The Hot Spot

The Age

Monday March 13, 1995

MIRANDA TAY

TEN years ago, I had a space set aside for work at home. In those days, I called it a study area, comprising desk, chair and stationery.

Since then, my simple ``study" has become obsolete. The space grew into a whole room and, with the addition of a computer, printer, telephone, fax and answering machine, bookshelves and files, it is today a ``home office".

Cutting-edge technology has led the home office revolution to explode with such force that the market is burgeoning as never before.

According to figures released by Telecom Australia, nearly half a million people in Australia now call home an office, a figure ``expected to rise in the next two years", says Margaret Fairman, Telecom's group general manager for marketing. In the survey, about 12 per cent of Telecom customers said that someone in their household conducts business from home. This translates to about 700,000 households nationally in the home office market, of which at least 200,000 households have a home business. On the shopfront, Ikea has increased their home office products by 24 per cent over the past year.

The quantum leap from the study to home office requires a greater consciousness than merely setting up the right equipment. It needs an attitude that views the office as the nerve centre of business, where interruptions from private life, such as children, pets or household chores, should intrude as little as possible. -- MIRANDA TAY.

EVERY ONE IS DOING IT.

Others who find homework a bonus.

Fiona Eagger, film producer, Eco Production and Pickpocket Productions: Working from home has the potential to be heaven or hell. It has worked out for me. I like having the things I find beautiful around me. It makes me feel comfortable and gives visitors a sense of who I am. Producing does not require a lot of space. I am currently working on an animation series called The Web; the three animation directors work from their studios and I coordinate from here.

John Frostell, graphic designer, Dialogue Visual Communication: It's incredibly convenient to work from home and it saves heaps.

Kathleen Cator, consultant on gifts and setting up house, Wedding Presents: My overheads are cheaper and working from home allows me to offer a friendlier atmosphere to my clients.

Glen Gibson, photographer, Glen Gibson Photography: It's great to be able to work 16-hour days and still see the family.

Helen Ladner, conservation and design consultant: I love the flexibility of the hours and being able to take a break in the garden.

Alex Recht, architect, The Splinter Group: The best things are the cookie jar and the lack of interruption, so the creative juices can flow. In an office, it's impossible to be left alone for two minutes.

Tori Taft, Helen O'Grady Children's Drama Academy: I start really early and work late. Home is relaxing and I don't have to bother with the office ``atmosphere".

Brian Schepisi, personal trainer: I like the relaxed, casual environment and being able to see clients at odd hours.

THE LIFE LINE.

OF ALL the advances made in the technology, the telephone is one of the key instruments of touching base, not only for business but also as a means of making up for the missing social element. Bear in mind though that it is important to keep the social and business aspects apart; there is nothing more startling than phoning a business and having a little child answer the call.

Telecom Australia last week launched three new services the Home Business Standard, Advanced and Mobile Solutions to help the home office worker, from beginner to advanced. Facilities range from services for the one line, such as the Easycall Call Waiting service that allows the user to handle a number of simultaneous business calls, to advanced solutions that separate business and private calls by using a second line for business calls only. Other features include message taking, call diversions, memo services and immediate retrieval of messages.

CHECK IF YOU ARE A: Teleguerilla: you work from home on an irregular basis, having no formal arrangement with your employer, via telecommunications. Calls are directed to your home.

Teleworker: you operate from home for a number of distant clients, usually on a contract basis. Your home phone is used extensively for developing business.

Telecommuter: you work from home but for a single employer only, by using modem, fax and phone.

OR OCCASIONALLY PRACTISE: Hot desking: where your company has fewer desks than people, you telecommute two to three days a week, and phone the office to ``book" a desk when you do go into the office. -- Released by Telecom.

BELIEVE IT OR LEAVE IT!

HOW high-tech does a computer have to look? If Michaela Bjorksten of Techno Aesthetics has her way, the home office will have as much decorative finish as the rest of the house. ``Computers are really a part of the furniture," says Michaela. ``How come we are only offered plastic greys, beiges and, on the rarest occasion, black?" Fair question. Michaela is integrating computers into the deorative scheme with hand-painted finishes. She has a textbook of choices antique glazes, distressed, aged, stonewash or modern, bold, even ragging, rolling and stippling, marbling and woodgrain. Don't forget decorative borders; she does those, too.

Michaela charges $95 for a hand-painted border and up to $500 for the full job on the monitor, case and keyboard. If decking the computer is your thing, her number is 380 9536.

CASE STUDY.

DEBRA ABRAHAM is a travel agent who takes great pride in her home office, which, she says, is as good as any ``normal" city travel agency.

``Most pople have no idea that I work from home," she says. Debra, an American, has worked from home for four years (her business America Your Way Travel specialises in travel to the United States) and has that sharp, no-nonsense US business attitude. ``I may not be the cheapest in town but my service is the best" seems to be her motto.

Debra converted a spare bedroom into the office. She chose the biggest room and made it the nicest. ``I have five filing cabinets, a huge desk and two state-of-the-art computers that put me on line with the action." She also has a phone shaped like an aircraft. Attention to detail is her strong point. ``It is important to have a professional- looking office and to dress up to start the working day."

Clients visit by appointment only, but 80 per cent of Debra's work is over the phone. ``Even so people like reps come and go all day. It is important to look really on the ball."

THE SCREEN TEST.

``YEAR after year, the home office computer market is growing," says Graham Penn, industry analyst from IDC Australia, a company that does marketing research on computer sales. ``In 1993, 162,000 units were sold to home office users. In 1994, 240,000. And in 1995, we expect to sell 345,000. 1994 was the biggest jump in sales on a year-to-year basis that we have seen. We estimate that 26 per cent of computers sold in Australia in 1995 will be to home office users."

``Ten years ago, the biggest sellers were the cheaper Commodore and Omega 500 units. Today, IBM compatibles hold the market; there are over 400 different brands on offer, so there is greater availability.

It is also cheaper. Apple MacIntosh is still holding its own, despite not maintaining its market share last year. Basically, the easiest-to- use system is still the Mac."

``People are investing anywhere from $2500 to $4000 for a computer that will last over two years. They don't want ones that will become obsolete because of rapid technological change. If you are three product generations behind in the technology, you will start to feel very closed in. Depending on your needs, if you merely want to put black ink on white paper, you don't need to keep changing so much. But if what you want is current generation, multi-media applications, this could mean replacing your whole set-up or upgrading hugely on what you've got."

CONCERNS.

In what respect are people naive in setting up home offices?

Thinking they can separate personal and work life. Victoria Hamer, architect.

The cost. Geoffrey Stewardson, interior designer.

What are the main things that people underestimate?

Storage area requirements, for files and archives and success, the need for expansion and the possibility of staff. Victoria Hamer.

What are the key elements in a home office?

Need for a good system of communications, phone, fax, modem, paging and answering system. Also the ability to separate a functional space from home life. Anne Cunningham, architect.

Good space, light, good storage, privacy and environment suitable for work. Geoffrey Stewardson.

A home office must have its own room, not be a part of a room. Proper desk, shelves, storage so that one can be efficient and effective. The right lighting is important, preferably natural. Victoria Hamer.

Routine and order. Christine Saunders, interior designer.

What are the traps of working from home?

Not being disciplined, not treating the business as serious enough, putting personal priorities before business priorities. Victoria Hamer.

Eating too much and not communicating with people enough. Christine Saunders.

Isolation, lack of stimulus from colleagues. Anne Cunningham.

What are the benefits?

Low overheads, no travelling time. Victoria Hamer.

Control. Christine Saunders.

Flexibility of hours. Anne Cunningham.

What are the best stockists for office furniture that would suit the home?

Aero, Ikea, Co-Design, Living Interiors, Mondo Luce, MAP, BANG Design.

A summary of suggestions from our guest commentators.