Essential Equipment For Your Home Office

Essential Equipment For Your Home Office..
Home Office Tips
by BB Lee(C)2003

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.

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