Posts Tagged ‘Home office’

Ready, set, hang on a second…

By Soulla Lindo

There are many steps to starting a new business.There is getting up the courage to do it. There is coming up with a business plan. There is also that little detail called an idea. But there is also something that is so straight forward and fundamental that it often gets overlooked.

What tools do you really need?

New businesses and especially those working from a small office space or a home office need to do an assessment of physical needs before they hang that “open” sign on the door. This is very important if you are coming from a large company that has always provided the supplies for you. Gone is the computer, the photocopier, the office supply closet full of highlighters, a rainbow of Post-it notes and those little black clips that you never use but always have an assortment of.

There are the obvious essentials – a laptop, a smartphone, a printer – but here are a few other must-have tools for any small business.

The all-in-one-printer: The Frankenstein of office capability. The printer / scanner / fax machine / photocopier is exactly what you need to get started. Assess your needs, and then find the one that best suits them. Do you need it to be wireless? Do you need it to have the capability of scanning directly onto a memory card? This all-in-one tool miniaturzes several large machines at any large company and, in my opinion, is well worth the investment.

Backup external hard drive: This is a must-buy. What would you do if your system crashed and all your company records including financial statements, business plans, invoices, and client projects vanished? Do you even want to know? At a large company, documents tend to be saved on servers and if there are any glitches the IT team always seems to be able to magically fix them. But if you’re saving everything on your computer and you one day get the blue screen of death, then you might not be so fortunate. So back…it…up (and preferably with a hard drive that’s fireproof).

QuickBooks (or a similar accounting software): Bookkeeping is a dreaded task for any small business owner (unless of course you’re an accountant). But QuickBooks simplifies this and even offers a variety of editions for different types and sizes of businesses including freelancers, start-ups, consultancies, and small businesses. The software includes payroll tools which help you take care of your payroll quickly and easily, and helps you accurately file and pay taxes. It gives you a real-time, easy-to-understand overview of your business with the Company Snapshot tool. And you can even keep track of billable hours and easily create invoices. This will save you time, money and your accountant will thank you for it.

A blog: This not a traditional tool, but arguably one of the best marketing tools available to help you build an online presence for your business. New media is not just the future, it’s the present. Having a blog or contributing to one allows you to be seen as a business thought leader and expert in your field and can even help generate leads. Not to mention blogging is one of the most effective ways to enhance your online visibility through search engines.

Marketing collateral: This is a no-brainer, but worth mentioning. Make sure you have a Website and keep it up-to-date. List your services, include links to your social media accounts to easily attract followers and be sure to update your company news, or post press releases so that your customers can see all the positive work you’ve been doing. And don’t forget to print business cards and carry them with you at all times. When someone meets you at a function and asks about your business, they will not remember your Website url or company synopsis. Give them a card for their files – and be sure it stands out so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

If you have a winning idea or a great product you cannot just walk out your front door with a pad of paper and pen in hand and be ready to run a company. Be prepared for success with some of these essential tools.

Soulla Lindo is a communications manager, small business owner and blogger. She has worked in a variety of internal communications, public relations and website management functions. Soulla is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a Corporate Communications Graduate Certificate from Seneca College. Her favourite office supply is the Post-it Note—which she couldn’t live without.

Posted by Ashley in Getting Organized on October 14th, 2011

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Home office or office-office?

For many small business owners, home is where it’s at: the commute and dress code are a cinch and the tax write-offs can save startups a lot of money.

Still, for some like Toronto-based Marija Main, owner of Currant Art Direction and Design Solutions, having an offsite office can become a necessity over time.

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Marija Main

 “I worked from home for three years but as my business grew, I sometimes needed to hire a production artist during busy times. It felt unprofessional having someone work from my dining room table.”

Marija recently bit the bullet and opened a studio near her home where three people can work comfortably – and where she can even do her painting on quiet days. It’s also close to where her children go to school and to her gym. 

Home office expert, Lisa Kanarek, says there are three big reasons entrepreneurs like Marija decide to relocate:

1. Interruptions: If you live alone, a home office can be the ideal place to focus and get your work done. But if you have a family, the once dreamy idea of being able to work near your family can turn into a nightmare if demands from your spouse and kids begin interfering with your assignments and client relationships.

2. Loneliness: We often take the office environment for granted and don’t appreciate the interaction and inspiration it can provide. While many people work well in isolation, for a lot of us, the impromptu visit from a coworker can provide a timeout when we need it most.

3. Growth: As Marija can attest, once you begin hiring employees – even part-time ones – working together on a regular basis in a small home office space may become a hindrance.

Marija’s expansion has had great perks:

“An important benefit for me is to provide my clients with a private space to discuss business… instead of hosting a meeting at my house or in a public coffee shop,” she says. “Plus, getting up from the office chair and brainstorming a client’s job in another environment really works!”

Some things to consider if you decide to get an office-office:

· Share a space – plus office equipment and a receptionist – with other small businesses. It can make the added expense more manageable.

· Negotiate a short-term lease – if the arrangement doesn’t work out, you won’t have that long to wait, or if your business continues to grow you’ll have more leverage when you renew with your landlord.

Here are more great tips from Lisa to help you decide if it’s time to move out of your home office.

Are you thinking of making the move? We’d love to hear why.

Posted by Lynnette in Small Business Spotlight on February 8th, 2010

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How to make your home office a space you can actually work in

With nearly 70% of us doing some work these days from where we live, finding a small space where we can be productive is key.

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Designer Jodi Vautrin offers up a few practical tips to help you set up a home office you can work in:

1. Create a space where you really want to be. This sounds pretty intuitive, but a lot of people lose sight of it: if you can’t imagine spending an entire workday, say, in your basement, don’t set up your home office there.

2. Be organized. Spend time upfront removing distracting clutter. Then fill up your environment as efficiently as possible. For instance, if your job requires that you handle and collect a lot of documents, invest in folders and a filing cabinet – instead of piling up papers on the floor or all over your desk. You can also save a ton of space by investing in furniture and equipment that serve multiple purposes – for example, an all-in-one, instead of a separate fax, copier, scanner and printer.

3. Put up a pinup board. It’s another simple but smart idea that can help you put aside projects and spur-of-the-moment ideas for later and focus on your more immediate tasks at hand.

 Another useful tip to improve your home office workspace:

4. Surround yourself with good lighting. It can improve your mood and elevate productivity.  Natural light is ideal but, especially if you’re using a closet or basement for your home office, shop around for high-quality energy-efficient task lighting.  

Tell us about the one thing you have in your home work space that shouldn’t be there.  Send us your photos and we’ll publish them.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Started on November 25th, 2009

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