When I was starting out, I was lost with all’o’the things in the world that I might need to operate my business from home. After spending almost 2 years WFH during the Melbourne lockdowns, I had been through the ‘make-do’ items because we didn’t know how long we were meant to be pushing out KPIs from the kitchen table.
Having said that, it created some awesome foundations that would later come in handy when starting up my Virtual Assistance business. While building out my setup has been a work in progressive change and upgrading over the last 18 months, I have been able to keep it simple, and also provide for the comfort and needs of working from the dining room again.. but this time it’s on my terms 😉
First up.. Get yourself a comfortable chair! This is an essential item. You spend a whole lot of time sitting, so you want something that isn’t too hard on your tailbone, won’t make you sweaty after a few minutes, and provides the support you need for your posture.
And there’s these parts..
Legals, advice, and brain food:
- Get your agreements right from the get-go. This is one area that the investment can save you more than it costs, multiple times over.
- Mentoring and basics training. I did a couple of different VA programs, and Rosie Shilo’s Stellar VA program was brilliant. She comes at business from a mindset perspective first, preparing you for the real-deal of business.
- The added bonus with Rosie, was that I was able to book in mentoring sessions afterwards to review my services in line with my career history (also referred to as transferrable skills), my prices, and also get an understanding of “where to next”.
- Read these 2 books:
- Essentialism – a really good one for helping to define your definition of success, recognising boundaries, and knowing the trade-off’s for your decisions;
- Profit First – get your financials set up and working with you.
Tech setup:
- I started out with my desktop computer, and then when I needed to take my business on the road to move interstate, I invested in a laptop. My recommendation here is to go with whatever is going to work best for you in the beginning (while also considering where you’re aiming to ‘be’ in business). If you’re wanting to go and work from co-working stations, you travel and want to be mobile, or attend in person events etc, a laptop might be the best option.
- A second monitor. This is a given when your workload is all computer based. Choose something that is big enough for you to ‘split’ and still be readable.
- A good keyboard that is easy to type on. I went through a few different types, before finding my favourite. When you spend 98% of your day typing, I had my requirements – a separate number pad, adjustable height, smooth keys, not too noisy. Being that I always have music/podcasts/webinars/something with sound playing, I love that this keyboard has a volume control roller, right at my finger tips.
- An ergonomic mouse. I’ve used 2 different ones, and like them both for different reasons.
- Logitech MX Master 3S is good for keeping you moving your wrist and arm still. It’s really lightweight and moves easily. I’ve had to disable to buttons that sit right where my thumb goes, as I kept pressing things.
- Logitech 910-005177 MX Ergo Wireless Trackball Mouse is my chosen one of the 2 – I’ve had this mouse for about 6 years now, and it’s now got that sticky/mucky/worn out feel to it on top. It has 2 different angles, which is great for my arthritic wrists. It is quite heavy, though, so doesn’t make it an easy one for throwing into the laptop bag.
- Noise cancelling headphones. I’ve had both the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, and they’re both awesome. My XM4’s are about 5 years old, and are a still going strong. I’m currently using my husband’s XM5’s, and they fit [my small head] better, and are even more comfy.
Nice to haves:
- A sit/stand desk.
- An ergonomic mouse pad.
- A desk mat.
- A headphone stand.
- USB hub.
- Microphone.
- Speakers.
- Steph Pase financial year planner.
- Daily Orders wall planner.
There is an absolute multitude of ‘things’ you can bring into your home office, but in the name of simplicity, this is a pretty exhaustive list of the things taking up space in mine. Add in the collection of post-it’s, a couple of notepads and pens, my Morning Magic book, a squishy ball and my plants, and that’s my physical set up in a nutshell.
You can keep your zone way more minimal than this, or you can add in a billion more bits! Your environment needs to feed you in a positive way – keep it uncluttered, clean, and open.
Sending you all the good energy for an abundant future ahead.
Please note that some of the links on this website may be affiliate links. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my clients and community.
Read more about affiliate links and disclosures here.
