Who Works at Home, Why, and How You Can Join Them How ...

Homeward
Bound
Stock Your Home Office
When you're ready to start business, you need a
place to do business. If you're working out of your
home, that means you need a home office.
Consider the ideal layout for your working tools.
Where do you want your computer? What kind of light
do you need? What reference books do you want at
your fingertips? You won't find it hard to come up with
an office layout that's perfect for your needs. But now
you have to buy the tools to fill that office.
Below is a mid-range price list for some essential
equipment and some desirable options. You could
probably spend more for a desk and get an antique
with character. Or you could find cheaper software
because you don't need anything too sophisticated.
For the computer equipment, we've listed sug
gested retail prices. Sales, discounts, and regional
competition could mean lower costs, of course.
We've listed low-end printers, although you
might choose a more expensive printer, depending
on your needs. Some 9-pin dot-matrix printers will
give near-letter-quality output; that might be sufficient
in your case. If you're starting a publishing business,
you should think about investing in a laser printer.
And if you'll be printing a lot of business correspon
dence, consider a 24-pin dot-matrix printer.
For beginning home office workers, we recom
mend an integrated package that includes word pro
cessing, database, spreadsheet, and communica
tions capabilities. We've listed Microsoft Works, but
there are many others.
The price for a business telephone line, separate
from a residential telephone line, will depend on the
phone company in your area. The price we've listed is
just an estimate.
Other prices came from catalogs and retail
stores. As you may have guessed, this list offers a
researched estimate, not a precise itemization.
— Heidi E. H. Aycock
Computers
IBM PS/2 Model 25
Includes color monitor, space-saving
keyboard, one built-in 3'/2-inch disk
drive, one add-on 3'/2-inch disk drive,
PC-DOS, and nine-pin dot-matrix printer
S2.284
Macintosh Plus
Black-and-white monitor, keyboard,
mouse, one built-in 3Vj-mch disk drive,
one external 3"2-inch disk drive. Image-
Writer (nine-pin dot-matrix printer)
S2.S23
Tandy 1000TX
Color monitor, keyboard, one built-in
3'/3-inch disk drive, one add-on 5'A-inch
disk drive. MS-DOS, nine-pin dot-matrix
printer
S2.064
Software
Microsoft Works
S195 (MS-DOS)
S295 (Macintosh)
Communications
Separate telephone line for home
S105 one-time connection fee: S32 per
montn
Answering machine
Si 10
Stationery
500 pieces, 500 envelopes, and 1000
business cards
$150
Furniture
Desk
S475
Three-drawer filing cabinet
S225
Two chairs
S250
Bookshelf
$200
Lamp
$45
Miscellaneous
Supplies
Disks, disk holders, paper clips.
pens, paper, surge protector
S60
Optional
Modem
S250
Personal copier
S600
COMPUTER GROWTH
IN HOMEWORKER HOUSEHOLDS
Laser printer
S2.700
Such part-time arrangements eventually lead
some individuals down the road to self-cmploymcnl.
They find they already have the office, the
computer equipment, and the experience of work
ing at home. All they need is the clientele.
Small-Business Boom
"The usual preconception of corporate work at
home is the big Fortune 500 companies." says
Miller. "But small businesses have leaped to the
fore in discovering the benefits of home workers
as a labor pool or lifestyle."' t>
24 COMPUTE!