Devoted to WAHMs -Work at Home Moms

This is the second guest post on the topic of setting up a home office and getting started in business. 

Yesterday's guest post was from Sue Walsh, a writer and a blogger. One of the places where Sue blogs is at the Two Minute Commute, a great home business blog.

Today we hear from Grant Griffiths of Home Office Warrior for a slightly different perspective on the same topic!

When Laura asked if I would be interested in providing her with a guest post for her blog, it took me all of two seconds to say yes.  Work From Home Momma has become a great source of information for those who work at home and I hope this post will add to that.

The essentials for the home office 

I am going to assume those reading this post have already made up their minds to work from home. Either in their own home based business or telecommuting for an employer.  So I don't need to convince you to break the ties of commuting to work and spending your day in a stuffy office.  What you do need to know is what should you go out and buy so you can be efficient and successful working from home. 

Here is my list:

• First and foremost in my list of essentials is the computer.  I use the MacBook. I am not going to try to convince you that the Mac is the only choice for computer equipment in the home office.  That you won't have to worry about viruses, nor the blue screen of death. And you won't spend a dime on IT. That is for another post. What I am going to try to convince you of is the fact a notebook is one of the most important and essential pieces of equipment you should have for your home office.  In my opinion, a desktop would keep you too tied to your office.  Most individuals who work from home are "road warriors" and we don't always deal with business sitting in our offices.  A notebook computer gives us the freedom to take our offices with us.  When I leave my office, my office goes with me. I have all my files and tools with me and can conduct my business from anywhere.
  
  
• I use a ScanSnap scanner and this is my next essential tool for the home office. The ScanSnap is not expensive and takes up very little space on your desk. Best of all it is a sheet feeder scanner and will duplex without you doing anything. Because of the SnanSnap, I no longer own a fax machine either. I use my computer and the Scansnap to send and receive faxes. If I don't already have the document on my computer, I scan it and fax it. When I receive faxes, I never print them. I handle them on my computer.
  

• Next on my list of must haves for the home office warrior is a good cell phone.  I use and love the iPhone. Not going to try to convince you to get the iPhone, even though it is wonderful. What I do think is important is to have a tool that allows you to conduct business if you are out of the office and don't, god forbid, have your notebook computer with you.
  

• Most good smartphones have the ability to do almost everything you need to conduct business away from the office.  Make sure you smartphone or your cell phone PDA combo has your calendar, contacts, web search ability, and instant messaging.  I can also access my files on my desktop at the office from my iPhone using a FREE service called SoonR. Which is why the ability to access the Internet on your smartphone is a must.  I can get on my computer in my office.  Pull up my client's file and read any document there. I can also email a document to a client if they need it using this service and my iPhone.
  
  
• Many people ask me how I can work on a 13" screen all the time and get my work done.  I don't.  And this is the next essential piece of equipment you should have.  When I am in the office, I have two displays in front of me.  My MacBook's 13" display and plugged into my MacBook is a 19" widescreen flat display.  Even if you work with a desktop in your office, you should have two displays.  Lets face it, no matter what the experts say, we multi-task.  And having two displays allows us to get more done.  And since my office is a paperless office, I have to be able to look at documents on one screen while I deal with that document on the other.  If I had my way about it, I would have two external displays on my MacBook.  But that is going to have to wait.
  
  
• Paperless, paperless, paperLESS.  Working from a home office has perhaps one disadvantage and that is limited space.  Because of this, utilizing a paperless office saves both space and allows you to take your office with you when you leave your office. 
  

I could go on and on about the essentials for the home office. However, the ones I have just mentioned are at the top of the list. If you are limited on what you can get, get these. As for applications, I talk about some of the software I use in my home office when I discussed the, must have applications for the home office warrior. And I will post more about installed applications and web-based applications soon on Home Office Warrior.

Grant moved his professional service firm to his home office January, 2005. He is now moving away from practicing law to focusing on on blogging and G2 Web Media. He started blogging about working from a home office on his blog, Home Office Lawyer. That blog has grown into the Home Office Warrior. Grant can be reached by email at grant@homeofficewarrior.com