Even if you will only be working on your business planning at home, setting up a dedicated workspace is a good idea. During the planning phase, you will be collecting important paperwork, from your research notes to your entity registration, that you want to keep safe from being damaged or lost. As you delve deeper into the process, you will need a filing system to organize your work. Information from suppliers needs to be kept handy, and your marketing materials will need to be easily accessible and organized. Whether you choose to use a file cabinet or three-ring binders to manage your paperwork, keep your system convenient enough that you will actually use it!



Phone calls with suppliers and vendors will be a regular part of your startup planning. Be sure your dedicated work space allows you to maintain a professional atmosphere for talking on the phone. An office space with a door is best. Screaming kids and barking dogs in the background will limit your credibility. Also consider installing a separate phone line or purchasing a work-only cell phone, so that business calls are not accidentally picked up by others in your home and any calls that go to voicemail aren't greeted by your hilarious family voicemail jingle.

Developing your business idea will require significant concentration and focus, so a quiet area (again, a space with a door is best) is a must. Much of your startup research can be conducted through the internet, so be sure you have access to a high-speed connection. If you have or can get a laptop to use for your startup, wireless capabilities are great. With a wireless connection, you can work anywhere in the house, not to mention at your local library, Starbucks, and most hotels!

If you plan to work from home for the long term, a dedicated work space is critical. To remain compliant with your LLC or corporate entity registration (your business should be one or the other to protect your personal assets), you must keep all business records separate from your personal. If you plan to write the use of your home office off as a personal tax deduction, and you should, the square footage that you count as office space must be dedicated to the business. That means your home office should not double as your personal bill-paying area or as extra personal storage space.

It is very easy, when working from home, to be lackadaisical about managing your work space and allow it to become a messy mass of disorganized papers. From the first day you begin working on your startup, remember that you are establishing the culture of your future company. Force yourself to maintain the organization and discipline that you will expect from your employees. How you get work done will be the standard for how your employees get work done, so begin your startup with the future in mind.