TEN TOP TIPS FOR HOME OFFICE/TELECOMMUTING

By MARC MASNIK
Aegis Solutions

In today's business world, more and more people are working from their homes, either running small businesses or "telecommuting" to work via phone services and modems. Because these new home offices are based on new communication and computer technology, overcoming the technical challenges of doing business from home at a reasonable price has become paramount.

In creating an easy and affordable solution for the home telecommuter, there are several things to keep in mind. I'm a big fan of David Letterman and the Late Night crew, so . . . From the home office in Altoona, Washington, here's a Top Ten list of suggestions for creating your home office:

10. Keep it simple when defining your needs. Most telecommuters simply need the four food groups of a standard office: word processing, simple case/contact management, scheduling and printing/faxing. Defining your needs is the most important step, and will impact every other decision you make.

9. When purchasing computer equipment, don't let sales staff oversell you. A common sales practices is "fear of the future". A salesperson will try and convince you that you need NASA Mission Control Center. Don't be oversold, the key is flexibility and the ability to upgrade. When purchasing, make sure the vendor can clearly state to what level that system can be upgraded.

Most systems today are very flexible and expandable. The key points are processor type and speed, RAM memory and hard drive storage. Because memory prices have been cut by more than half over the past six months, you can give your computer all the memory it should need rather cheaply. But remember: you can always add a few megs of RAM or another hard drive later. Other things, such as monitors, keyboards and processors are more expensive to replace and more difficult to upgrade. Spending a little extra money today to give yourself a larger monitor (a blessing if you use more than one application at once) or a faster processor that you will want a year down the road may end up saving you money in the long run.

8. E-MAIL, E-MAIL, E-MAIL. We've all heard it, but do we need or even want it? Ask yourself this: Do your business contacts have it ? Do they use it ? If you can prove to yourself that it would directly help sales and/or service, OK. If not, E-MAIL can be a toy that you don't need. The simplest solutions for E-MAIL come from private Internet providers, who, for a reasonable monthly fee, will assign and maintain an Internet E-MAIL address for you. Yes, American Online, Prodigy, CompuServe and the like do fall into this category, although you will pay for the extra "fluff". If you don't need the "fluff", such as newspaper and magazine access, go with a basic provider.

7. Modems are scary, even for trained professionals. We don't like them either. The easier the setup the better. Stay away from generic modems that can cause you compatibility problems and much grief in the long run. The term "Hayes compatible" is being used all to loosely, and can be very misleading (Hayes is a major name brand modem that many generic manufacturers attempt to duplicate in their programming). A name brand modem will cost you $20 more and will probably include some good fax software anyway. On this one, trust me; the extra $20 will be returned on your reduced psychotherapy bill.

6. Do you want central file collection, or want word processing done at central location? Again, think simple. There is usually no need to go out and have custom systems work done. There are many great "remote" software packages available off the shelf. PC-Anywhere, Carbon-Copy and ReachOut are all excellent products. All of them can provide file transfer, simple mail systems, and central data collection from PC to PC, allowing you to retrieve and send information from a home or satellite office to a main office.

5. Printing is usually more important than anything else. One of the best advances for the home office is the invention of the all-in-one printer (for example the Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet LX). For a very reasonable cost, you can have a printer, plain paper fax, scanner and copier. A good printer not only does several jobs for you, but can make the difference in how your customers perceive how "professional" your firm is. Of course, if your telecommuting and also have a main office, using their printers will probably be your best, and cheapest, solution.

Some words to the wise: watch out for the amount of ink these monsters drink. A refillable ink cartridge system may be a necessary addition. Secondly, the copier functions on printers usually allow for feeding 20-30 pages at a time, but are not very quick. Keep this in mind, and go back to tip #10 for a look at your needs before making a decision.

4. Backup, Backup, Backup. What would happen if your computer died, fizzled, blew up? Would business come to a grinding halt? Even if this is too dramatic for you, consider a tape backup or 'Zip' cartridge drive. For a couple of hundred bucks, you can have all the data security of a small corporation. Systems can be programmed to backup all your data to tape each night. Some of the tapes can then be taken to another location periodically for added piece of mind. If the computer data is truly critical, consider a media fire safe. For another $200 your data will survive an eruption by Mt. Rainier.

3. Standardize if at all possible. If you have more than five telecommuter locations, this can become a true life-saver. Everyone has their own way of working, but if everyone is working in the same "world" it will be much more efficient and save you valuable time. Standardization should include hardware, software and procedures.

2. Organization. We all mean to do it, but somehow those day-timers get lost in the shuffle. One of the best investments a home office telecommuter can have is organizational software. Whether it is a schedule organizer or a contact organizer, these things work (if you use them). These systems can print out the handy day-runner sheets we love, but can also be viewed and printed by other employees via remote access. This can really be helpful with businesses involving a lot of field work. Some examples are Lotus Organizer, Microsoft Schedule+, ECCO-Pro and Symantec ACT!.

And, the number one tip for the home office . . .

1. Stay in control. Don't let the technology dictate what you do. It's just like buying a car. You can get the one that works and gets you from point A to point B. Or, you can buy the flashy new version that looks great, but your mechanic knows the leather seats better than you.

Marc Masnik is president of Aegis Solutions, a Seattle-based network consulting firm.