San
Diego Professional Organizer Advice
Welcome to our advice section. Every week I answer new questions submitted
by readers on Organizing, Image, Fashion and Event Planning.
You can read my "AddSPACE To Your Life!" column every week
in San Diego's “The Coast News" or read the archived columns
below.
E-mail your questions to advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
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Offices, Desks, Chairs, File Cabinets, Organization
11.11.05
November
is National ‘Clean Out Your Refrigerator’ Month! Do you
have any mysterious items lurking in your fridge? If so, email me
your questions. By Thanksgiving you’ll have room to store the
turkey and all the trimmings!
Dear
Kathi,
"I am updating the office space for my home-based business. In
corporations, an office was always already set up for me, so now I
need to know how to set up a professional office at home. I would
like to know what is mandatory initially (the minimum requirements)
so I can keep costs low, yet still be effective right away."
- Joy, Arbonne International
Joy,
The minimum furniture requirement to set up a home-based office is
a desk, desk chair, and file drawer or cabinet. A computer, printer
and scheduling device comprise the equipment that will round out your
office set-up. You may possibly need to post your own website, but
that is another column!
Your desk can be a large table (think dining size) or an actual office
desk. Small folding tables are too restrictive and won’t hold
your computer plus other necessary paperwork. The best desk set-up
leaves 60% of the flat area free for paperwork. This is why you need
a large surface, at least preferably.
An ergonomically designed desk chair is worth more than the money
it costs. Your old dining room chair will fatigue you quickly and
possibly leave you with a tweaked back by the end of the day. Check
at your local thrift store if you need to save money as you start
your business. The Community Resource Center in downtown Encinitas
frequently sells office furniture. You may also wish to look into
ergonomic wrist or foot rests.
File drawers will keep all of your papers from overtaking your business
as you grow. Many clients try to use “pretty” or inexpensive
file boxes for their paperwork. File boxes run several hazards: you
pile things on top that need to be moved to access your file; they
fall apart; they don’t hold hanging files, so your files fall
down inside and don’t have proper separation, etc. etc. etc…
I could go on but will stop here.
I highly recommend treating your business like a business, by buying
business level tools to work with. Buy a real file cabinet. It will
serve you for years. If you want to save money, thrift stores often
sell high quality cabinets for $15 to $30, as opposed to the $120
office supply store price range. Make sure to buy a cabinet that has
drawers with sliding tracks and wheels. Again, think industrial strength.
There is nothing worse than battling with jammed or loose file drawers
when you are trying to work.
Regardless of your type of business, a computer will save you countless
hours of frustration and wasted time. It provides the capability to
send and receive emails and to access websites. Faxes are almost a
thing of the past now.
If you are not computer savvy, now is the time to jump in and learn.
Many computer courses are available, including the free courses at
the public library or local community center. Community colleges and
adult education programs are other good resources. Check out www.sandiegocet.net
for free computer training class schedules. You could also learn one-on-one
by being tutored by a neighbor. Learning computer basics is a mandatory
investment for a new business, even if you do not plan to sell your
product online.
A printer will help you prepare documents to give to your clients
or print reference materials for your projects.
Probably the most important element of a functioning business is a
proper scheduling device. Whichever you choose, use one and ONLY ONE
for everything in your life: all of your business appointments, reminder
notes and personal commitments. It can be as simple as a paper schedule
book, day planner, or palm pilot (aka PDA: personal digital assistant,)
or as complicated as a BlackBerry. Some handheld electronic devices
have the added convenience of software that “hot syncs”
information to your computer. Consider as well the contact management
options that come with your computer, like Outlook, Entourage or ACT.
Managing your contact list will put you a step closer to truly being
in control of your business.
With any of these Customer Relationship Management programs, you can
enter and store all the numerous business card information and potential
client names into one space, then, most importantly, schedule follow
up calls so that you can land new business.
Please
submit your questions to:
advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
.
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