The Power and Flexibility of
a Modern Home-Office Telephone System
by: Jeffery D. Zbar 
How you set up your home-office telephone system could determine how you
empower your business for success. With the availability of high-quality
multi-line phones, powerful portable phones, and dedicated business and
fax lines, it's easier than ever to make the home office "transparent"
– to operate quietly and seamlessly like its corporate cousin downtown.
Top it off with an operator headset, and the modern SOHO (small office
/ home office) entrepreneur is easily and inexpensively powered for success.
This is invaluable if you're in the kitchen or out getting the mail when
that important call comes in. An operator headset can also help alleviate
neck and shoulder strain.
A high-quality one- or two-line phone can cost less than $75, and can
enable a busy home-based professional to answer personal and business
calls with equal ease. Make sure your phone operates in the higher-frequency
bands like 900 MHz so it will go the distance without static or breakup
of the signal. And if you need some privacy, also look for a signal-scrambling
feature that will ensure your conversations can't be picked up by a nosy
scanner – or a neighbor's baby monitor.
If your home office is in a busy home, consider a good mute button to
help stifle surrounding sounds. If the delivery person is standing at
the door, you'll also be able to dispatch them quickly. "I'm on the
phone, just leave the package." (Do you have a release on file allowing
them to leave packages without a signature? This is strongly recommended.)
Finally, most busy home offices can benefit from a separation of phone
and fax lines – at least a dedicated business telephone line that will
help control the chaos of otherwise juggled lines. A separate fax line
will help eliminate juggling of incoming calls, and can double as a data
line for online communications. At less than $20 a month in most areas,
the time and headache saved can be well worth the investment.
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