Tips For Setting Up A Home Office
Setting up a home office is one of the most important tasks youwill face when you make the decision to work from your own home.Your home office can be a corner of your kitchen or living roomor, if space permits, a former spare bedroom. Size is less important that functionality. When deciding onwhere to set up the nerve center of your business, there aresome factors you need to consider. Is the area well lit? Proper lighting is extremely important. Spending hours at a timein a...
... dimly lit work space can create eyestrain which, after longperiods of time, could lead to more serious problems with yourvision. Are there plenty of electrical outlets? Take into consideration what appliances you will have in yourwork space. Your computer system will require an outlet for yourcpu, monitor, scanner, printer, speakers (sometimes) and otherancillary equipment you may have. Is the area well ventilated and dust free? All of that computer equipment needs to “breath” to remain cooland functioning properly. If you have ever “fried” a computeryou know how important it is to keep the fan clean and dustfree. Do you have telephone access? In addition to having a telephone handy for business purposes,you will also require telephone access for your modem. You mayalso consider a separate telephone line for your business. It ismuch easier to track telephone business expenses for taxpurposes if you have a separate phone line. It’s also importantthat your clients can reach you. If your clients have to competewith your teenagers telephone habits, chances are they will callsomeone else. Make certain that this separate line is set up toreceive phone calls while you are online. Most major telephonecompanies now offer that service. You may pay a few extradollars a month for it, but it will pay for itself over the longhaul. How much ‘foot traffic” is there liable to be? Set up your office to be as isolated as possible. Can youimagine trying to speak with a client or figure out html codewith kids screaming in the background? Not a very professionalpicture. If you have no choice but to have your office in a hightraffic area, adjust your work schedule to coincide with familyactivities. Sit your family down and explain the importance ofyour work and why you need their cooperation. It won’t alwayswork out that way but at least it’s a step in the rightdirection. It goes without saying that you need to have normal officesupplies. Even if your work is online you still need the pens,pencils, note pads and so on. One of the stickiest challenges you may encounter comes fromyour friends. People who do not work from home seem to thinkthat if you do, you have all the time in the world to visit.This can become a major problem if you do not set theparameters. Setting out the ground rules is important to theoverall health and well being of your business. Let your friendsand extended family know your business hours and explain to themthat you are not available during those periods of time. Thesooner you do this the better. Conduct your business in a professional manner. Just because youwork at home does not mean that you should throw out the rulebook. Maybe you have read the humorous comment about “working inyour pajamas. It sounds good in sales messages, but the truth isyou are much better off if you awaken in the morning and prepareyourself for your work day as if you were still trekking off tothe office, because you are. You will be much better prepared to focus and get down tobusiness if you dress the part. That doesn’t mean that you needto squeeze into the normal “office” attire. It does mean thatyou set the standards for your business and much of that has todo with “mindset” and self-image. Dressing comfortably is a oneof the serendipities of working at home, but you will be muchbetter prepared for business if you dress the part. I have one final word of advice for the new work at homeentrepreneur. Having your office right down the hall can be ablessing, but it can also be a curse. Remember to take time outfor yourself. Most people believe that working at home comeswith certain privileges, and it does. However, it can alsobecome all-consuming and take total control of your life. Don’t allow that to happen. Create your schedule and live by it.Make sure you turn off the lights, shut down the computer and“go home” at the end of your work day.
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