Essential Equipment For Your Home Office

By BB Lee
Posted Sunday, December 26, 2004

This is part 4 in a series of Home Business Tip Articles. You can read previous tips at: (http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz).

This part concerns the basic equipment you will need in your home office if you want to be productive.

A Computer:
I assume most people reading this article already have a personal computer. Purchase the best you can afford. But, if you are budget minded, you can find many computer stores selling a full computer setup for under $1,000. For starters, take a look at Dell Computer's Website. (http://www.dell.com)

The hardware or software you will need on your computer will depend on your type of buisiness. Most of the newer computers are pre-loaded with all the basic software you will need to run your home office in the beginning. This would include: emailing, spreadsheets, wordprocessing, database creation. Don't forget to install a good back up system for your important files plus a good surge protector to protect the computer. And anti-virus software for added protection when on the Internet.

Monitor:
Computers are packaged with monitors. A few years ago 15 inches was standard. Now you can easily up grade to a 17 inch screen or larger. Larger viewing areas help reduce eyestrain.

Printers:
Again most computers are packaged with a printer. Printers available might be ink jet, or laser. Laser printers produce higher, crisper, professional work. A laser printer is a good choice
if you do a lot of printing and correspondence. If you rarely print out your work, a lower price ink jet printer is adequate.

Scanner:
If you desktop publish you will certainly need a scanner. Scanners are great for scanning images from books, newspapers, reports. Use to make copies of important business documents.

Fax/Copy Machine:
A dedicated fax line is a must if you are online for long periods of time. A fax is still quite essential even in the face of email technology. Many business people still prefer a hands on hard copy instead of email documents. Fax machines also are good copy machine substitutes if you frequently need to copy documents. Fax machines are available for under $100. And don't forget that you can easily send and receive faxes from your computer with Win Fax.

A Business Telephone System: If you want to successfully run your home based business. You must install a business telephone line along with an answering system. This will establish a professional image immediately. And you will not miss important calls when you are away. Plus, a line dedicated only to business calls is a good home business tax right off.

Cellular Telephone:
A must have if you are on the move a lot. You can easily forward all your business calls to your cell telephone number. Never miss an important business call. Or if you stay online for long periods. You simply forward all calls, while online, to your cellular telephone number. Make sure your cell has caller Id, so you can answer only the calls you want. Very convenient.

Other Stuff:
Take a trip to your local office supply store and purchase these basic essentials right away.

Paper (for printer & fax machine)

Printer cartridges

Computer mouse pad

Pencils/pens/erasers

Stapler/extra staples

Post-it note pads

Paper clips

Large legal pads

Folders

Envelopes

Storage boxes

Assorted rubber bands

That's it! After acquiring the above you will have all the basics to set up a home office.

Visit: (http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz/Articles.html) And review the previous tips in the article section.

About the Author
BB Lee is Editor Publisher Of SmallBizBits FREE Home Business Newsletter. Visit at: (http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz)