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Let's Talk SOHO: Not SoHo (New York) or Soho (London)

© Bert Markgraf

When we're talking small business, you can't get much smaller than the office in the home or the one-person office. Thanks to computers, good communication and the Internet, these operations are not only viable but can fully service their customers and do it at a lower cost than anyone else. To operate such an office you're going to have to get a good computer. We're not talking latest MMX 200 MHz technology here; just an average Pentium with a 28.8 kbps modem and an office suite of software. MS Office is still the best but expensive. Corel Office is half the price and it will do. The Lotus suite is OK but no one else has it and stay away from MS Works. All this stuff is going to run on Windows 95 so if you haven't switched from Windows 3.11 yet, make the switch slowly by running both versions for a while (try this link for instructions on how to do this — if it sounds too involved, just switch to Windows 95). No, your old 386 can't be up-graded adequately — it will run but you're just going to be spending a lot of valuable time studying the Windows hourglass. Keep it as a backup.

You'll also need a good printer. If you're going to do a lot of printing you need a 600 dpi laser printer for the quality of output and speed (at least 6 pages per minute) required. Otherwise, get a good ink-jet and you'll have the bonus of colour. Stay away from the multi-use units and get a fax machine — faxing from the computer is very convenient but it makes a poor fax receiver.

Your phone system is one of the keys to good customer service so, while you don't necessarily need two lines, you at least need a second number with the distinctive ring feature and a switch box for the fax. If you're going to spend a lot of time on the Internet, get the phone company call answering instead of your own answering machine — it works when the line is busy. And get a speaker phone — you'll be spending some time on hold and the speaker phone lets you work while you wait for the other party to pick up.

For a more detailed discussion on phone and other technology issues try Business @ Home. They have a number of interesting links for small offices.

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