1. My HP Pavilion Entertainment PC– Yes, an Entertainment PC that has the ability to run Dreamweaver, Photoshop, InDesign, Word, Email and have 10 windows open without a glitch. It never goes down, that makes my life much easier. I have had an HP (8 years ago), Compaq and a Dell- none have worked this well. This HP rocks and I love it. God Bless HP.
2. My Dell Printer, Scanner & Fax. Another great product that allows me to make PDFs in seconds.
3. Verizon DSL. I had Comcast before and it just was terrible. I actually have three laptops running at a minimum and the Internet never goes down and my signal strength is fabulous!
4. TiVo. Yes, TiVo. I get a business call and I can pause and record and miss nothing [:-)]
5. A home office– a need a place for everything and I have it. It allows me to organize everything and have privacy when I need it.
6. Stack of legal pads & pens…you know it. It helps with phone calls with clients.
7. A phone and a cell phone…the ring all day. I couldn’t make it without them both. I really need some ear plugs…
8. Adobe Photoshop & InDesign– I think these programs will make life easier for every consultant and business. Get Dreamweaver too. If your business ever plans on updating sites for clients it comes in REAL handy.
9. Mountain Dew…no coffee, just Mountain Dew. When you are working until 3:30 and have a conference call at 9 am Mountain Dew is your best friend. Mountain Dew Code Red is pretty great too.
10. Bowflex/punching bag/treadmill/P90X- Sometimes we have bad days or bad phone calls. Like today, I had this nimrod basically insult me on a conference call and he actually thinks I am too stupid to notice, but in reality I didn’t want to let him have it with a client on the phone. So, do I kick the dog? Yell at the kids? Start smoking or drinking? NO. In situations like these I can either hit the bag, run or workout until the anger has passed. It works and I not only do I release anger and get in better shape, I also lower my risk of heart attack due to stress, right? P90X is a great workout that will drain away all your stress…get ready to work!

Some more I added a year later 🙂

1. A Custom Designed day planner– I have been needing one for a long time, but never liked one completely. I looked at the leather binders and then thought about creating my own by buying different replacements for other pre-built day planners. I am a money saver, so they idea of spending $50-70 on the binder and then the other stuff too didn’t make me too happy. So, one day I am walking through Walgreens and they have day planners…the same ones as the office stores, but only $14.95. So, I bought that planner and used the binder, and a few pieces that came with it. I went back to the office store and choose the address pages I liked and the calendar, pages etc. It is set up just for me 🙂
2. Palm Treo– Love it, need it, and use it 100 times a day. Great for email and organizing your day.

I am not sure if these things might be helpful to you or not, but if you are considering creating a home office you need to create an environment that will support your work and you need to obtain the products that will help you work efficently. Remember that staying healthy and getting rid of stress makes working more bearable (Dr. Pepper may not help you here).