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Key Takeaways Starting a business from home is common, but using a personal address comes with hidden risks.
Many founders only realize the impact after facing legal, operational or credibility issues.
Many small businesses begin at home, and for good reason. Keeping overhead low while you find your footing is often the smartest move a new founder can make. But one early decision is frequently underestimated: choosing a business address.
When launching a company, it’s common to default to a home address because it seems simple and harmless. In reality, that choice can have lasting consequences for your privacy, personal safety and professional credibility — often long after the business begins to grow.
Where the problem starts
For many founders, the issue first arises during business formation, particularly when forming an LLC. While it’s legal to use a home address on formation documents, those filings are typically made publicly available through state databases. That means your personal address becomes searchable to anyone who looks it up — from potential clients to disgruntled customers or bad actors.
Beyond public records, businesses are also required to be available to receive legal and government correspondence. Using a home address for this purpose can unintentionally expose where you live and blur the line between your personal and professional life in ways that are difficult to undo later.
Related: How Smart Entrepreneurs Are Protecting Their Brand and Building Wealth — And How You Can Too
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