A home office is anywhere you have space to get work done. For my friend with three kids ranging in age from 6 to 10, it’s a walk-in closet she converted to an office space. She can close and lock the door when she needs to — from inside or outside! For another friend, “the office” is the kitchen table after the dinner dishes are cleared. Still another friend, a life-coach, has an entire 200-square-foot room with a separate bath and entrance where she sees her clients.
The thing is, you do what you need to do to get your novel written, your software sales done, or your Internet marketing sites created and launched. The space doesn’t have to be elaborate, or a contender for “designer office of the year” on HGTV. It’s nice if you can swing it, but don’t wait to start a business until you have a separate room in your home.
10 Essential Things Your Home Office Needs
- Flat surface for a laptop, iPad, box of envelopes, craft material and work space for whatever type of work you do.
- A filing system. It doesn’t matter if you’re using cardboard boxes you got from the grocery store, plastic bins from the dollar store, or the entire home office line of mix and match bookshelves, desks and paper clip holders from IKEA. You just need to have some way to stay organized.
- Pens, markers, crayons or whatever it is you write with, plus a pad of paper or a notebook. Even the greenest paperless offices have paper. When a computer virus, power outage or other tech glitch hits (and they will) you’ll be glad you had the dead tree backup.
- Phone. Use a pre-paid cell phone, Google Voice, Skype or a landline, but have a dedicated phone line or number just for your business, especially if you have family or kids. Depending on what your business is, and how old your kids are, a professional sounding voice answering the phone with your business name, and not yelling “Mom! Dad! It’s for you!” is usually helpful.
- Computer, laptop, iPad or something with an Internet connection. Not having a computer with an Internet connection won’t shut you down, but it will make connecting, communicating, researching and promoting your business so much harder. You need a website, too, but that’s an online resource, not an in-home resource.
- Office hours. Even if you live alone, post your office hours where you can see them. A sticky note on your computer works. Abide by them so you don’t burn out.
- A comfortable chair. Buy the best you can afford. It doesn’t have to be a traditional “office” chair, but it does have to be comfortable.
- Clear boundaries. You need this for tax reasons, but you also need to declare the boundaries of your office off limits to anything but work. That way the laundry doesn’t end up on one end of your workspace and the kid’s toys on the other. It also keeps the IRS happy to see that you’re not mixing work with your home life. Keep your workspace clear of anything but work and you’re much more likely to get work done.
- A box of tissues. Don’t laugh. If you work at home and go looking for something to blow your nose, wipe your tears, or clean your computer screen, chances are you’re going to end up emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the bathroom or getting distracted as you wander around the apartment or house looking for a tissue.
- A wall mounted calendar or white board. Having a list of what you have to do, or a visual reminder of your schedule, deadlines, upcoming meetings and bills will go far in motivating you. It can be as small as 8×10 inches or, like mine, encompass an entire wall, but have something you can write on to alert you to the day’s events. Yes, get one even if you have a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
Things You May Not Know About Home Offices
If you’re planning on using the corner of the kitchen where you write your blog as a tax write-off, think again. Uncle Sam is picky about what he considers “Dedicated office space.”
Generally, in order to claim a business deduction for your home, the IRS requires you use that part of your home you want to designate an office “exclusively and regularly”:
- as your principal place of business, or
- as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of your business, or
- in any connection with your trade or business where the business portion of your home is a separate structure not attached to your home.
If you’re thinking that’s pretty simple, think again. The entire list of rules, allowable deductions and the percentage of your home you can legitimately call your home office is thick enough to require its own file folder in your $49, on-sale-at-Walmart file cabinet. Don’t take my word for it. Refer to IRS Publication 587 at the http://irs.gov website.
If you work from home or are thinking about working from home and you’re looking at rental properties, don’t forget to evaluate the space based on both the size of home office you’ll need, but how you will expand if you need to. After all, you’re going to be successful right?
