Starting a home business is not as easy as you may think. First and foremost you have to decide what type of business you will start and is it profitable. Just picking a business out of the air will not work. It has to be a business that you know something about. Once you have decided on a business, then comes the planning.
Work space, support space and active storage are three of the main areas you have to concentrate on. In looking for the work space in the home office, you have to decide where the most appropriate place is to separate the home office from the home space.
Organizing your Home Office Space
Organizing a home office is important to keep it from spilling over into the whole house. The key to a well organized and well run office is a good filing system. A good filing system is a workable system that is simple. When paper enters your office it falls under Take Action, Read, Trash, Hold 30 Days or File. Once your papers are sorted into one of these categories, which shouldn’t take more than half a day, keeping your office clutter free becomes a much simpler matter. As with any home office the object is to get you organized and productive. Always set up your home office in an area that it will be productive. It is best to have it in an area where the clients do not walk through your home.
Now that you have the home office space picked out, it’s time for equipment. A desk, possibly an L shaped desk. They offer a lot of desktop room and take up less space in some cases. Then the chair should be a high back, comfortable, desk chair. Being comfortable while working is very important. Book cases for any extra space that they can fill and either a two drawer or a four drawer filing cabinet.
For the machine equipment, it can depend on your business. Some of the suggested pieces are a good computer with an all purpose printer, which includes the printer, copier, scanner and fax. Have a dedicated phone line put in to put the printer/fax into and your high speed internet. Have a separate computer for the home than the one for business. This allows family to use the home computer whenever they like and not disrupt the business one. Make sure that cords are long enough, and insure enough electrical outlets by using surge protectors. Make sure that all the cords are placed so that no one can trip on them or that they can be seen.
Organizing Hardware and Software
Buy business programs to put on your computer, or any other program you need. Make sure all boxes are placed on a shelf where they can be seen. In some of the programs you can make a file and then store anything you want in them. This is important so that when you write a letter, instead of printing a copy, you can put it in a file on the computer. It saves a lot on paper clutter. Have at least 2 business emails.
Office supplies should be bulk. Especially printing paper as this is used for fax receiving and copying. Again, this is where paper clutter comes into your office. A paper shredder is important to have so that papers can be destroyed. Having trays on your desk for in/out going and filing is also a big helper and wastebaskets. A business checking account and business cards are very important to have. A large grease board to write each weeks plans and things to do for the business. Organization is the main focus for the business.
Lighting in your home office is very important and using indirect lighting sources is the best way to avoid uniform levels of light.
Limiting Office Distractions
Now comes hours. You have to set business hours just like any business does. Establish family time. Stay within the business hours you set. Don’t isolate yourself from the family by being a workaholic.
In your home office space, be sure to remove any family pictures or awards. The person coming into your home office already knows where you live but you don’t know who they are so its better not to advertise who your family members are, in a place of business. Make rules for the family members about coming into your home office space. If it’s important, have them call you on the phone, just like they would have when you worked away from home. A home office isn’t an invitation to an open house for the family.
Getting your home office off the ground and working will take some time and a lot of work, but if it’s a good idea for a business, it will take off in no time.
