Working from home is one of the best feelings in the world. Taking your children to school every day is a privilege not many people will ever experience. If you don’t have kids you probably don’t even set an alarm clock. Could life get any worse? But working from a little office in your home isn’t quite the same as working in a big fancy one down town. They will turn over millions each year and have all the nicest gadgets you could probably imagine. You have a computer and a desk it sits on. It’s not exactly the best work environment for getting lots of work done.

You have access to thousands of gadgets and cheap software which will set you on an even playing field with those big companies. They won’t break the bank and you will start to work much faster than you are now. Because working a lot faster is the main goal. The more work you get done, the more you get paid. And it’s not a case of compromising quality because you’re working faster. You are simply taking advantage of all the innovative gadgets that makes your work so much easier. This is what you want to get your hands on.

Face-to-face software
Speaking to someone on the phone is nice, but when you’re running a business it sometimes doesn’t cut it. You actually need to see someone’s face when you’re talking. Watch their actions and reactions. It just makes it easier to understand what they’re trying to tell you. You won’t get confused like you would over a phone, plus it’s a lot more friendly. There’s lots of face-to-face software you can choose from. The best one to use is Skype, but only if your business is not huge. If you plan on talking to lots of people at the same time you should go more advanced, but Skype is good enough for anyone who has a medium sized business.

You want them to hear you
They can see your face, but what happens when they can’t hear you properly? If you stop mumbling and they still can’t make out a word you’re saying it means you have a microphone problem. If you look into it you’ll probably find that the quality of microphone you need isn’t what’s sitting in front of you, but still lying on a shelf somewhere. If you want to run the business right, communication is one of the most important things. That means investing in the proper equipment which includes a microphone.

Shred all your important docs
There’s going to be some pretty sensitive stuff lying around. Most of it will either be the customers details or your own. Both need to be shredded. If you really wanted to you could just throw your mail in the bin, but do not put your customers at risk of identity theft or bank fraud. That’s completely unprofessional and you won’t last long in the business world. Buy a simple shredded. It doesn’t need to be a complicated one. A simple device that plugs into your USB port will do. Once you’ve finished with the mail just whip it out and turn it into hundreds of pieces.

Coffee shop entrepreneur
Sooner or later you will want to try branching out into coffee shops to get some work done. You can’t take your desktop with you. Even if you use your laptop it’s still not ideal. Maybe you have things running in the background and you don’t want to bring it out with you. That’s why the iPad is so perfect. You can connect to the computer in your office and you have access to everything. To view, and make changes. Plus you can still make Skype calls on your iPad from the comfort of Starbucks.

Daniel Acton is an active green blogger and writer who likes to share his advice and tips to the online community. Going green is something he believes everyone should start contributing to and for that he recommends frankingmachine.net.