When Clients Come to Your Home Office - How to Appear Professional in Your Home Office When a Customer Comes to Your House

By Christy Tanner

When you set up your home office, you need to make sure that you do it the correct way. When a client walks into your house for a meeting, they are gaging you by what your home office looks like. You need to make sure that you organize it the best way possible. Make sure that your computer is going to fit on your desk, that your desk isn't too small. You should also make sure that your desk isn't too big or it may just become an eyesore. Also have a paper tray to keep your paper in, to hold work that you have finished. You don't want the tray too full or to have a mess of papers held in there haphazardly. A cluttered desk looks very unprofessional and is not the impression that you want to give your client.

Internet Access

You will need to have the Internet to access jobs, research, and for several other things. Look into the different Internet providers (ISPs) available in your area, and try to get the best deal. Remember that more money doesn't always mean faster, more reliable Internet access. Make sure to set up an email account that will allow you to have plenty of storage for your incoming emails so that you may receive emails reliably from your customers. You might want to create a separate account for your personal emails to differentiate different types of emails. This way, you can also manage your time better by avoiding personal mail during office hours.

Telephone and Voice Mail

Another way to make your home office appear more professional is by placing a telephone on your desk. You will also want to purchase voice mail for when you are not there to answer your phone. Most, if not all, phone companies offer voice mail as one of their services. Also, get call waiting or even multiple lines as one of your purchased business phone services. With this service, you have less of a chance of missing a client's call because they won't get that pesky busy signal. Missing calls also means losing you potential freelance work. Make sure that the message you have recorded on your voicemail is professional and not in bad taste. Now is not the time to burp your voice mail message. An unprofessional voice mail message will scare off potential customers and confuse existing ones as well.

Some other things to follow when setting up your home office are:

1. Location of Your Home Office.

Where you put your home office is very crucial to the success of your freelance business. Many people who set up a home business make the mistake of choosing a little corner of a tiny room to use. They don't have enough space and end up spreading their work all over the room, making the office look busy and messy. If you pick a more central location, then you can conduct business in a more efficient manner and then function even more productively. Additionally, If your home office is in a central location and well organized, it is hard to lose receipts and your paperwork. It should give you enough space to prepare your projects, keep everything organized and receive and make business calls in a calm manner (instead of that claustrophobic, stressed out feeling that you are used to having when you are working in your cluttered home office). The best size that a home office is recommended to be is 10 by 10 feet.

2. The Size of Your Home Office.

Remember that the size and set-up of your home office will depend on the number of people you have working in it. Sometimes you may bring on someone else who will help you in your office, perhaps answering the phones, or even helping with your freelance projects. Make sure that your home office has enough room for the desks you need, chairs, and perhaps even file cabinets. You made need books for research, and thus bookcases to keep them on. If you have the extra room you could even set up a conference room to meet with clients and have the area to spread out your projects that you may be working on at the time. If you are a graphic artist you might need that extra room. Ensure that you keep your children and any toys out of the office area. Nothing is worse then a client coming in and tripping over toys. This will take away that air of professionalism that you work so hard to create.

3. Your Home Office Design Budget.

The ever popular budget will determine exactly what your home office will look like. If you have a minimal budget, then you will not be able to afford fancy modular office systems. You will need to stick with the sale items, and maybe even used items that you find at yard sales and second hand stores. If you need to go buy used office furniture, make sure that the furniture that you buy is still in good shape or that it is able to be refinished. Grubby looking furniture will only take away from the professional look of your home office. Friends are always great to find out about local sales. I recommend that you ask your friends and see what they might know. It is always worth a shot, and you can sometimes come away with a close to brand new item.

4. Make Sure That You Choose the Right Lighting for Your Home Office.

Make sure that the lighting in your home office is good. If you have poor lighting, then you will cause yourself eyestrain, and get headaches every day. Get some lighting that will make it easy for you to see, and avoid putting any light that will cause a glare on your computer screen because this also will cause headaches. If your computer is near a window, them make sure that you have blinds or drapes to cut down on the glare. I also recommend that you try to use fluorescent, or incandescent lights to brighten your room.

5. Pick an Easily Expandable Area of Your House for Your Home Office.

Where you pick to put your home office should be an area that is easy to expand. Make sure that you have the minimum needed equipment for your office when you are just starting out. But keep in mind if business is booming and you need to expand, you will need more space. If your home office is situated on the outside of the house, then it should be easy to expand. You will just need to contact an architect and see if they can expand your office. Of course, you will need to pay for a permit and the equipment need, so keep this in mind when figuring out your budget on this. After you have expanded your office, you may need new equipment or at least more equipment. Make sure you get what you need and don't waste your money on anything that isn't needed.

Setting up a professional office isn't really difficult if you just keep focused on what you need to do. Remember, not everyone can afford the top of the line furniture or computer equipment. And at times you don't need the expensive items anyways. Expensive doesn't always mean better. Don't let the process discourage you either. At times we can't get everything we need right away and it's best to take small steps when this happens. You can create a professional office that will impress all of your clients very simply by make it homey, but not too homey. Make sure to have some of your work around to display for those potential customers. You can can display positive letters from past clients stating how well you handled their project. All this will go far in impressing those home office visiting clients.

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