The right place should match your personal work style and budget. If you decide to work at home, you'll need space for a desk, a chair, a computer, phone and other frequently-used equipment.



You ought to have a comfortable space, with chairs or a couch where you can hold meeting or just collect your thoughts. And storage space for filing cabinets, books and reference materials

You might need a large work space for activities such as hand mailings (does anyone still do this?) shipping and assembling materials.

Be Unique!

Your home business will be much easier if you work in something that you love! So the first thing you must do is to define the niche where you are the specialist. This is the niche is where starting an internet business you can stand out from competition, and for which you can charge a decent free.

There are four primary ways to define your niche:

* WHERE you work -- e.g., east side of town; in firm that specializes in business advertising, in a restaurant who has attained renown for having the best cakes in town, etc.

* WHEN you are called upon -- e.g., you repair computers on weekend and after-hours calls; you provide support to people involved in scandals or tragedies; last-minute dinner parties, etc...

* WHO are your customers -- e.g., a computer consultants, public relations firms, home business women, ezine publishers, etc?

* WHAT kind of product or service you provide -- e.g., e-book publishing tools, advice for new entrepreneurs, home made syrup, etc...

And my best advice is: Think about starting an internet business with what you already know, and start your Internet business in an organized manner.

* In your work space you must keep those things you most frequently use near your desk.

* A placing scale: On a scale of one to four, rate the items you use every day a one; those you use once a year, a four.

* Place all the items with a 1 within an arm's reach of your desk area.

* Items with a 2: in files, cabinets, countertops or shelves within your immediate range.

* Items with 3: in nearby cabinets or closets, or on shelves outside your office space.

* Items with 4: in remote locations outside your office space (maybe other room, the attic, the garage)

* Open a business bank account. Keep separate your personal and your business accounts.

* Get a separate phone line for business calls. (This will give you a more professional image).

* As you are your own boss, you must establish a time schedule for yourself. Don's spend time with extra sleep or reading newspaper

* Put yourself a deadline complete a given project by a certain time.

* Give yourself a reward if you accomplish a specific task.

* Don't let household activities become a regular part of your workday. You can be fiscally at home, but must be mentally at work

* Tell your family and friends that in your working hours they should avoid disturbing you. You are not on vacations, you are WORKING at home

* If disruptions become a main obstacle in your workday, you should consider relocating your office in a different area of the house, or changing your working hours

Make Sure That You Are Starting a Legal Business

* Make sure you can operate a business from your home, get sure there aren't any zoning restrictions and, if there are problems in doing so, get a separate mailing address or apply for a use permit or variance to your zoning laws.

* If you have employees or are incorporated or in a partnership, get an employers ID number

* If your job is covered by federal laws, obtain a federal license

* If you have any required state or local business licenses, get them.

* Protect your products or services with trademarks, copyrights or patents needed

* If you work with other people, and are not a sole proprietor, incorporate or form a limited-liability company

* Find out if you are required to collect sales tax for your product or service. If so, register with the state agency responsible for collecting sales taxes.

* If you are using a name other than your own or a variation thereof, register your business name

Note: it could be wise to consult a lawyer or the appropriate government agencies in your city and state to be sure about which of this points apply to your business or locale.

Do All That You Can To Be Reachable

Follow as many as the following advises as you need: Work in regular business hours. People can feel very annoyed if they don't know when they can find you.

* If you need to intensively use your telephone...

* Hire a second line to receive customer's calls

* Or have a fax

* Or have an e-mail address

* Or all of the above

* Use voice mail to take messages when you're out of the office or unable to answer the telephone. You can purchase an answering machine or add a voice mail system to your computer.

* Use calls forwarding to receive calls when you're out of the office.

* Use a cellular phone, a 700 number or a pager.

* To handle incoming calls while you're on the telephone, get call waiting or voice mail that picks them up so people never get a busy signal.

* Get distinctive ringing that gives you two phone numbers on one line

* Choose a good direct name that fits your business image. A confusing name for your business can result in clients overlooking you, or can target people that aren't really interested in what you offer them.

* Find a good Web hosting service and buy your own Internet domain.