Hi everyone! I am currently working on developing my website and need some advice from you wonderful VAs.

I will be working out of my home so I do not want to put my actual address on the website. I do plan on putting my location by city & state. I would like to eventually get a "box" at a UPS store so I would have an actual street address with a suite number versus a P.O. box.

I'm also reluctant to put my home phone number on the website.

I am thinking of putting a statement on my website to contact me via e-mail and I would phone or e-mail you with additional contact information. What do you all think or what is your experience in this area?

One of my co-workers, at my full-time job, has his own business on the side and he added a second phone line to his house and the calls are forwarded to his cell phone. I know this is a great idea, but I do not want to put in a second phone line just yet.

I will be working full-time at my current job until June, 2010 and will be doing VA work part-time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Sheila
www.snappyadmin.com

A Skype phone line is an expensive way to go. You can get a line for around $60 a year with unlimited long distance. You can forward the Skype number to your home or cell. There are many inexpensive options available.

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Lisa Olinda of Olinda Services
Keeping you on the path to success!
www.olindaservices.com

Thank you! I didn't think about using Skype. I'm also going to check with my phone & internet provider for their prices.

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Sheila
www.snappyadmin.com

Hi Sheila,

I use Skype on my site (the cost was a total of $60.05 for the year). I am strongly thinking about going with RingCentral to have a phone and fax line, though.

Also, I don't share my address on my site, but once I am comfortable with a client and they need to send me information via snail mail, then I provide it to them. Contracts also have my address (and new client address) on them.

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites

Hi Sheila:

I am with you. When I first started my biz, I didn't want to use any of my personal contact info on my site related to home. I wanted everything to be completely virtual. So, I did what other seasoned VAs suggested: get that PO box as soon as you can. I went to my local post office and I got the smallest PO box possible and only pay a total of less than $40/year. What's nice is that if I get more mail than my small PO box can hold, I will receive a slip in my mail box telling me to collect my mail at the counter of the post office.

As far as a fax number, I went to several sites and landed a fax number which is completely free if you have a certain number of incoming/outgoing faxes per day. Since most of the work is virtual, I have a feeling you'll receive more email traffic than fax, but it's always nice to have. Let me dig for where I registered for my fax number and I'll PM the info to you.

The bottom line is that when I see a website without more than an email address, it just doesn't appear quite as polished...I hope that makes sense. I have a lot to learn myself, so, I'm sure others may disagree with my response.

Happy to help you in any way that I can, so look for a PM from me later tonight or tomorrow.

Best wishes!

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Kathya Kalinine
http://www.emeraldvirtual.com

Thanks for the great advice! I also think it would be much more professional if I included an address on my website. I might go ahead and get a small PO box right before I "go live" with my website. I still need to solve the phone issue though.

I'm getting very excited about this new beginning!

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Sheila
www.snappyadmin.com

I never thought about needing a PO box, that is really helpful. I definitely do not want to give out my home address, at least right away.

Holly

I actually have a virtual office which my company is registered on, therefore I use that on my contact information. I think it would be unsafe to put your home address on a website.

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Joey Wong - Virtual Assistant Service - Your Partner in Achieving Business Success
Facebook

Two options for a phone to consider is Magic Box which is $29 a year or Google Voice, which is free but by invitation only. You register with an email address and it is like a lottery and you get picked. Or if you know someone that is using it you can have them invite you. I know a networker that has Google Voice and he loves it, you can use any phone and have it show up as that number and the voicemails are converted to text messages and emails for you.

As for the PO Box, I have one through my city post office and it is $22 every 6 months. It is nice to have because you don't get all of the junk mail and this way you have an address showing.

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Erika Glem
www.advadminsol.com Let my administrative solutions be to your advantage.