Home Office
The Homebase of the
Home Business

Home Office Setup

Primary question you need to ask yourself is what is going to be the main function of your home office.  The office is the homebase for your home based business.

The needs for your home office setup will depend on the type of business that you choose.  For some all you will need is a small area that you can keep your records together, a place for your computer where you can do your administrative work - accounting, record keeping, invoicing  and make a few phone calls.

For others, a lot more attention will be needed for setting up your space. It will be the place where you spend your day, the center of all your activities.  You will need to be concerned with a work space that is free from distractions, organized, comfortable and pleasant to be in.

Your layout will be dependent upon personal preferences and use.  If you have clients coming to your office, you will want one that will accommodate guest.  If your going to be working on the computer all day your preference should be more toward ease of work on the computer.

Zoning

Running an auto repair facility at your home, with the noise and fumes of the repair work, cars sitting around waiting to be repaired, the traffic of cars and delivery vehicles coming and going, will certainly earn you the ire of your neighbors and bring an unwelcome knock at your door from the city.

A quiet office set up in a spare room will go unnoticed, and probably just create envious friends and neighbors.

Business Address

The private mail box service does offer many advantages.  You can call them to see if you have any mail,  potentially saving you a trip.  You can receive packages from UPS, FedEx, DHL and others (with the post office you cannot.)

The private mail service also offers the advantage of being able to use a street address rather than just a P.O. Box number.

Another option is finding a place that not only offers the mail box service, but also offers office and conference rooms that you can rent by the hour. This would provide a professional atmosphere in which to conduct meetings.  These services are not yet as plentiful, but I expect over the next few years they will be much more plentiful in order to meet the growing demand for home business support services.

Furniture

The focus with most home offices will be on comfort and utility.  

Equipment

Here things have gotten much more convenient.  All home offices must have a computer!  Today it is just as important as the telephone.  When you buy a printer, invest in one of the all-in-one printers.  This will give you a copier, a scanner, a fax and of course a printer.

Another worth while item today is a video camera for your computer. Today's high speed Internet connections have made video conferencing a reality.  The high gas prices and the hassles now involved with air travel is making the video conference more and more popular.  Having video capabilities is a valuable tool to use on websites and in emails today.

Telephone and Internet

The traditional landlines have become obsolete.  The smart home office now uses a voip phone (voice over the Internet).  These generally offer unlimited local and long distance calling.  Some of the services can easily be transferred with the number from one location to another.  With some you can even get a second number with any area code so that you can have a local number for another location.

If your going to be on the road a lot, a business cell phone becomes a necessity.  You want to be able to respond to your customers quickly, so they do not look elsewhere.  If you have a land line, consider having one where you can easily have the calls forwarded to you.  Some services, like Vonage, have a plan where if there is no answer the call is automatically forwarded to the number programed in.