How to Make Small Work for You

Every time I hear the phrase “small office/home office,” I think of a friend in college who called one night, excited that he had just put the finishing touches on his new “office.” That was, as you might expect, a desk in the corner of his room.

Back then, I honestly felt he deserved the mocking letter I sent, claiming to be from the Young Office Owners of America, congratulating him on the “grand opening” of his new office. I even included a chewed-up pencil as “a token of our faith in your success.”

Now, fewer than 10 years later, I’m forced to wonder if he wasn’t just ahead of his time. In fact, I have to admit I’m writing this from a home office.

Home offices have come a long way in the last few years. “Ergonomics,” for instance, is a relatively new term to most of us. And home computers are becoming ever more affordable.

If you want to make the most of your SOHO, check out a few of the titles that might help you work more efficiently.

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SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTING FOR DUMMIES by Brian Underdahl ( IDG Books Worldwide, $24.99; CD-ROM for Windows); SMALL BUSINESS INTERNET FOR DUMMIES by Greg Holden with Stylus Media (IDG Books Worldwide, $24.99; CD-ROM for Mac and Windows); SMALL BUSINESS NETWORKING FOR DUMMIES by Glenn E. Weadock (IDG Books Worldwide, $24.99; CD-ROM for Windows).

Although I’ve lumped them together, all Small Business for Dummies books are not created equal. Sure, they have the same elements--glossaries, helpful icons, great top 10 lists, good organization, accessible writing. But some just work better than others. The small-business series has examples of Dummies at its best and worst.

“Small Business Computing for Dummies” covers all the basics, often specific and general at the same time, and that’s a fine line to walk--especially in chapters on buying computers and anticipating computer needs.

Where it falters is in the writing. The blather and stupid jokes are relentless. For as much good information as “Computing” offers on such topics as choosing a computer, networking and peripherals, it certainly makes you work for it. It lets up a little in the chapters about trouble-shooting, security, making a business plan and setting up your space, but it’s almost unreadable until then.

“Small Business Internet for Dummies” isn’t so much written for dummies. It has personality and makes things easy to understand--with fewer stupid one-liners. Quite a relief.

But this one isn’t perfect, either. It focuses on putting your small business online, tackling such issues as publicity, security, marketing, commerce, and hiring designers or doing it yourself. It does not assume you’re online or have ever been online.

But that’s the problem. If you want to put your business online, more power to you--but spend a little time online first. Know what it feels like to get “spam” or visit at incredibly slow-loading Web sites.

Sometimes Dummies books suffer from being too basic, and such is the case here. Every so often you can assume that people have some prior knowledge or experience. There’s far too much basic information in this book for anyone with any experience online.

“Small Business Networking for Dummies” is Dummies at its best. All of the elements come together to make a relatively complex subject easy to understand, using simple, plain English and strong organization.

“Networking” doesn’t assume you are going to build a network for your SOHO by yourself. It’s written so you can understand enough about networks to capably contract the work. And it gives you all you should need to know in both cases.

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BUILDING YOUR OWN HIGH-TECH SMALL OFFICE by Robert Richardson (IDG Books Worldwide, $39.99; CD-ROM for Windows).

Richardson ain’t foolin’ around here. He means building.

He starts with creating a floor plan, moves to installing more electrical outlets and phone lines and goes on to tackle ergonomics, networks, Internet connections, phones, faxes, software, hardware and organization.

The actual office is the focus here, no matter what the business.

And you have to give the guy some credit for gumption, actually listing average computer and network prices. Fortunately, it’s copyrighted 1998, so those numbers aren’t yet completely out of date. More helpful is an idea of how to really compare computer costs--taking into account that some have monitors or some need more memory.

All in all, it’s a good book, with easy-to-follow information you won’t find anywhere but in a Time Life series. But “Building a High-Tech Small Office” isn’t perfect.

First of all, someone please shut Richardson up. Cut out his drivel and self-promotion and the book would be at least half its 393 pages. And the organization within chapters is horrible. He uses the phrase “see chapter X” and jumps around so much it’s enough to make you dizzy.

Here’s a tip: Select a topic and commit to it.

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THE HOME OFFICE AND SMALL BUSINESS ANSWER BOOK by Janet Attard (Owl Books, $19.95).

This book is different from the others. It’s a lot broader, with answers not just for your office, but also for your business.

It lacks some of the details the other books offer but makes up for it in the scope of topics. The question-and-answer format works in this case, though it could use introductions at the beginning of chapters to save us from such questions as “Who works at home?” “But isn’t that procrastinating?” and “Should I hire someone who’s retired?”

One answer “Home Office and Small Business Answer Book” has that you’re not going to like is that there are no easy answers.

Attard is realistic about the obstacles and difficulties, but she doesn’t make it seem as though building a SOHO is an insurmountable task. She tackles everything from the physical space of your SOHO to permits, taxes and getting started.

This is a thorough, well-written reference. Doesn’t get much better than that.

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Krissy Harris can be reached via e-mail at krissy@haringbat.com.