The first step in setting up your Home Office is to choose a good location. If you are fortunate enough to have an extra room in your home to use as an office, then you don't have to think too hard about this one. If you are like alot of Home Based Business beginners though, you may need to improvise a bit.
A good office location for parents will be somewhere that isn't a "high traffic" area. One side of the living room, one wall or corner of a bedroom, or even in a storage room or large walk-in closet if it's all you have to work with. The important thing is that it's a place just for you where you can concentrate when you need to.
Ideally, your Home Office space should be at least 7 feet long and 5 feet wide. This will be plenty of room for the equipment and accessories you will eventually need. And that's what's coming up next...
Assuming you will be working mostly online from home, here are some items you will want for your Home Office. If you cannot afford these things, don't run out and buy them on credit or feel as though you can't be successful without them. There are always alternative ways of doing things.
Look at Thrift Stores and Discount Stores and keep your eye out in the local paper for people who are selling these items inexpensively. Take your time and shop around if you are on a tight budget. You want to be sure to save your receipts for everything you purchase as these items can be deducted as "Home
Based Business Expenses" at tax time.
Basic Home Office Equipment & Accessories:
A comfortable chair
A good desk
A computer; desktop or laptop with an Internet connection
A printer (one with scan and fax capabilities -3in1- is even better)
Filing cabinet or file folders and stackable file shelves
A calculator, stapler, paperclips, pens & highlighters
A calendar or organizer
A telephone (or cell phone) depending on what type of business you choose. Have a line for business purposes only.
Take the time to set up your space with your own particluar style. Arrange your Home Office for inspiration! Include a plant, flowers, inspirational keepsakes or picture frames at your desk. I suggest hanging a clock, calendar, and a picture of gorgeous scenery, be it mountains & fields or oceans & palm trees... this will keep you motivated during working hours.
Once you have your own space in your Home Office arranged it's time to hop online to set up some basic accounts.
Basic Internet Income Accounts:
The first thing you will need to begin making money online is an email account. You most likely already have one provided by your ISP. I suggest you set up one email address for Business purposes only. Keep your personal emails at a separate address.
You can get a FREE email account at the following websites:
Once your two email accounts are set up, be sure to keep your username and password info written down and kept on file. It would be well worth your time to create a file folder or notebook purely to keep all online account information. You may want to categorize them by subject (ie... Email, Payment Processors, Affiliate Programs), or in alphabetical order. Whatever system works best for you is the best way to do it.
You can also organize your Home Office Info simply by opening up Notepad or Wordpad. Keeping information for a Home Based Business online is very nice and easy, but computers can shut down, so it's important to have paper records as well. Don't risk losing your business info because you kept everything solely in a file on your PC.
A free utility I use every day is RoboForm. This handy program keeps all of your personal, business, and account info stored and fills in forms for you. Your passwords will be stored for you. This saves so much time filling out forms for new account information. You have the option to password protect your information and choose whether or not to fill forms in on each webpage. I highly suggest utlizing this program for your Home Office.
Payment Processors:
Paypal is the most well known and frequently used online payment processor. Paypal is an eBay company and is the preferred form of payment at auctions and millions of online vendors. It is FREE to set up and very easy to use. When you sell a product online all you need to do is copy/paste some HTML code you are given to create a "Pay Now" button. Each time you make a sale Paypal will notify you immediately by email. They are very reputable and provide excellent customer service.
Affiliate Accounts:
You will want to have an account with Clickbank to earn money as an Affiliate. They host thousands of publishers and products to promote. You will find an easy form to fill out to begin with an Affiliate Account. You will choose merchants to work with and promote products for Affiliate commissions. As your Home Business grows you may eventually sign up as a Publisher with your own product for Affiliates to promote. All your Affiliates can be managed with Clickbank.
The most outstanding stand alone Affiliate Program on the Internet is SiteSell's 5 Pillar Program, no doubt. The tools and support they provide are second to none.
If you choose to resell E-Books (or create and market your own) the best resource for selling Digital Downloads is E-Junkie. You can start a subscription for as little as $5 a month. They will host your files and are completely compatible to use with eBay & Auctions.
Make Money Online
Once you have your basic accounts set up, you are already 10 steps ahead of most people wanting to earn money online.
It doesn't take alot to get your Home Office set up. When your Home Office is ready you want to begin making money online visit Internet Income and TurboProducts.
Your most powerful posession is your Mind. Your ideas, inspirations and creativity will lead you to success. Have faith in God and His power working through you to accomplish anything you set your Mind to.
