Do You Actually Need a Business Email Address for Your Firm When You’re Just Starting Out?
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We say without a doubt, YES. Your firm needs a dedicated business email address as soon as you decide to launch!
Now, what exactly do I mean when I say “business email”? Most firm owners just starting out set up a Gmail account that looks something like mybusinessname@gmail.com so they don’t have to have all their client emails filling up their personal inbox. And that’s a great place to start, especially if you still aren’t sure you’re ready to go all-in on your firm and start taking on clients. When I started my very first firm, I did this too!
But if I could go back and do it all over again, I know one thing I’d change for SURE is setting up a professional business email with my domain name — from day one.
Keep in mind: In order to set up a business email account, you’ll also need to purchase a domain name from somewhere like Google domains, Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.
In this blog, we’re going to share with you exactly how we’d set up our business email account based on my experience building three businesses. Plus, we’ll give you a helpful hack for how to transition to a professional Google workspace account, even if you’ve been doing business for a while using a personal email.
I can’t wait to share all the AMAZING benefits of setting up a dedicated email account for your business/firm!
A Business Email Sets You (and Your Future Team) Up For Success
One of the BIGGEST frustrations I faced when growing my first firm was trying to transfer everything in my Google Drive from my @gmail.com account to my new @domainname.com account. I absolutely LOVE Google Workspace and all the apps that come with the suite, so I knew that I wanted to keep working with it. But when I finally set up a new email account with my domain, it was a pain in the ass to transfer all my folders, docs, and spreadsheets over!
Now I actually have a hack for how to do this, but more on that later!
If you’re like most business owners just starting out, you’re probably trying to save money anywhere you can until you build up your client base. You can get started with our fave free project management tool, Asana — which we HIGHLY recommend!
But one thing I think is well worth the cost when starting out: A business email address in Google Workspace. Once you purchase your domain name, just set up a Google email account with it and start selling your services!
The monthly fee is super affordable and the convenience of having this email setup ASAP is going to save sooo much headache down the road. Plus, when you want to add another user, you can just create an additional address inside your account. It literally takes less than a minute!
Why You Need A Central Business Email (Even When It’s Just You)
I know it might seem counterintuitive, but hear me out! Something I tell my students who’ve freshly launched their firm is to set up a central email ASAP. What I mean by “central” is just an email that doesn’t have your name attached to it, and is more generic.
For example, instead of myname@mydomain.com, I’d recommend:
support@mydomain.com
hello@mydomain.com
info@mydomain.com
Get the idea???
You can totally still create another email with your name that’s dedicated to anything you want to keep separate from the rest of the incoming mail (think newsletters you want to read or sensitive information).
But the real benefit to this is when you DO bring someone on to support you, there’s no hassle around migrating client emails from your inbox to another one for your VA to manage. This helps keep everything more streamlined and set you up for success.
Remember, it’s OKAY if you’ve been in business for a while without this. You can absolutely move things over to a new account down the road, just keep reading to learn how!
Level-Up Your Client Experience With A Business Email Account
Another solid reason for creating a separate email account is how it affects your clients. When you first meet a potential client, you might not feel super confident giving them a personal email address. It might seem silly, but I find that it makes a huge difference.
When you show that you’re investing in yourself, even a small fee like an email and domain name, it makes you seem more professional right off the bat. And you don’t necessarily have to have a full-blown website! But a business email’s going to start the relationship on the right foot.
Think of it this way, you probably wouldn’t hire a plumber or dentist with a personal email address, right? And since you offer a service that deals directly with finances and sensitive information, anything you can do to look more legit is valuable. You don’t have to do everything all at once, but a business email is an easy way to give potential clients peace of mind when they’re looking to work with you!
How To Migrate Your Google Drive From a Personal to Business Account
IF you’ve been running your firm with a personal email up to this point — no worries! Whenever you decide to move everything over to a new email with your domain name, you can also take everything from your old Google Drive and pop in in your new Workspace.
Then, you can upload all your information into your new account and you're ready to start working. Whoop whoop!
One more thing you’ll need to do when you switch everything over to a business email is to let your clients know how to update their records with your new contact information. I recommend sending them an email from your new account and giving them step-by-step instructions on how to change your contact information! You’ll still need to check the old email for a while to make sure nothing slips through the cracks, so don’t delete it right away.
Yay! Now you’re ready to create a business email for your firm and make it sooo easy to outsource email management and even expand your team!
When you’re ready to organize your workflows and systems to make delegating an absolute BREEZE, we’ve got you covered! In Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants, we’ll show you how to hand off wayyy more than just your emails, yes — even client work. Our signature program is perfect for firm owners at any level of business. So if you’re just starting out and want your firm organized from the get-go, or if you’ve been at it for a while but need to get out of the weeds, this might just be the answer you’ve been looking for!
