The problem with starting a new business is that it's a lot easier if the business is well established. Of course, that's something of a contradiction... or is it?
Any business wishing to compete for a slice of the market has to be fully up to the task of competing with its rivals, and increasingly these days customers are a savvy lot.
If a business is new, then it is to be treated with a degree of suspicion. This is a world where online reviews, scores, followers, likes and an established reputation are the calling cards of trust and credibility.
The problem is that for most start-up businesses none of that is available, which means that they're setting off for the hundred metre sprint in a sack, carrying a boiled egg on a spoon. The odds are somewhat against them.
But there are ways in which the odds can be pulled back, and new businesses given a distinct head start. If you're in a hundred metre sprint and you're carrying a hardboiled egg on a spoon while standing in a sack it's a good deal easier to win if you're starting off four metres from the finish line.
So how can new business gain this head start in terms of established credibility?
Well, first of all some words of caution. Perhaps you have already looked online for ways in which new businesses can gain increased credibility, and come across scores of websites offering services which sound quite appealing.
You probably know the sort of thing I mean - get 10,000 Facebook 'Likes' in three days, gain 5,000 Twitter followers in a week, 100,000 YouTube hits in a month... the list goes on.
The problem though is that numbers don't really cut it when it comes to credibility. Too many people today know how easy it is to pay someone to unleash an army of bots to bump up the numbers. There's also the risk of course that the search engines or host sites pick up on the skewed traffic and penalise or even blacklist your business. Not good.
Ultimately of course what those numbers mean is - nothing at all. They don't provide your business with any real advantage, because they're not targeted, they're not loyal. They're not even interested. They certainly won't spread the word, or share your content. You definitely won't get any orders from them.
No, what I mean by getting instant credibility is more down to the business premises. Too many new start-up business end up publicising themselves as being based in Flat 2, Dingle Avenue, or The Back Bedroom, 24 Seaview Crescent. A residential address isn't good.
To get over this problem what some businesses do is to rent a virtual business address. This is a much better plan, because a virtual office address allows the business owner to separate home and work, and means that if they move home they won't have all of the problems associated with updating the address details. There are also various tax related reasons why having a business associated with a business address rather than a residential address is preferable.
But this alone isn't a solution, because having a business address that's along the lines of Unit 6, Browning's Industrial Estate isn't terribly inspiring. And don't even think about signing up for a PO Box, because if you ever try to register your business, a PO Box won't be accepted. It also gives the impression to potential customers that you're hiding something.
Credibility today is gained by having a prestigious business address which relates directly to a real bricks and mortar property in a well known, established business district of the town or city.
To associate your business name with a business property which is already established, and well known by those living and working in the area means that your new business immediately inherits an established level of credibility.
Bu renting a virtual office address which is associated with an established, credible and prestigious business property in town you can also sometimes find that you are able to rent meeting rooms when needed (something you can't do if your virtual office is simply a database entry on a computer, or a locker in a warehouse), massively boosting the credibility and public image of your business.
Which is a great way of gluing the egg to the spoon, jumping out of the sack and legging it to the finish line.