Home Office Set
Up
Starting a home business will require you to
have a home office. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. Many
people start their home business from their kitchen table. But
you will need a space to work.
Here are some of the basic things you’ll
need:
Computer
This is an obvious requirement. You can’t conduct business
without one! Nowadays everyone turns to Google when they need
information. Having a website for your business is essential.
You can start of basic and build as you learn and
grow.
High Speed
Internet
Don’t
try to get away with dial up! You’ll want to get DSL or cable
internet. In many cases, you’ll need to send files of
information back and forth to clients and a slow internet
connection will make the process quite painful. Graphics are
huge and scrapbook business cannot avoid uploading
photos.
Office
Software
Many
of your clients will be using Microsoft Office, so investing in
that software is a good idea. You may already have it on your
computer. If you do not, and you cannot afford to buy it, try
using Open Office or Google Docs. Both of these are
free.
Depending on the type of business you choose,
you may need additional software. For example, a graphics
program for designing digital scrapbook kits or photo editing
software. Before you decide on a specialty business, make sure
you can afford the software.
Printer
It isn’t mandatory to have a printer, but you
may want one in order to print out contracts, order
forms and other items.
Phone
How much you use a phone will depend on the
type of business you choose. If you are in direct sales, you will
be spending a lot of time on the phone. If your business
requires you to have a phone, you may want to consider having a
dedicated phone line, just for business purposes. You don’t
want your clients to be bothered by a busy signal or lose any
messages if your children accidentally delete
them.
Fax
Service
Again,
this isn’t mandatory for all businesses, but if you are
going to be sending faxes back and forth, it’s a good
idea to have fax service. If you’re on a budget you can
receive faxes for free by using a service such as eFax
(www.efax.com
). You can send outgoing faxes through
your local office supply store for a nominal
fee.
The above are the bare bones necessary to get
started. Depending on your business you may need additional
items to get started like office supplies. Look around and see
what you already have on hand or could make do with. You
can always purchase more or better as your scrapbook business
grows.
Back to
WAHM
articles
Recommended
Resources:
- Free Report -
"Effective Yet Simple Strategies to Getting More Done when
Working From Home" by
Nicole Dean
- Homepreneur
Habits -How much
time do you waste every day because you're interrupted or
end up surfing the web or checking your email? Stop it
right now and develop good habits for becoming a successful
and productive “Homepreneur”.
| 
