Be Wise
reating a Home Office
Writer: Myrna E. Brown
S
tarting a home office can be challenging but once you have determined what you want to accomplish, things can more or less fall into place.
business bank account is the first step in helping you avoid mixing personal expenses with that of your business. Ÿ Get a bulletin board to hold your major ‘to do’ list and events and make sure it is in a very visible place. Ÿ Invest in a good ergonomically friendly chair. Your health outweighs your need to be frugal. Ÿ Keep it a single purpose environment which means that you do not get to turn it into a storage space. Ÿ Try to have a comfortable sofa chair nearby so that when not on the computer you can grab a note pad and brain storm. Having space away from the technological gadgets increases your creativity and sparks new ideas. Ÿ Organise and prioritise. If you put in a television but find that you spend more time watching the soaps than doing actual work, it is time to remove it. Ÿ Establish office hours. While you have the flexibility that a workplace does not offer, you still have to put in the time to be successful.
You first have to determine if your work project is a hobby or a conduit to transforming your family’s finances. If it is the former then a shelf or an accordion file may do the trick. If it is a bonafide money maker, a filing cabinet, phone extension and computer should be in order. The following are tips to get that office up and ready. Ÿ Make sure you have good lighting and that the area is comfortable to be in for any extended period of time because if it begins to feel like a cubicle in an office complex, you may not desire to spend any quality time there. Add some plants and a painting for a bit of decor. Ÿ If you do not have an entire room, find a corner and mount shelves and find a screen that can be used as a partition. Ÿ Separate the personal from the professional. It is important to keep your personal life from spilling over into your business life (and vice versa). Setting up a
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