When you set up your office area you have to consider clients,
suppliers, family, neighbors and yourself. The balance is easy to
achieve when you keep in mind the double function your home has
from now on: a home and an office. Below I outline the baby-steps
that will help you to achieve this balance.

Define your work area

This is the first step on your path to success. If you don't have
a defined work area, a place that says to you "While You Are
Here, You Are At Work!", then you will probably stumble in a lot
of distractions and by the end of the day you will be surprised
with how little you have done. You should not limit your idea of
work area to space only. Consider time dimensions, too. Your
coach could be your office, if your family knows that you are
working and not sleeping, petting the cat or watching TV.

You should always keep in mind your cost. If defining your area
means drywall, purchasing that awesome coach and a new carpet,
then you'd better reconsider. Your business will be pretty slow
for the first few months, so you'd better save that money for
promotion and to secure your basic expenses.

Equip it

Equipment is always a two-sided issue—you have to keep your costs
at a minimum and at the same time you have to be professional and
not to look "cheap".

The first place to start cutting your costs is furniture. Think
classic, think second-hand, and think professional use! Don't
fall for that brand-new filling cabinet for "home use"—it is
likely to become outdated very soon and fall apart just when you
need it. You will be better off with a comfortable second-hand
chair, table and filling cabinet that were actually used and
proved to be sturdy enough.

Now, let's look at the "tools". In most of the cases they
constitute of your computer, keyboard, mouse, printer and your
website. It is my personal observation that the most sensitive
pieces of equipment are the mouse and the keyboard, so I would
recommend that you consider the best quality for these two. Your
monitor is also very important, but I've found that you don't
need Sony in order to feel comfortable and keep your eyes
healthy. A good alternative is CTX.

Finally, let's look at your website. Your website is your store-
front and here, you'll have to go an extra mile in order to
create a good first impression. If you can afford it, I would
recommend that you hire a professional web designer. However, if
money is tight, there are various alternatives that will help you
to create a professional image. One of my favorites is BigStep
( http://www.bigstep.com ) that will help you to create your site
in several easy steps. Another good source is Working Solo
( http://www.workingsolo.com ) and the SCORE program
( http://www.score.org ) that offers free consulting for over 500
categories. Once you have your website ready to be published, you
should think about finding a host for it and securing your own
domain name. InterNIC lists the major ISP providers here
(http://www.internic.net/alpha.html ).
There are some very good solutions:
http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?
bfmid=12768212&siteid=37618938&bfpage=home
offers 200 MB of web space for $200 upfront without Any Monthly
Fees. This is a good deal, especially if you plan to keep in
business for at least a year.
Here: http://www.namezero.com you can secure your business name
for free (the free service comes with a navigation bar) or
upgrade to the deluxe version.

Think about safety

This section includes anything that may jeopardize your business—
from word of mouth that a customer tripped in a toy and broke her
neck to a costly lawsuit for damages. Don't dismiss any of these
possibilities and research carefully how to insure and protect
your business.

Finally, I wish you success with your newborn business!

About the Author

Maria Stefanova is the owner of LG Software
(http://www.lg_software.net), a company which aims to make SAT, GRE
and GMAT preparation more easy, funny and effective, of course!