How to Set Up a Home Office

Working from home offers many rewards including convenience and flexibility. One of the keys to success is having a home office that is functional and organized. Below, you'll find a few ideas to help get you started setting up your new home office.

Select a Space

Before you go to the office supply store and load up on materials, you first need to select space for your office. Depending on how much room you have available in your home the following may be viable options for office space:

• Spare Bedroom
• Finished Basement or Attic
• Den
• Garage
• Large Closet

When creating your office space, consider whether you will be using an entire room or just a corner of a room. This will help you determine how to design your space for optimum functionality and purpose. If space in your home is at a premium (i.e. you live in a small apartment), consider purchasing a computer armoire rather than using a kitchen table for office space. When using something like a table to set up shop, you may have to shift things around each day to use the table for other things like kid's homework or eating.

Other things to consider when creating your space are:

1. Location - If you have a spouse, children, or other people living with you, you don't want them constantly having to walk past your office to get to another part of the house or making noise when you need quiet to work.

2. Lighting - Do you have windows for natural light in your office? Will you need to install lighting or purchase a good lamp?

3. Accessibility - If clients come to your office, can they get to it easily without having to walk through play areas or private areas of your house? Even though you work at home, you still want it to be as professional as possible when clients come by.

4. Equipment Friendly - Are there enough plugs and phone jacks to accommodate your computer, phone and other equipment or will you need to have them installed?

Plan

Once you've got your territory staked for your new office, it's time to start planning. Use our handy checklist to help you decide what you need to get your office up and running. Try not to purchase top of the line office furniture and computer equipment if you don't need it right now. Start with the basics and work from there. You can always upgrade later.

Setting Up

After you decide on and purchase what you need, it's time to set up your office. Make sure you set things up so that you have a functional workspace. It probably isn't practical for you to have to get up and walk across the room every time you print something. Design your space so everything is within easy reach. If desk space isn't available for this, consider a table or bookshelf to hold things like a printer, fax machine or scanner as well as any extra office supplies. Speaking of extra supplies, if your office is in a spare bedroom, a closet is an excellent place to store supplies and files.

Space and Money Saving Ideas

Instead of buying a fax machine and installing a fax line, consider using an online service like MyFax where for about $10/month you can send up to 100 pages and receive up to 200 pages. Faxes go directly to your email as a PDF. The faxes are also stored on the service's website for about a year for easy access.

Another great online service is box.net which allows you to store files for a monthly fee. You can even share the files with others and create links to download files. This is a great alternative to emailing large files or purchasing blank CDs or DVDs for storage.

If you need help but don't have the space for employees, consider using a virtual assistant. A VA provides administrative and other types of support for small businesses from their home office and communicates via phone, fax or email. It's an excellent way to get what you need done easily and affordably.

Once you've got your office set up, remember to set specific office hours. Let everyone else in your house know that you cannot be interrupted during working hours unless it is an emergency. Also, just because your office is in your house, don't be tempted to spend your evenings or weekends working. Learn when to close the door and leave work alone so you can enjoy time away from the office to spend with family and friends. If you can do that, you will join the ranks of millions who enjoy successfully balancing work and life under one roof.