How to Setup Your Home Office

Setting up a productive home office can be a challenge for those who have never worked at home and don’t know much about technology and the tools required to put together a great home office. Making sure you have all of these tools available will be easy to do know that you have your shopping list. If you are telecommuting employee, your company will generally provide you with the tools necessary to maintain productivity in your home. If you aren’t that technology savvy, an IT Professional from your organization may be called out to your home to assist with the implementation of your home office. Getting a checklist from your company of what you'll need to run your home office will be your very first step. What You'll Need

• Get your Company Telecommute Check List or Get a General Home Office Check List
• High Speed Internet Access – Cable Modem / DSL
• Reliable Productivity PC/Laptop
• Dedicated Phone Line
• Good printer
• Quiet Dedicated Space

Optional Tools and Accessories - Depends on your Work Environment

• Secure VPN Connection to your Office
• Web Camera – Video Conferencing
• Mailing supplies / Fax Solution – Scanner

High Speed Internet Access via Cable Modem or DSL. When choosing your options, now is not the time to choose the cheapest or most meager plan. When requesting your service package from your provider the minimum speed you should be requesting from your provider is 1.5 mbps – 6 mbps (Download) and 768 mbps – 1.5mbps (upload). This is typically a good line speed for your Hi-Speed Internet services. The slower speeds like Dialup and 112 – 500 kbps will result in unreliable performance and many headaches when trying to work from home. I also recommend a wireless router so that you can work comfortably from anywhere you in your home. * If your company utilizes Microsoft Exchange Server / Outlook for your email services, you may want to find out from your internet service provider (ISP) if they are blocking ports 135-139.

A Reliable Productivity PC/Laptop will be the most critical part of your home office. You'll need to make sure it is capable of handling your workload and be totally optimized for working at home. This system may require some different requirements than your standard home PC. You'll need Microsoft Windows XP Professional as it has more security features built in than Windows XP Home Edition. Your workstation should also come equipped with with productivity software such as Microsoft Office Suite or a comparable product. Generally, your company will provide you with equipment and productivity software that handles your workload. However, if you are setting up a Home Office as an individual. Check out my recommended telecommuter package. *You may need to take your office on the road. If you are using a mobile laptop, make sure it has wireless networking features. A Dedicated Phone Line will be the hub of your communications with co-workers and clients. This line should be purposed strictly for business and should be void of all personal calls as it could interupt your daily work flow. I always suggest an inclusive phone package. VoIP is an option that has the best economical cost. Vonage for example has several options to suit your needs. Most packages are under $30 for both local and long distance, including Canada.

A Good Printer / Fax Solution / Scanner - Make sure you have a good printer. The all-in-one printer solutions seem to work well. All of your documents should carry the same professional look and weight of a true office document. Although it should be rare when you need to print a document as most everything will be done electronically. Also, arm yourself with a good PDF creator program. You can set security features on your documents and digitally sign them.

A Quiet Dedicated Space - This one is easy! Make sure your home office is in a secluded and remote area of your home. Your home office should be free of the sounds of household and the neighbor's barking dogs. There is nothing worse than trying to conduct a teleconference and having two barking dogs as a distraction to the real topic.

Your Optional Tools and Accessories will be broadly based on the work you are doing and how your company's Network infrastructure is designed. If you are connecting to your company remotely, chances are you will need VPN authorization and / or a Terminal Services or Citrix account. This information should be provided to you by your company and help you gain access to your Network. On a good day, it should almost be as if you were physically sitting there in the main office.

A Web Camera is necessary if there will be video conferencing. In most cases, this is highly unlikely. However, the occassion may present itself when your manager merely wants to see your face.

Mailing / Shipping Supplies - Just in case there is something that does require a signature, know you your shipping and mailing options, and be prepared with shipping supplies. The United States Postal Service offer free shipping supplies which can be ordered FREE OF CHARGE at The Postal Store. Also check with your local UPS and Fedex corporate accounts to have shipping supplies shipped directly to you.