Every home office should have the basics: a computer, a desk, a chair. Every home office should also have the rights tools to keep you organized, to help you manage your time, and to run your business in the most successful way. You can decorate and make it suit your taste as you much as you’d like, but the following home office supplies are MUST HAVES for any entrepreneur.
File Folders
I know, seems so trivial, but you have so much to organize! Bills, receipts, contracts, insurance papers, all of it needs a place. A filing cabinet with a few file folders is the perfect way to set up an organizational system that works for you. Organize your receipts for bookkeeping and to make taxes easier, organize contracts for easy reference, and hang on to bills that need to be paid and have been paid.
Notebooks
My favorite! Having a variety of notebooks to jot down ideas, run through planning, and just to doodle in can keep you organized and on top of projects. I love having a notebook where I can keep notes for blog ideas, another for VA work (including to-dos, notes on what might need updated in future contracts, client information), and just a note taking one for webinars and calls. You can also keep a small pocket sized one on you for taking down ideas that come to you while out shopping, out to lunch, or out on a walk.
To-do List
Trust me. Whether you want to use paper and pencil or you want a cool app to do the tracking, you need something to manage your neverending to-do list. I love using Todoist, and I’m still a paper and pencil kind of girl. I use both! To-do list management keeps me on track of what’s due, who I need to call, what I need to buy, and even just the day-to-day management of a blog and a household!
A telephone system
You can use your cell phone if you want to, or you can set up a home phone system like Ooma. Ooma gives you not just a telephone but a way to block unwanted calls (no more telemarketers!), conference calling, and voicemail. All of which are so important to any business! Stop letting your time be eaten up by dealing with spam phone calls and just block them.
Basic Service features (one-time $99.99 purchase of Ooma Telo hardware plus $4-$7 per month applicable taxes and fees):
1. Free U.S. Calling: Only pay taxes and fees, no long-term contract required.
2. #1 rated home phone service for five years in a row by leading consumer research publication
3. Superior voice quality and reliability
4. Caller ID and call-waiting
5. Free Ooma-to-Ooma calling anywhere in world
6. 30-day money-back guarantee and extendable 1-year warranty with live customer support
7. 911 Calling and Text Alerts
8. Free Mobile App
9. 15 minute, easy set-up
10. One-time $39.99 transfer fee to keep home phone number or choose your own number in most any available area code for free
11. My Ooma online portal: Play messages, check call logs and control preferences online, from anywhere
Premier Service: ($9.99 per month)
1. Block telemarketers and other unwanted calls with personal, community and expanded blacklists
2. Free calling to Canada
3. Instant Second Line
4. Voicemail-to-email forwarding
5. Ring your home and mobile simultaneously
6. Call forwarding
7. Anonymous call blocking
8. Enhanced caller ID
9. Smart Home integrations (except Amazon Echo, which is part of Basic service)
You can purchase on the Ooma website, A C Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Staples, and more. It makes a great addition to any home office, and with the app, lets you answer your work calls wherever you are!