Home Sweet Workplace

>>As employment opportunities dwindle and businesses look for ways to trim costs, working from home is becoming more common.

"We have seen a national uptick in questions about starting up businesses from home," says Martin Lehman, a counselor for a New York chapter of SCORE, a nationwide association dedicated to counseling small businesses. "It’s all about lowering overhead expenses."

It might be cost effective, but it has distinct challenges and demands.

One of the biggest difficulties is preventing home responsibilities from seeping into work duties. It requires self discipline and clear boundaries between work life and family life.

"How I define the two is rather simple," says Clay Cone, owner of Cone Communications public relations and marketing firm, his home-based business in Naples. "When I take my son to school in the morning, we leave the ‘house,’ I drop him off and then I return to the ‘office.’ My workday officially begins. Of course, I am constantly staying in touch with clients via cell phone and e-mail even in off hours."

It’s important to identify a dedicated space, preferably a separate room, to serve as your work area. This will enable you to work with fewer interruptions, ensure you don’t get pulled into household tasks and provide a specific area to store your work files and records.

Once you identify that space, consider how to set it up to best meet your needs within your budget. A well-designed home office is organized, efficient, simple and stylish, says Ann Scott, principal of Naples-based AS Interiors.

The space available in your home will determine its size and whether it must double as a guest room, media center or some other purpose. Your office space should be well lit with a desk lamp and built-in fixtures, and it should also be aesthetically pleasing to you.

"While a home office should be efficient, aesthetics play a very important role in keeping you organized," says Scott.