The Art of the Home Office

Home offices have been around for many years. Dad or mom had a desk in an extra room or a cubby hole where they compiled and paid the household bills, filled out the yearly taxes and stored the family health and other records. Nowadays, the home office has expanded to include dedicated rooms for the telecommuters and freelancers to perform a variety of tasks ranging from bookkeeping to architectural design. The computer and Internet have made working from home a true vocation in every sense of the word. Furnishing the home office and stocking the basic supplies doesn't have to break the bank. The following tips are a good guide to setting up and maintaining your home office on a budget.

Computer: No matter what type computer you have you need to make sure you have enough space on your hard drive to save important files. As a telecommuter or freelancer you are responsible for saving and keeping client files. (See section on backups.) Your system doesn't have to be a top-of-the line computer as long as you have enough memory to run the software needed for your specific clients.

Software: There are literally hundreds of thousands of types of software on the market. Job specific software will be a costly item, for example, graphic design software such as Adobe Suites can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Be prepared for this cost. There are alternatives to some softwares, such as Photoshop Elements instead of full blown Photoshop. However, do your research and make sure the products you choose perform the necessary tasks.

Regardless of the field you will be working in, you will most likely need word processing software and an email client such as Microsoft Offiec or you can choose a freeware program such as Open Office (www.openoffice.org) which is compatible with Office and makes sharing documents with your clients easy. Additionally, you will want to obtain a PDF maker, there are many on the market which can be inexpensive or even free, such as Primo PDF Maker (www.primopdf.com). A pdf maker is invaluable as it allows you to send work files to clients and other people that are not easily editable.

Back-Up Hard Drive or Location: Consider this, your biggest client has a deadline and you have finally reached completion. Just before you hit the send button on your email, your computer crashes for good. Without a backup source you have just lost your client and any positive comments that bring work to you. There are several options, you can purchase a backup hard drive rather inexpensively or choose offsite storage through the Internet. No matter which option you choose, you must have a disaster plan.

Printer: You shouldn't put a lot of money into a printer. With the availability of email and FTP sites, printing will be a minimal expense. You will want to print a draft and final copy for proofing your work before sending it out and there will be the occasional client who asks for printed work to Fedexed. A good inkjet printer with color and black and white should suffice. You can refill the black ink jets, its not recommended to refill the color jets and it can void your warranty.

Filing Cabinets: Again, you can keep this cost at a bare minimum using filing boxes instead of purchasing filing cabinets. If décor is a concern, scavenge the local thrift shops and Craigslist (www.craigslist.com) for used ones, you might even find a free one on Craigslist.

Communication: Telecomutting and freelance work both involve a distance between you and your client. Long-distance charges can add up quickly. There are a couple of options to avoid long distance charges. If you have an unlimited cell phone plan, use your cell phone for your business calls, this also makes your cell phone bill tax deductible. You can also use your computer as a means of communication with one of the many Voice Over IP (VOIP) phone solutions, Skype is actually a free VOIP for basic services, the only cost is a headset to connect to your computer.