Little Rock, AR

<p>It’s one thing to pack your bag for the average weekend getaway or a quick vacation across the country— but for many traveling full time is their everyday life, and deciding what to put in your bag can be a difficult decision.</p><p>While traveling full time, you’ll be in and out of different cities, states, countries, or even climates. Clothes suitable for Calgary aren’t suitable for Mexico City. So what do you do?<br/><br/>Earth Class Mail has you covered with tips and tricks on how and what to pack for this full-time traveling lifestyle.<br/><br/><b>First Step: Understanding Economic Complexities<br/><br/></b>First of all, traveling full time isn’t all piña coladas and toes in the sand — it’s a lot of hard work. Before you decide to take the leap into the digital nomad lifestyle there are a few things you’ll need to understand. <br/><br/>First you’ll need to figure out how much money is needed to travel full time. Most people don’t have enough money saved to travel full time indefinitely. If that’s you, you’ll need a way to finance this new lifestyle. One suggestion is to work while you travel. figuring out what skills or career path you have that can allow you to work remotely will be key to solving your economic issues. <br/><br/>We have another blog post about managing a business while being a full time traveler <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/this-founder-digital-nomad-reads-her-postal-mail-anywhere"><u>here</u></a>.<br/><br/><b>Second Step: Choosing the Right Luggage<br/><br/></b>A solid piece of luggage is key when traveling full time. It’s something to put the majority of your belongings in, so finding something that is conducive to your travel style is essential. That’s either a heavy-duty, large rolling suitcase, or for most a large backpack. The most efficient backpack type for traveling full time is a luggage-entry style. A luggage-entry style of backpack fits the most and unzips all the way around to reveal everything in your pack. This allows for a more easy way to find your things when traveling through airports, hotels, and other various transportation hubs.<br/><br/>Where to find one of these backpacks? We did our research and found the top-rated, luggage-entry style backpack. It’s the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Farpoint-Travel-Backpack-Volcanic/dp/B014EBLI7Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1478113012&sr=1-1&keywords=osprey+farpoint+55&linkCode=sl1&tag=goonthro-20&linkId=6570f4dfe4639a5bff2bc14c06214580"><u>Osprey Farpoint 55L back</u></a> rated 5/5 stars on Amazon with over 1,000 reviews. <br/><br/><b>Third Step: How to Pack for Different Cities and Climates<br/><br/></b>Traveling full time has its positives, but living out of a suitcase is difficult. It’s hard to lug around items of all kinds around the world for every type of climate, here’s a few tips on how to “hack” the system. Choose<b> multi-purpose</b> items. Go with basic solid colors, and always think about layers. When traveling from Alaska to Southern California, you’re going to need to change your style of dress to adapt to the different climate.<br/><br/>For women, a long skirt is a great example that does well both in warm and cooler climates, but for the girls the real winner is leggings. They have so many uses, wear them under pants for warmth, or wear them by themselves for everyday wear or exercising! A comfy solution to a lot of climate-related clothing problems.</p><p>For men, try buying shorts that double as swimming shorts. Look for pants that can either be zipped halfway off or can be rolled up to create a stylish ¾ length pant. <br/><br/>Anything lightweight and able to dry quickly is vital for traveling full time, never pack for a specific scenario. This wastes space, and only works for one specific destination. Keep in mind you can always purchase items out and about as you see fit. You can donate or sell items you are finished using wherever you end up!<br/><br/><b>Final Step: Get Your Pack on!<br/><br/></b>These packing tips and tricks are just some of the many ways you can go about traveling full time, but you’re almost there! Hopefully we’ve helped steer you in the right direction.<br/><br/>Always remember, every full-time traveler does something a little different. We recommend doing your own research and finding solutions to any problem that may arise BEFORE you hop on that plane, bus, or boat to wherever you desire.<br/><br/>Whether you’re traveling around different cities in the same country, or traveling the globe — Earth Class Mail has you covered with all your basic tips and tricks to thrive in your new on-the-go lifestyle. Go out and seize your day! And from us, safe travels!</p>

It’s one thing to pack your bag for the average weekend getaway or a quick vacation across the country— but for many traveling full time is their everyday life, and deciding what to put in your bag can be a difficult decision.

It’s one thing to pack your bag for the average weekend getaway or a quick vacation across the country — but for many traveling full time is their everyday life, and deciding what to put in your bag can be a difficult decision.

 Checklist for Traveling Full Time | Earth Class Mail Blog

 Checklist for Traveling Full-Time

<p>For many reasons, traditional mailboxes aren’t right for everyone. Fortunately, many alternatives could fit your lifestyle or your business’ needs. One of the most common alternatives to a regular mailbox is a Post Office Box (PO Box). </p><p>PO Boxes are quite popular because they help address some of the limitations of a physical mailbox, like security and privacy. In this post, we’ll explain how PO Boxes work, why people decide to rent them, and shed some light on how to get a PO Box without a physical address. </p><h2><b>What is a PO Box?</b></h2><p>USPS PO Boxes are lockboxes housed at local post offices. PO Boxes are probably the most common alternative to traditional mailboxes, and individuals or businesses can use them. PO Boxes typically come in a range of sizes and are available at post offices. Access to PO Boxes in some post office locations is available 24/7 for convenience. </p><h2><b>Why do people sign up for PO Boxes?</b></h2><p>PO Boxes are generally considered to be a more secure option than traditional mailboxes. A common reason people sign up for mailboxes is to maintain their privacy because PO Boxes are tied to mailing addresses, as opposed to physical or residential addresses. PO Boxes offer people a way to receive postal mail without having to tell senders where they live. Additionally, unlike most mailboxes, PO Boxes are locked or require a code to access. This adds another layer of security than most mailboxes.</p><p>People sign up for PO Boxes because they may not regularly have access to their physical mailbox. For example, people who travel for work or for extended periods of time are not necessarily able to keep up with their physical mailbox without the help of a friend or neighbor. This can pose other security risks, of course. </p><h2><b>The Limitations of a PO Box</b></h2><p>While a PO Box certainly has many benefits, there are some things you’ll want to consider before renting one. Most notably, if you are a frequent traveler or lead a nomadic life, keep in mind that you will still not be able to keep a close eye on what you receive. </p><p>Of course, you can pair a personal PO Box with Informed Delivery and stay abreast of what you receive. Informed Delivery is a free service offered by the USPS that sends users pictures of the outside of incoming postal mail pieces. Informed Delivery keeps you posted about what pieces of postal mail you’re receiving. However, even if you know you are receiving something important or time-sensitive, you won’t be able to see your postal mail contents with Informed Delivery, much less act on it. </p><p>If you frequently receive packages, a <b>PO Box address</b> is probably not the best option for you. Major carriers like UPS and FedEx will not deliver packages to PO Boxes provided by USPS. Even if senders are not using these carriers, you may still run into issues because of the PO Box size. In that case, the post office will typically hold onto the package for you at the desk, but this can still be a nuisance if you plan to regularly receive packages.</p><h2>How to get a PO Box<b> Without a Street Address?</b></h2><p>One of the biggest limitations of a USPS PO Box is that you must provide a permanent, physical address to be eligible for one. This poses an issue for nomadic people who don’t maintain a traditional, permanent residence. </p><h2>Do you need a street address for a PO Box?</h2><p>That being said, there are still options. If you don’t mind not being able to open or act on your postal mail remotely, you can research private PO Box services offered by companies instead of the USPS. Depending on your service provider, you may not need to have a permanent address to sign up. Of course, you’ll also want to look into any restrictions about packages for your service provider. </p><h2>PO Box Alternatives</h2><p>However, there is one alternative to a traditional PO Box that doesn’t have the same restrictions and gives you more power to act on your postal mail. A <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-mailbox">virtual mailbox</a> or <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-po-box">virtual PO Box</a>, like the ones we offer at Earth Class Mail, offer you much of the same security that a PO Box does. With a virtual mailbox, you will receive a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/virtual-address-privacy-and-security"><u>virtual address</u></a>. This address is a real, physical address offered by the service provider and is not tied to where you live or work. </p><p>Earth Class Mail accepts postal mail on behalf of its customers, scans the content, and uploads copies as PDFs available within their account, just like email. Earth Class Mail does not have carrier restrictions for packages, and we can receive and <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mail-forwarding"><u>forward packages</u></a> or physical copies of your postal mail as needed. A virtual mailbox or PO Box will give you all the security benefits of a traditional PO Box while also offering added capabilities and convenience. </p><h3>Is a PO Box right for me? </h3><p>PO Boxes are a very common alternative to traditional mailboxes and for good reason. They offer enhanced security for your postal mail and depending on your location and needs, can be very convenient in terms of proximity. </p><p>Overall, a traditional PO Box can certainly help address any security concerns you have about your current mailbox. However, they are not the best choice for everyone. If you plan to receive packages frequently or don’t want to wait until you are able to visit your mailbox to act on your postal mail, you definitely should know how to get a PO Box and you should consider a virtual mailbox provider like Earth Class Mail. </p><p>A virtual mailbox will offer the same security benefits as a PO Box, but without some of the limitations. <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/"><u>Sign up today</u></a>.</p><p>See also: <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-many-stamps-do-i-need-and-where-to-buy">How many stamps do I need?</a></p>

For many reasons, traditional mailboxes aren’t right for everyone. Fortunately, many alternatives could fit your lifestyle or your business’ needs. One of the most common alternatives to a regular mailbox is a Post Office Box (PO Box). 

A traditional PO Box can certainly help address any security concerns you have about your current mailbox. However, you'll have to make some adjustments if you want a PO Box and you don't have a street address. Visit our blog to learn more.

PO Box Without a Street Address I Earth Class Mail Blog

How to Get a PO Box Without a Street Address

<p>Remote work has become the norm for many of us since the pandemic hit in March. 42% of the U.S. labor force is now working from home full-time, according to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Compare this to 3.4% before the pandemic. </p><p>At Earth Class Mail, we have been writing on remote work and what it means for businesses and individuals alike. Our virtual mailbox product helped <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-a-virtual-mailbox-helped-basecamp-become-fully-remote"><u>Basecamp become entirely remote</u></a>, and we also offer our perspective on what&#39;s ahead in our blog <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/remote-work-after-covid"><u>The Future of Remote Work after COVID-19 Pandemic</u></a>.</p><p>In a part of our series on remote work, including <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/managing-a-team-remotely-at-earth-class-mail"><u>Managing a Team Remotely at Earth Class Mail</u></a>, our VP of Marketing <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/murraygwen/"><u>Gwen Murray</u></a> set out to find how other leaders handle the process. She specifically wanted to hear from other female leaders to learn what they are doing to collaborate, maintain morale, and successfully hit productivity goals. She created a series of online interview questions and received detailed and well-thought-out replies. These companies&#39; teams have self-identified as successfully navigating remote work. Read on to hear why.</p><h3><b>Searchspring&#39;s Marketing Team</b></h3><p><a href="https://searchspring.com/"><u>Searchspring</u></a>&#39;s Marketing Team Leader is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannmmartin/"><u>JoAnn Martin</u></a>. Searchspring is a sister company of Earth Class Mail that provides online brands with user-friendly search, merchandising, and analytics tools. JoAnn is an accomplished executive who is skillfully navigating remote work with her growing team. How does she do it, and what makes her confident that her management style is working?</p><p>In her own words, JoAnn describes Searchspring&#39;s marketing team as &quot;always focused foremost on our revenue goal. We contribute to that goal by hitting our new pipeline KPI -- each person has specific targets depending on their function that they&#39;re working on hitting. We haven&#39;t changed our team goals because our business goals have not changed.&quot; She notes that success is a team effort and claims &quot;it would be silly to take credit for their ambition and dedication.&quot;</p><h4>So how does that ambition and dedication manifest itself at Searchspring? </h4><p>What JoAnn has been able to maintain is the &quot;quality&quot; of her team. &quot;Despite a challenging year, every team member has been engaged, productive, and creative.&quot;</p><h4>How do you connect with your team without the benefits of hallway conversations, walks to the local coffee shops, or scheduled Happy Hours?</h4><p>&quot;There are a couple of ways that I check in on my team to see how they&#39;re doing. I don&#39;t expect that they will always be doing well. You&#39;d have to be a little &#39;wheels off&#39; to have fully enjoyed 2020.&quot; </p><p>Part of her team&#39;s practice is their daily Slack standup, in which the initial question is, &quot;How are you feeling?&quot; JoAnn says, &quot;It&#39;s a subtle question that is most often answered with a GIF or emoji but helps the rest of the team understand where you are without an awkward conversation. There are a lot of Nicholas Cage party parrots and Let&#39;s Go Taco emojis in that thread.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The second [practice is] one on ones. Each manager has a weekly one on one with each team member (and me with mine) to talk about activity, but also about anything that they need to discuss.&quot; </p><h4>But what happens if you notice morale or productivity slipping? How and when do you choose to intervene? </h4><p>&quot;I look for productivity trends. Is someone who is typically reliable slipping? Is work quality diminishing? Are our results trending down? Those aren&#39;t unique to remote work, but they can bring more complexity when people are piling on anxiety about their children&#39;s school (or ability to teach them while working from home), plus spouse&#39;s job security or ill family members. Even the stress of a kid with a cold has been exponentially multiplied. So, if something like that comes up, it requires a lot more compassion and grace.&quot;</p><p>When team members raise concerns, JoAnn jumps in to &quot;change things up.&quot; The team recently had a project start to go &quot;&#39;wheels off&#39; because of these factors, so we jumped in and talked about how we simplify and focus the project to be more effective. Did we have the right people involved? It came out better than it started.&quot;</p><p>It sounds like JoAnn has the right set of tools in her toolkit to navigate remote work - flexibility, empathy, and a playful attitude, to name a few. </p><h3><b>ThankView&#39;s Client Outcomes Team</b></h3><p>The team at <a href="https://thankview.com/"><u>ThankView</u></a>, a video outreach platform specializing in stewardship for their Education, Healthcare, and Non-Profit clients, is exceeding company goals and doing it remotely. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadyacollins/"><u>Nadya Collins</u></a>, their Chief Customer Officer, has experienced a lot of transition since the pandemic hit. During that time, her team restructured, recruited (tripled!), and trained the Client Outcomes teams (Onboarding, Support, and Success), all while being remote.</p><h4>What are some of the &quot;KPI&#39;s&quot; you are using to gauge your success?</h4><p>&quot;The primary KPI that Client Outcomes is measured on, and frankly, the reason why ThankView decided to invest in the role that I was hired for, is Net Revenue Churn. Before I started in March, that number was between 15%-19%, and I was tasked to get that number below 10%. I was in the office for three days before the entire company moved to work from home. It was definitely hard to come in, observe, build the relationships, and build the trust to drive the change needed to achieve our goal while working remotely in an environment that previously was so built around in-person, fun, and after-work activities. But I honestly think it was the culture and the team that made it possible to align and execute on those changes remotely.&quot;</p><h4>Did you use any external partners to help maintain the momentum? </h4><p>Nadya brought in expert help from Simu.ly, who &quot;helped us build a Sales playbook, train the team, and assess the team afterward through simulation calls. However, if the team hadn&#39;t been so open-minded, empathetic, and motivated to change, we would never have been able to absorb the new way of working and drive that &gt;15% Net Revenue Churn down to the &lt;-1% it is today.&quot;</p><p>What an incredible accomplishment! </p><h4>What new processes and tools have you tried?</h4><p>Nadya rolled out a &quot;life-changing tool&quot; called Front. Front is a multi-channel inbox that lets you assign tasks, follow, comment, and analyze efficiency. &quot;Especially with shared inboxes, tripling the team and needing to train and support new employees while on the job, Front has been an absolute game-changer. I honestly don&#39;t think I could ever go back to just using Gmail after this.&quot;</p><h4>What are you doing to keep up the pace and achieve high levels of morale and employee engagement?</h4><p>&quot;We try to come up with new and inventive ways to celebrate still and continue to invest in our culture. Fun is actually listed as one of our company&#39;s core values, and ThankView had had a Fun Committee since before I started, so it is something that is always top of mind for any of the leadership here.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We have done virtual game nights, poker nights, happy hours, a Halloween themed event, and we also like to celebrate people&#39;s achievements and milestones through events and gifts. In addition to our normal benefits, the company has also implemented new perks such as reimbursement for work-from-home equipment (monitors, etc.), and monthly boxes by SnackNation.&quot;</p><p>With her team, she also encourages time off in the form of a&quot; mental health day&quot; where any ThankView employee can take a free day off every two weeks. From Nadya&#39;s perspective, companies should keep in mind that it&#39;s not just about going remote... It&#39;s also about &quot;acknowledging that this past year has made life increasingly stressful with people potentially having to deal with isolation, sickness, loss of loved ones, and other events that are impacting people&#39;s mental health.&quot; She further explains, &quot;It&#39;s important to listen to your employees to understand how you can best support them.&quot;</p><p>Nadya&#39;s team has made impressive progress over the past few months, exceeding her goals! Her ability to stay connected and embrace new ways of keeping employees motivated is inspiring. We want to be more like Nadya! Don&#39;t you? </p><h3><b>Merkitus’ Market Team</b></h3><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-laing-b69622110/"><u>Charlotte Laings</u></a> is Head of Marketing at <a href="https://www.metrikus.io/"><u>Merkitus,</u></a> a unique software platform that helps their customers understand and optimize their buildings&#39; environment, maintenance, usage, and health. Charlotte&#39;s team has been busy the past few months winning an award based on her team&#39;s digital marketing campaign and onboarding a new employee - all while being fully remote.</p><h4>In a few sentences, describe why you think you&#39;ve had success managing your team remotely? What are some of the &quot;KPI&#39;s&quot; you are using to gauge your success?</h4><p>&quot;In terms of performance, during the lockdown, we have done some of the best work we have ever done. We&#39;ve increased website views by 20% and tripled social media following.&quot; She attributes this to &quot;the closer bond the team has formed over this time.&quot; </p><p>For Charlotte, keeping morale high has been about &quot;truly embracing the benefits of remote working. Making the most of flexible working hours and using the time saved from commuting to learn new things,&quot; keeping her team happy and productive.</p><h4>How has your communication style adapted to stay connected with your team? Have you tried any new tools or tactics?</h4><p>&quot;Not necessarily a &#39;productivity tool&#39; but calls are your best friend. Whether it&#39;s a video call or just a phone call, it&#39;s miles more effective for communicating one on one.&quot; For Charlotte, this takes people out of the routine of constant slacks and emails and helps maintain personal relationships amongst co-workers. </p><h4>What feedback have you received from your team that indicates working remotely is going well?</h4><p>Charlotte&#39;s Senior Content Manager provided the following input:</p><p>&quot;We all know when deadlines are, and as long as we stick to them and are present for meetings, we can manage our own time within that space. As a writer, I can&#39;t always write on command, especially with big, research-led pieces, so this style of working suits me down to the ground: it allows me the room to think creatively and to work at my own pace. I think it&#39;s a testament to the way Charlotte runs the team that things rarely fall through the cracks, and no one is ever burnt out.&quot;</p><h3><b>Final Thoughts</b></h3><p>There is a lot to learn from others&#39; experiences during this time, and we encourage you to reach out to your network and find out what they are doing right (and maybe mistakes made along the way) while managing remote teams. We have learned some great tips from these women and think we&#39;ll be asking HR about SnackNation! At Earth Class Mail, we love seeing teams come together to support one another during what can be an isolating and challenging time, and we hope you also found value in the stories these leaders shared.</p>

Remote work has become the norm for many of us since the pandemic hit in March. 42% of the U.S. labor force is now working from home full-time, according to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Compare this to 3.4% before the

As we settle deeper into remote work for the foreseeable future, best practices and idea sharing can be very helpful. Hear from 3 women leaders winning at remote work.

Successfully Navigating Remote Work I Earth Class Mail

Successfully Navigating Remote Work

<p>As a freelancer, you&#39;re running a one-person show. Unfortunately, that doesn&#39;t mean you only do one job. To land clients and gain their trust, you have to do many things big businesses do—but on a smaller scale.</p><p>And you&#39;re competing against more freelancers than ever. In 2019, <u>57 million people</u> in the United States did freelance work. Freelance job openings increased by more than 25% in the second quarter of 2020. </p><p>Of course, you&#39;re not only competing against other freelancers. You&#39;re competing against companies that offer similar services. Creating a professional image shows potential clients that you&#39;re a legitimate operation.</p><p>These tips will help you build a professional image so you&#39;ll have plenty of clients (and a full bank account).</p><h2>Tip #1 — Invest in your website</h2><p>Your website is the freelancer equivalent of a brick and mortar store. It&#39;s one of the primary ways potential clients will interact with you. You want a website that presents you in the best way possible. That means it should be easy to read, error-free, and clear about what you&#39;re offering and the value you bring your clients.</p><p>There are thousands of professionals that can help you build a site. You can reach out to colleagues and friends for referrals. You can also find designers and copywriters on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and 99Designs. </p><p>If your budget is too small for a designer, many tools make it easy to create a beautiful site on your own. Some of the most popular are Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.</p><p>Wix and Squarespace have drag-and-drop templates, so they&#39;re easy for beginners. WordPress is an open-source platform with a lot of functionality. Keep in mind that this tool can have a larger learning curve if you&#39;re new to building your own website.</p><p>Why build your own website and not just use a platform like Upwork? Plenty of folks do quite well on freelance services marketplaces. But a professional website can set you apart and help you attract higher-paying clients. It&#39;s a great way to pull together everything you&#39;re building. </p><p><b>A word about social networks:</b> Think of your social profiles as an extension of your website and brand. They can be a useful way to connect with potential clients. But they may not be a necessity, especially depending on your industry. If you can&#39;t manage that much online activity and aren&#39;t in an industry that necessitates social presence, focus on your website. </p><h3>Tip #2 — Highlight testimonials</h3><p>Collecting and sharing customer testimonials is one of the best ways to establish credibility as a freelancer. It&#39;s called social proof, and it&#39;s not just a way to share nice things about yourself. There&#39;s actually science behind it. Psychological studies show that people prefer to follow the majority than step out on their own. Social proof capitalizes on that tendency.</p><p>A potential client who sees that others have enjoyed your service believes they will too. </p><p>So how do you get testimonials?</p><p>At the end of a project, ask the client for feedback while the work is still fresh in their mind. If they agree, get their permission to use their name and image on your website. Put the testimonial in a prominent spot on your site so that all your visitors will see what a great choice you are. </p><h3>Tip #3 — Sign up for a virtual address</h3><p>Even if you run an online business, you&#39;re going to need a mailing address.</p><p> Why? Because the bank will want it when you open an account. Your website domain host will want it when you create a website. You&#39;ll need to put it on the bottom of marketing emails to follow anti-SPAM laws. You&#39;ll need one if you choose to<a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/use-virtual-address-to-register-business/"><u> register your business</u></a> as a limited liability company (LLC). </p><p>And you may have a client that wants to pay by check. Or that wants to know they&#39;re dealing with a legitimate business—one with a mailing address.</p><p>Of course, you could use your residential address. That is not the best idea for two reasons:  </p><ul><li><p>Keeping your personal and business addresses separate helps maintain your privacy. The address you use for your business may become public, especially if you register with the secretary of state. You probably don&#39;t want a client showing up on your doorstep.</p></li><li><p>Maintaining separate personal and business affairs sends a message to government entities. You&#39;re running a real business. So if you ever get audited or sued, your personal assets will be better protected.</p></li></ul><p>Getting a virtual address presents your clients with a professional image. It also helps you <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/virtual-address-privacy-and-security"><u>maintain your privacy</u></a> and keeps your personal and business affairs separate.</p><p>Plus, if you <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mailbox"><u>receive mail</u></a> at your virtual address, you have access to it through an online dashboard. Instead of handling paper, you can spend more time finding clients.</p><h3>Tip #4 — Modernize your phone</h3><p>Keeping your personal and business phone numbers separate is important for the same reasons.</p><p>Of course, the possibilities for disruption to your personal life are even greater. Putting boundaries around the time you spend at work is hard enough when you work from home. If clients start calling your personal phone on the weekends, your work-life balance gets pretty tenuous.</p><p>A business phone number allows some separation between home and office. Plus, with a separate business number, you can create a professional, outgoing message. Keep that silly singing voicemail on your personal number. </p><p>So what if you want a business number but don&#39;t want to get a whole separate phone line?</p><p>Google Voice and OpenPhone are two popular options. Signing up for one of these allows you to use your personal phone but keep your number private. Clients see a professional image, and you get to limit business calls to business hours.</p><h3>Tip #5 — Invest in an invoice system</h3><p>If you&#39;re regularly invoicing clients, you may be ready to invest in a system to level up your invoices. Sure, you can ask a client to Venmo you, but that doesn&#39;t project a professional image.</p><p>If you don&#39;t already have a system like FreshBooks or Wave, consider signing up for one. Some invoicing tools, like Wave, are free. They may charge bank transfer fees but don&#39;t require a monthly subscription.</p><p>Many invoicing platforms also provide time-keeping tools or integrate with other time-keeping apps. This integration can be useful if billable hours are part of your business model. Some also integrate with larger accounting software systems so you can keep everything in one place. </p><p>If you&#39;re only invoicing one client every few months, you may not be ready for the investment. But using an invoicing platform will make your invoices look more professional. Clients may see you as more trustworthy. </p><p>Professional invoicing can also help you get paid faster. Many include automated reminders for unpaid invoices.</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Freelancing can be an exciting way to put on your entrepreneurial hat without starting a full-blown company. It can also be a serious way to make a solid living. Even though you don&#39;t have employees and an office, you&#39;re still a legitimate operation. Presenting that message to your clients will help you build the brand and the bank account you want.</p><p>These tips will help you maintain a professional image, so your clients know they&#39;re working with a legitimate freelance business.</p>

As a freelancer, you're running a one-person show. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean you only do one job. To land clients and gain their trust, you have to do many things big businesses do—but on a smaller scale.

Freelancers are faced with the challenge of maintaining a professional image while often being a one-person show. Read our tips for how to maintain a professional image as a freelancer.

Freelancer Tips for Maintaining a Professional Image I Earth Class Mail Blog

Freelancer Tips for Maintaining a Professional Image

<p>If you are starting or running a business, you’re probably no stranger to paperwork. From signing contracts to signing up for all kinds of services, there’s a lot to juggle. You may not have anticipated asking yourself, do I need a physical address or a mailing address?</p><p>If you’re like most people, you may not even be completely sure what the difference is between a mailing address and a physical address. However, the difference between a physical address and a mailing address is important for business owners and entrepreneurs to know. For certain business practices or paperwork, business owners will require certain types of addresses. </p><p>Mailing addresses differ from physical addresses in a few important ways. Knowing the difference can help you know what type of address you need for your business. </p><h2><b>What is a mailing address?</b></h2><p>A mailing address is an address that senders can use to send you postal mail. For many people and businesses, this is your home or office address. However, for some people or businesses, a mailing address is not their home or office address. </p><p>A common example of a mailing address is a P.O. box. A P.O. box is a mailing address but not a physical address. Using a P.O. box, senders can make sure postal mail gets to you. However, your location remains private. </p><h2><b>What is a physical address?</b></h2><p>A physical address, on the other hand, describes a location. If you receive postal mail at your home, your residential address is a physical address and a mailing address. However, some people or businesses maintain a physical address separate from a mailing address. While a physical address <i>can</i> be a mailing address, that’s not always the case. </p><h2>Physical address meaning</h2><p>If your company operates out of a physical office, then your office is the physical address. However, if your company does not require a physical space to run, you might not have immediate access to a physical address. Fortunately, there are options. </p><h2><b>Do I need a physical address for my business? </b></h2><p>If you are an aspiring business owner, you probably know whether or not you need a physical office to operate your business already. For example, if you need a physical office for your business, let’s say you’re planning to open a brick-and-mortar boutique, you know the answer to this question upfront. If you require a physical office for your business, you don’t need to worry about finding an additional physical address because your office takes care of it.  Of course, you can always save time and effort from the postal mail services that come with a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-business-address">virtual address</a> or mailbox.</p><p>However, for certain types of businesses, the answer to this question can be a bit murky. Remember that even if you don’t need an office, you might still need a physical address. For example, if you operate a consulting business and work with clients entirely over Zoom or Google Hangouts, you don’t need an office to operate your business. </p><p>However, if you set up your business as a limited liability corporation (LLC), limited partnership, or a limited liability partnership, you will need to have a <a href="https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/do-you-need-a-physical-address-for-your-business">registered agent in the state your business is registered in.</a> </p><p>LegalZoom defines a <a href="https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/what-is-a-registered-agent">registered agent</a> as an “individual or entity which has been designated by the LLC to receive service of process notices, government correspondence, and compliance-related documents on behalf of the LLC.”</p><p>If you don’t have an office space, you will need to have a physical address for the registered agent to use. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to run out and find an office to rent. For businesses that operate remotely, a registered agent used in conjunction with a virtual address can help solve this issue. </p><h2><b>Another type of physical address: virtual addresses  </b></h2><p>Despite what it sounds like, a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-business-address">virtual address</a> is a real, physical address that can accept postal mail. However, they’re called virtual addresses because you don’t need to be physically present to receive postal mail there.</p><p>But what does this have to do with you and your business? For entrepreneurs and small business owners, virtual addresses offer several benefits. </p><p>For LLCs, a virtual address fulfills the requirement of a physical address for your registered agent. Also, virtual addresses are a popular choice for registering a business at the state or federal level. A virtual address offers a shortcut that can save you time and money for businesses that don’t need a physical building or office to operate. </p><p>Virtual addresses can also accept postal mail and packages on your behalf. This will come in handy if you need to receive postal mail for your business and don’t want to share a residential address with customers or partners.</p><p>If you expect to receive postal mail related to your business often, you may consider going one step further and signing up for a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-mailbox">virtual mailbox</a>. A virtual mailbox comes with a virtual address and offers postal mail scanning services that allow you to access your postal mail like email. </p><p>Virtual address services typically offer things like postal mail scanning, forwarding, or storage on demand. However, these costs can add up. If you know you will be regularly receiving postal mail, it is likely more cost-effective to sign up for a virtual mailbox than a virtual address alone. </p><h2><b>Signing up for a Virtual Address </b></h2><p>Whether you know you’re going to require a physical address for a registered agent or just want to keep your residential address private, a virtual address can be a viable solution for you. </p><h2>Physical address example</h2><p>To choose your virtual address, you’ll want to know where you plan to register your business or what type of address you want to publicize. For example, if you’re looking for a premium address, you might consider signing up for an address in a major city on a street like <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/addresses/ny/new-york">Park Avenue</a>. Of course, where you plan to register your business will be a determining factor as well. </p><p>Once you’ve made up your mind about where your virtual address should be, you can sign up for a location of your choosing. </p><h2><b>Summary </b></h2><p>Knowing the difference between a physical and mailing address can help you be better prepared to make important decisions about your business. Most importantly, you want to keep in mind that you may be required to have a physical address depending on your business type, even if you don’t need a storefront or office to run. </p><p>If you find yourself needing a physical address but don’t want or need to invest in office space, consider a virtual address or virtual mailbox. These solutions can not only solve your immediate needs, but they’ll also be flexible, so you never have to worry about what happens if you move to a new location.</p><p>See also: <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-many-stamps-do-i-need-and-where-to-buy">How many stamps do I need?</a></p><p><a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/pricing">Sign up for a virtual address or mailbox today with Earth Class Mail</a>.</p>

If you are starting or running a business, you’re probably no stranger to paperwork. From signing contracts to signing up for all kinds of services, there’s a lot to juggle.

For certain business practices or paperwork, business owners will require certain types of addresses.  Mailing addresses differ from physical addresses in a few important ways. Knowing the difference can help you know what type of address you need for your business. 

What is the difference between a physical address and a mailing address? I Earth Class Mail

What is the difference between a physical address and a mailing address?

<p>For entrepreneurs, scrappiness is a must. Easy-to-use services to get their business up and running can help save time and money - things company founders cannot waste.</p><h3>Stripe Atlas + Earth Class Mail </h3><p>To help new companies successfully launch their business, Earth Class Mail teamed up with the folks at <a href="https://stripe.com/atlas">Stripe Atlas</a>. The partnership began in February of this year, and since then, we have seen dozens of mutual customers benefit from our combined offering.</p><p>Stripe Atlas is a great option for companies who need assistance incorporating their company but don’t want to go the DIY route. For just $500, Stripe will incorporate your company, arrange the registered agent, create your federal EIN, and even open a bank account for you. It doesn’t get any easier than that! According to Tyler Tate, a two-time company founder and current employee at Instacart, “If I were starting a new company today, I would use Stripe Atlas in a heartbeat.” Tyler writes about his journey as a founder and lessons learned in this “<a href="https://medium.com/startup-grind/the-startup-cheat-sheet-ca7fca624da5">Startup Cheat-Sheet</a>” full of tips and tricks for entrepreneurs.</p><h3>A Natural Partnership </h3><p>Stripe Atlas and Earth Class Mail form a natural partnership as incorporating a company requires submitting an address visible to the public. Apart from providing an address, Earth Class Mail’s virtual mailbox service digitizes postal mail and gives you a dedicated address. This offers added efficiencies. Say you decide to move offices. It can be time-consuming to update your business address with state and federal governments, banks, etc. Getting a dedicated address that doesn’t physically tie you to a specific location right at the beginning removes the hassle. It also frees your team from organizing and dealing with postal mail - because managing postal mail will be as easy as checking your email. You can also <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/from-albuquerque-to-wilmington-we-have-a-virtual-address-in-every-u-s-state">choose marquee addresses</a> in cities such as New York and San Fransisco to give your business an even more prestigious image. </p><h3>Finding Earth Class Mail in the Stripe Atlas Onboarding Experience</h3><p>Companies looking to incorporate their business via Stripe Atlas will find the Earth Class Mail offering as part of their onboarding flow. David Engle, CEO of <a href="https://www.uprightlabs.com/">Upright Labs</a>, found Earth Class Mail when establishing his Stripe Atlas account. He is a joint customer and finds Earth Class Mail’s service to be reliable and efficient. It has also allowed his team “to go fully remote,” as many teams need help within 2020. By combining Stripe Atlas’ service to incorporate his company, and Earth Class Mail’s <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/virtual-address-privacy-and-security">virtual address</a> product, he has had a complete, hassle-free experience. David also mentioned enjoying “how everything was handled for me” by our team of world-class onboarding specialists.</p><h3>Focus on Running Your Business</h3><p>At Earth Class Mail, we strive to make life easier for our customers by removing the hassle of postal mail to focus on more important things - like running their business. Stripe Atlas also strives to make its customers’ lives easier and do so in an efficient, intuitive, and helpful way. Our partnership has been a natural fit!</p><p>We are proud to partner with a company like Stripe Atlas and know that we are benefitting the lives of entrepreneurs worldwide. According to David Engle, he is “looking forward to being a user for many years,” and we at Earth Class Mail look forward to continuing to provide a great service that exceeds his expectations! </p><p>See also: <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-many-stamps-do-i-need-and-where-to-buy">How many stamps do I need?</a></p><p></p>

For entrepreneurs, scrappiness is a must. Easy-to-use services to get their business up and running can help save time and money - things company founders cannot waste.

Learn more about how Earth Class Mail teamed up with Stripe Atlas to help startups and small businesses get off the ground.

Built for Entrepreneurs: Stripe Atlas + Earth Class Mail I Earth Class Mail I Blog

Built for Entrepreneurs: Stripe Atlas + Earth Class Mail 

<p>In 2009, a Xerox study showed that American businesses spend <a href="https://www.xerox.com/assets/motion/corporate/pages/programs/information-overload/pdf/Xerox-white-paper-3-25.pdf"><u>$460 billion</u></a> in salaries just to manage paper-driven information overload. That&#39;s right, billions, and for every dollar spent on printing documents, companies incur another $6 in handling and distributing that paper. The study suggests that paper is one of the leading causes of overwhelm or information overload in corporations. That&#39;s a lot of money spent on paper, that&#39;s making employees more overwhelmed than anything. </p><p>The digital transformation era has made remote work and paperless initiatives more convenient and accessible to a wide variety of industries. Surely there&#39;s a better way to manage the nearly <a href="https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/office-worker-waste-generation#:~:text=The%20average%20office%20worker%20generates%20about%202%20pounds%20worth%20of,the%20total%20waste%20in%20offices."><u>10,000 sheets</u></a> of copy paper the average office worker uses every year: going paperless.</p><p>Going paperless can seem daunting because you&#39;ll have to figure out what to do with everything from <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mailroom">postal mail</a> to <a href="https://www.shoeboxed.com/pricing/">receipits</a>. However, it&#39;s not impossible and, more importantly, it&#39;s worth it. Going paperless can reduce information overload but also provide other environmental benefits. Following these steps can help you down your path to becoming a paperless company.</p><h3>
<b>Step 1: Be a Leader </b></h3><p>One of the reasons some companies don&#39;t go paperless is because there&#39;s no one on the team pushing for a change. Essentially, many businesses are ready and willing to go paperless, but nobody is leading the way or providing the tools needed to start. Any individual can step up and lead the way to become a more efficient office. </p><p>Approached the right way, your team will be grateful for the environmental benefits and the overall working experience! No matter what level you&#39;re at, you can set goals for your company as a whole that encourages an easy transition to an electronic document management system. </p><p>As a business leader, the important part about going paperless is that you lead by example. If you have your own filing cabinet overflowing with documents, consider uploading them to cloud-based software. Set goals for yourself and take ownership of those goals. If your employees see you leading the way, they will be more likely to follow suit, and you will drive home the importance of what going paperless really means. </p><h3><b>Step 2: Normalize Going Paperless into your Company&#39;s Culture</b></h3><p>No matter how strong the paperless initiative may seem, your company won&#39;t complete the transition unless employees are on board. Show them the ways going paperless could benefit them. Demonstrate the time and energy they&#39;ll save in a paperless office. Specifically, they&#39;ll be able to view, read, and share documents and files from their computer without printing more paper. They just have to see that going paperless will make their jobs easier.</p><h3><b>Step 3: Organize Paper Files and Documents</b></h3><p>Now that key leaders are taking the initiative, and you have strong backing from your employees, the tougher side of going paperless begins — organization. Getting organized is a key component of your plan to going paperless. If your team cannot organize digital files, you might find yourself inheriting a paper system&#39;s stress. </p><ul><li><p>Create a unified organization system for your documents by name, year, department, etc.</p></li><li><p>Divide the heavy lifting between employees or departments and divvy up documents into categories for the organization. </p></li><li><p>Determine an expiration date for all documents; anything older than the decided date (think: auditing) can be found and shredded. This will help weed out unneeded space in cloud storage and help keep you more up-to-date in the process.</p></li><li><p>Set a goal for when each employee or department should have their files organized and ready to enter your chosen document management software. </p></li><li><p>Follow up until your goal is met. Once paper documents are organized, you can prepare to take your business to paperless!</p></li></ul><h3><b>Step 4: Choose the Necessary Document Management Software</b></h3><p>With a newly organized system of documents, you&#39;re going to need to find the right digital document management system. The choices for finding the right system for you and your company are endless, so you need to research and compare your options before making a decision. Determine the needs of your company and your monthly budget.</p><p>To aid in your search for the best option, we recommend sitting down and making a list of your business&#39;s functionality needs the most out of a document management system. These typically include data backup, amount of storage, number of users allowed on the account, audit logs, and automation. </p><p>After selecting your software provider, set up training to allow for a streamlined understanding of the software cross-departmentally. The important thing is that all employees who handle, file, and need access to information in the cloud will be able to do so digitally and confidently. With all that under your belt, you can finally begin the transition from paper-driven to paperless!</p><h3><b>Step 5: Reap the Benefits</b></h3><p>Once you finish the steps for going paperless, much less effort will be needed to stay paperless. Printing, labeling, and filing will be a thing of the past!</p><p>As you begin digitizing your files, you&#39;ll start to see the number of benefits in the office. Your employees, customers, and business as a whole will benefit from making the switch to becoming a paperless company. Your company will notice the time and energy spent doing the cumbersome tasks of filing and searching manually will be shifted into being more productive as a whole. </p><p>By following the steps outlined above, you can manage your company&#39;s paper problems and feel good about becoming a more efficient, paperless office!</p>

In 2009, a Xerox study showed that American businesses spend $460 billion in salaries just to manage paper-driven information overload. That's right, billions, and for every dollar spent on printing documents, companies incur another 

Becoming a paperless company is possible, but it requires some work. Keep reading for 5 tips for achieving a paperless company.

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