virtual Offices.
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Thank you all so much for watching.
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I'm Aiden Durham, and
I'll see you next time.
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(uplifting music)
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