It has been estimated that nearly 60 million individuals in the United States will undertake to work at home by 1998. Another estimate indicated that nearly 7 million will be working in offices with ten or less total employees by the end of the same period. This number is increased when the larger corporation branch offices, telecommunicating centers, satellite offices, corporate work-at-home, and virtual "mobile office" are considered. 

 What does it take to start a small office or home office (SOHO)? Not much. " An idea? A business license? A product or service? A computer?" Hah, now we are talking. I can not give you much information on the idea, the product or service, or how to apply for a business license, well yes, to the business application, you need to go to the local Texas State Business Office and get an application, and you must go to the Bexar County Business Licensing Office for another application, and follow the instructions for each in applying for your license to do business and cover the Texas Sales tax rules. Takes about one afternoon to do both. You need to search and register a business name. You need to decide to be either a proprietor, partnership, or corporation. 

 I am not much help in the business aspect of the SOHO. Your business ideas are only limited by what you want to do. I have seen a number of different ideas started. Not all succeed, primarily, because of a lack of "how to" basic business background. 

 It was not hard for me to establish a "Class C" proprietorship business. "Class C" is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) term for setting up a business as a proprietorship in which the business is an extension of your personal IRS tax return. 

 I can be of some help in the techie end of the SOHO. The basic techie prop needed is a computer. A computer multiplies individual capabilities by making it easier to develop correspondence, keep records, maintain inventories, design products or services, or numerous other functions related to one's business. Notice, I have not yet commented on communication. The basic small office or home office can function without communication, well, maybe, except for a good ole POTS telephone. 

 It is when we decide to communicate via our computer to the others that the SOHO possibilities really open up. Reaching out to others via one's computer is the leverage one needs to really be able to compete with others in the business world. This is especially true when one uses the Internet as the communication medium. The SOHO business can send and receive correspondence and records, take orders, ship invoices, advertise, transfer credit information, supply designs or product descriptions, and nearly any other business function to others with computer communication. 

 Connecting with others can be done via FAX, direct computer communication, BBS, and the Internet. It is when we connect to the Internet that the SOHO competitive leverage really blossoms. Any of these connectivity methods adds to the complexity of our SOHO technology equation. But, the best part is that it is not rocket science. 

SOHO Defined

 The next level in SOHO is the Small-Business Office in which there are more than one individual doing similar tasks in a business. It is at this point that the small-business office finds that it is competing with larger entities nearly every time. It is at this point, where the technology available today can level that competition. Connectivity for the multiple person office becomes a little more sophisticated in that it may be more cost effective to provide one connection for everyone in stead of separate POTS telephone lines for each person's computer. This is also the first location where connecting the computers together via a Local Area Network (LAN) may provide benefits. 

 The next higher level is the Branch Office for a corporation. Connectivity is very important in this situation in that the branch office will most likely use the same type of equipment as the main office. 

 Telecommunicating Centers and Satellite Offices may not be small in size, but may be located in remote areas for convenience of the market served or of the employees. Again, in this case, connectivity is very important. 

 The last office entity is that of the Mobile Office. Again, size is not as important as connectivity. The mobile office need only consist of a laptop computer and a cellular telephone. Connectivity is very important. The power of a laptop, coupled with a printer, software for e-mail and fax, and some sort of connectivity greatly leverages the roaming consultant's business abilities. 

SOHO Technology Requirements

Hardware

 A home business computer should be at least a P-5/133 MHZ CPU, with 16 - 32 MB RAM, 1.5 GB hard disk, 12X or better CD-ROM, 16 - 32 bit sound card, SVGA display, 56K modem, and tape drive. Put a little extra money in a 15/17 inch color SVGA monitor. The operating system should be at least Windows 95. 

 The small office workstations should be at least the same with additions of network interface cards (NIC) for a LAN. 

The SOHO requires a laser printer or a business quality DeskJet color printer. A high resolution flat bed scanner is a highly desired required item. 

 The small office should use a Pentium Class server on a LAN. This machine should be at least a P-5/166 MHZ CPU with 32 MB RAM, 2.1 GB SCSI hard disk, tape drive, NIC, and SVGA display. It should have Windows 95 or Windows NT installed for the NOS. 

 All computers should be protected by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) of adequate capacity to protect data from power outages. 

 Some businesses may require stand-alone FAX machines. 

Software

 A ready made accounting program like Quicken is more than adequate to handle the SOHO accounting and record keeping. All SOHO businesses must keep track of costs, sales, and expenses. 

 Graphics or drawing speciality programs may be part of the required software. The business owner will know what programs is preferred. 

Connectivity 

 Another basic client application for Internet use is a World Wide Web Browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Explorer. Either will do the task. 

 The small office adds network LAN network operating system communication to it's complexity. Windows 95 or Windows NT are both capable of this function. Shared files, printers, and other devices are all possible through the LAN. The LAN also makes the connection to the outside easier in that each workstation does not have to have it's own telephone line and modem. A router connected directly into the LAN provides a connection to the outside for each workstation on the LAN. The TCP/IP capability of Windows 95 or NT make using the router connection easy. 

 Connecting to the outside, especially the Internet, from a home office or small office requires that a subscription to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) be obtained. It is through an Internet connection that the whole world becomes part of the market area. One can advertise via a WWW home page. Or one can search for data which makes one's product or service competitive over the Internet. Best of all, one can communicate via e-mail to nearly everyone else over the Internet. 

 E-mail is the great equalizer in communication. It provides a medium for sending anything digital to nearly everyone else in the world. 

Office Space 

 One thing to keep in mind is that room can never be to large or too much. Electronics tend to grow to fill the available space to overflowing. 

Security

 It is not hard to outfit the SOHO, but it is hard to follow through with the business idea which pays the bills. Hardware is cheap and easy to own. Software is harder to manage as it must be kept current on all machines in a LAN. The satisfaction of closing a deal against a larger business is really a good feeling. The feeling that one can reach out to the whole world with a business idea via e-mail is the greatest. 

John Woody is a telecommunications consultant specializing in small business communications, networks, and Internet business training.