If you're going into business, you're going to need an office. It doesn't need be elaborate or big, but you will need certain necessities in place before you open for business. Many entrepreneurs start out working from an office in their homes. Working from home can save you money. If you're just starting out, working part time, or just plain broke, this might be the most practical beginning. And even if you don't have to work from the home, it may be your desire to work from home... many small businesspeople see working from home as a major benefit of being their own boss.

Set your hours and secure your family's cooperation. Instruct your family to leave you undisturbed during your work hours. Lunch and breaks give you the opportunity to meet briefly with family members. What you want to avoid is people walking in and out as they please while you're trying to concentrate and work productively.

Get a phone line for your business. The last thing you want is for your four-year-old to answer your phone for you. If you have to use a single line, consider getting a distinctive ring to avoid confusion. ("Distinctive ring" is a feature you can get from your phone company for less than the cost of a new line.) A distinctive ring is also a good idea for testing advertising... if that particular line rings, you know where it came from.

Situate your office away from noise. Your professional image dissipates rapidly when your customer hears a screaming child or family dog barking in the background. These nuisances do more than embarrass you - they can cost you business. Do what you can to control the extraneous noises in your household. A door with a lock is a good starting point.

Avoid moving distractions into your office. Radios and televisions might seem like nice perks, but if they have you singing or laughing instead of calling clients, generating reports, or planning your marketing strategy, they'll need to go. On the other hand, if you can play soft instrumentals or other low-distraction music (no Black Sabbath or Twisted Sister), you may be able to create a relaxing work atmosphere and mask some of those household noises you don't want your customers to listen in on. Dogs and screaming children are extremely distracting and unprofessional.

Get a window in your office. Make it one of the perks you bestow on your best worker - you! Work should be as enjoyable as you can make it. Decorate, add plants, waterfalls, pictures, etc. to make your workspace as pleasant as possible. Remove junk. Streamline.

Get a good chair. - Make sure it's comfortable and ergonomic. You may spend a good deal of your day in it, so make sure it's good for you. Arms are nice if they don't keep you away from your desk. A height adjustment is very nice and comes pretty much standard in modern office chairs. Some offer a lever that will let you recline when you need a short break or when you're on the phone and want to relax for a moment.

Get your equipment in order. Everyone's needs will vary, but your equipment needs may include such things as a filing cabinet, desk, work table, shelves, storage cabinet, binding machine (for making notebooks, manuals, and other client handouts), scales, body fat calipers, cassette recorder, power strips, etc.

Get your electronics in order. At a minimum, you'll need a computer and a laser or ink jet printer. You may also want to use a fax machine, a copier, a scanner. If you're on a shoestring budget, consider a multipurpose device that includes a printer, fax, copier, and scanner. Some of these multipurpose machines also include answering machines, which won't help you a lot unless you use the same phone line for voice and fax. Whether you use an answering machine or not, you must devise a way to have your phones answered professionally when you're away. (One thing that irritates a client more than hearing an answering machine is having your number ring and ring unanswered.) You may also consider specialized equipment like a bioimpedance device for measuring body fat... but maybe the calipers will do for now.

Get your computer(s) in order. If you're going to be doing a lot of work outside the office, a notebook PC may be required. If this is the case, make sure your nutrition analysis software supports the ability to keep your nutrition software information (client information, recipes, meals, meal plans, etc.) perfectly synchronized across multiple computers. The last thing you want to do is double your work by re-keystroking data to update your desktop PC at the end of each day. This function is best handled with a backup and restore function.

Get wired. Arrange for the phone line(s) you'll need. If you're lucky enough to have broadband Internet service in your area, you may need to have a cable run to your office. If you use a DSL connection, you'll need a connection to your phone line junction box. If you're going to use a satellite connection, you'll need the dish mounted and its cable connected to your computer. If the Web doesn't fit into your business plan or business needs, ask yourself why not? If you're in business, there are very few valid excuses nowadays for not having a web presence. Make your decisions, then make the calls you need to make to get yourself connected.

Make yourself fit... into your office. If you find yourself in cramped quarters, there are a few good tricks you can pull. A multi-purpose device that combines fax, scanner, printer, copier, and phone can save you a lot of space compared to the space required by bringing all of these individual components into you office. This approach is also less expensive. A flat panel monitor requires a fraction of the space of a standard CRT-type monitor. You can set it back farther on your desk to give you more desk space and to get rid of that "in-your-face" feeling that CRT's often give you. If you purchase a flat panel LCD Monitor with pivot capability (personally, I wouldn't even consider an LCD monitor without this capability), you can see much more on the screen at once. I use a 17.4" flat panel with pivot capability. It let's me rotate the screen 90 degrees so that the vertical height is equivalent to a 22" monitor, but it's less that 2" thick! It doesn't get hot. (Maybe that explains why it looks so cool.) It consumes less energy. And you find yourself spending far less time scrolling down and up on web pages or documents. I believe that computer monitors are laid out like they are simply because televisions are laid out that way. That was a big mistake. Making the monitor work in landscape mode was good for televisions but bad for what we do on computers.

Once your office is in place, you have a place from which to operate. Next, you'll want to get yourself and your materials ready for show time. It's time to get ready to open for business..