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Watch Chief Home Officer’s library of videos & sister site Home Office Highway — rich with great tools & tips for working remotely.

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There’s also Home Office Highway, where home-based workers can discover the open road — then workation from it. With News, Reviews & Tips from the Road, Home Office Highway explores how to become a well-balanced home-officing road warrior. Vocation meets Vacation on Home Office Highway.

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Fail to protect your space, and your hardware — and any data it holds — could be stolen. I wouldn’t want to be around for that client conversation. Leave your wifi unsecured, and a hacker could find his or her way in. Data stolen so surreptitiously often doesn’t even lead to conversations. After all, you often don’t know what you don’t know, no?

In this blog from FingerPrintDoorLocks, Home Office Safety & Security Week is discussed. Their take revolves adound protecting client information and how it’s a top priority in any office. Read on…

“Preventing theft / break-in’s is the second most important priority. If you are worried about both of these very imperative issues that coincide with one another, you are on the right track.

“Protecting your customers builds trust and can be an easy task if looking at the right materials! It’s important to look at your business as a whole to determine how to protect yourself and customers properly. If you are an internet business using a card processor online then using an SSL Certificate like Comodo is vital to protect customer credit card information. You may also want to offer PayPal options due to the security and trust. If credit card information is ever stored in an office from taking sales over the phone like many offices do, protecting this information is just as important.

“Having all important customer information in one office or file room (you can use a closet in a home) with a fingerprint door lock can provide the security you need if a break in or theft attempt occurs. Using Pin Pads and Biometric (Fingerprint) Security can prevent a person without authentication from getting into the room. When selecting door locks choose locks with “bump resistant” high security dimple keys like the 1TouchIQ2.

Learn more at FingerPrintDoorLocks.com.

But what’s a suburban-dad / small business owner to do when faced with dozens of smartphones – each fully capable of handling my business needs, but generally equal in attributes such as size, processing power, megapixel cameras and the like?

I searched and scoured the landscape — looking for one device that would replace a trusted tool and guide me gently (and belatedly, it seems) into the 21st Century.

I demo’d the Motorola Razr on the Android OS. Nice. Powerful. As a fan of All Things Google, I was drawn by its Android guts. On the Verizon Wireless 4G network, it was wicked fast. With a Kevlar back and Gorilla Glass front, it was a hardy beast. But, alas, it’s form factor was a big too large to nest comfortably in my pants pocket. It wasn’t for me.

I went to my mobile carrier’s store, and touched, fondled, played with and generally demo’d all the devices – from Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Pantech, LG, HTC, and the lot. None had the memory I wanted – at least without a memory card. None was, in the end, as elegant, simple and streamlined as the iPhone 4S. It’s as elegant a device as is out there. It’s powerful, small enough for my pockets, and fit quite nicely indeed in my business / personal lifestyle.

The first thing I did once I got home – after snatching it out of my kids’ hands – was change the signature. That’s the little message that’s embedded at the end of every email sent from a computer or wireless phone. The iPhone’s default sig says, “Sent from my iPhone.” Frankly, Apple gets enough free publicity from the millions of phones in consumer and small business owners’ hands.

I went to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Signatures, and wrote a new sig. It included my name, home office phone number, and my two primary URLs (ChiefHomeOfficer.com and GotWords.com). Simple as pie. Certainly more effective as a marketing gesture than that silly default message. I reckon Mr. Jobs is looking down and nodding in agreement.

Then I installed a passcode (Settings > General > Passcode Lock). The world is too full of malcontents and ne’er-do-wells to trust something as powerful as a smartphone when mistakenly out of my grasp.

I then signed into GMail (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Exchange…). If the iPhone is an elegant piece of hardware, GMail is as powerful and elegant a mail, contacts and calendaring platform as is available on the market – especially when running on the iPhone. Installing GMail also was pretty simple on the Razr we demo’d. But after a quick search for “How to install GMail on an iPhone” on YouTube, I was on my way. (It took some getting used to. GMail on the iPhone operates like an exchange server. When I open, file or delete an email here [on whichever device ‘here’ may be], the same happens on the other. Much different from my Pearl).

Then I got to installing apps. No Angry Birds here. All free and productivity focused. Among the apps I installed…

- No games (see previous paragraph). Except chess. I dig chess. I stink at it, but I’m always hopeful that I’ll beat the computer at a level higher than three (of 10).

- A host of news apps – NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, national magazines, my local papers, and several political pubs. I’m no news junkie or political wonk, but I want my media close when I’m so inspired.

- A QR Code reader. QR Codes are becoming an important marketing / messaging tool. They’re easy to use and with the right reader, simple to read.

- A few favs: IMDb (International Movie Database), Pandora (the ‘music genome project’), Rhapsody, Google Earth, Skyview (a great app – just launch and hold it toward the sky to discover what celestial bodies are looking back), ESPN, my bank, Mint.com (a great financial management tool).

The iPhone fits neatly into my life, as well as my pants. When I awaken in the morning, I spend 10 minutes clearing the cobwebs from my brain with a quick email check and surfing session. Then I go about my business.

Contrary to the warnings of my kids and some adults I know who have an iPhone, I’m not addicted to the device. It’s a stinkin’ phone, for Pete’s sake – an elegant, small, powerful phone. But a phone nonetheless.

Without Angry Birds.

As June writes, “The following excerpt from my publication, Five Easy Steps, may help you with some last minute tax deductions….

For Credit Cards: Every item charged to your bank credit card on or before December 31 is an expense for that year, even if the credit card bill isn’t paid until the following year. The exception to that rule – yes, here’s another exception — is for store credit cards. An item purchased using a store credit card cannot be deducted as a business expense if it has not been paid for by year-end.

Here’s why:

If you purchase a computer from OfficeArsenal on December 31, 2011 and charge it to your BigBank VISA, BigBank pays OfficeArsenal. You do not owe OfficeArsenal for the computer, you owe BigBank. You’ve paid for your computer with the bank’s money; it’s the bank you haven’t paid. Same as if you’d borrowed the money from Momma and plan to pay her back as soon as your client pays you.

However, if you charged that computer to your OfficeArsenal credit card you could deduct only the amount of money that you had actually paid OfficeArsenal. You did not yet pay for your computer because OfficeArsenal had not yet received its money. If you failed to pay the balance owed then OfficeArsenal could repossess your computer.

For Checks: An invoice or bill that you paid by check dated December 31,2011 or earlier, regardless of when it clears your account, is considered paid in 2011. If it’s a business expense it should be deducted on your 2011 tax return and put away with your 2011 records.

Here in the home office, where I’ve worked since before our 20-year-old daughter was born, I’ve had ample chance to device systems and methods to keep the little imps out of my hair (and keep from pulling said hair from my scalp) as I try to work and they seem intent to have fun.

And it’s not just about the home officer. Corporate-office workers face an even more daunting fate: How do I keep the kids busy if I’m supposed to be in some office downtown?

OK, these aren’t the Middle Ages so dungeons and pillories aren’t the answers.

The answers are simple:

First, adjust the work schedule to be more flexible with kids’ schedules. Begin work earlier, work later or otherwise alter the routine to work when kids sleep, nap or are out playing with friends. Next…

Call other friends and parents to see what they’ll be up to for the holidays. Discuss plans and events. Review movie listings to see what’s going on that can be a diversion / distraction for the kids. Make sure the kids call (oops, they don’t call. They IM or text) their friends, too. Let them make some plans.

* For younger children, keep DVDs, books or coloring books on hand. Accumulate crafts (beads, colored markers and posterboard, lanyards – or boondogle, as the kids often call it) to keep the younger ones busy. For older children, keep books, crafts and projects around. Rent dollar flicks. WalMart and some grocery chains have the dollar-a-day movie rental kiosks. These are great, cheap distractions.

* Keep plenty of activities and toys in the home office itself to keep little bodies busy and quiet while you’re on the phone.

* Enlist older kids to help with work-related projects, like stuffing envelopes or affixing stamps to letters. Pay is a good motivator and will help teach kids what it means to work.

* Take 10-minute mini-breaks with the kids to spend some time away from work and get them started on books, projects or crafts.

* Keep plenty of fruit, snacks and juice on hand. Better yet, make it accessible to the kids so they’ll bug you less.

* Schedule play groups with other kids. That way, if there are three kids in the play group, each parent is responsible for entertaining one of three days. What’s more, the kids will keep themselves busy.

* Plan a scavanger hunt. These are really fun indoor or outdoor adventures. They don’t take long to stage, and can keep the kids busy for hours. If sending the kids out into the neighborhood, it might be a good idea to give them a cell phone — just to keep in touch.

* Have them work. The holidays shouldn’t be all about playtime. Have them grab a bucket, some soap and rags, and scour the neighborhood looking for cars to wash. Or they can clean up around people’s lawns.

* Have them volunteer with a charity serving food, organizing food-bank supplies, or generally giving back as a productive and thoughtful member of society.

* Homework, reading and journaling. Foster in them the spirit of personal reading or journaling. They could even launch their own blog. It’s thought-provoking, inspiring – and addicting.

Search the Web for other ideas. Two weeks is a long time to have kids at home. Make it rewarding for all involved.

If all else fails and time permits, take off and spend some time together. Working from home means being the boss.

Sentry Safe Guardian Storage Box

In this guest column, Bill Buchko, a product manager at SentrySafe for the Fire-Resistant Safe and File business, highlights the vulnerabilities home officers and small business owners face — and how to try to prevent them.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, water damage and freezing pipes have contributed to more than 20% of all insurance claims in past years. Small water pipe leaks inside walls can go undetected for months, but a 1/8 inch crack could release up to 250 gallons of water a day, making it a real threat to small businesses.

The U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System reported that from 2005-2009, local fire departments responded to an estimated 115,500 structure fires in non-residential properties per year, resulting in more than $3.1 billion in direct property damage.

Losing client files can often lead to considerable business disruption resulting in significant business loss. Damaged documents can also lead to the default of many business contracts. In the event of such disasters, business owners need to protect their company’s valuable assets as much as possible.

In spite of these statistics, many small business owners are still putting critical business records in the basement of their office or other unprotected places. Current fire and water file solutions are heavy and expensive. Most put off the decision to purchase these due to their expense and inconvenience.

Business owners need an easy-to-use, low-cost solution that will provide them with protection from threats such as flooding and fire so their critical business records are not vulnerable to the elements.

Products like the SentrySafe Guardian Storage Box provide third-party verified fire and water protection. Stackable and weighing only 20 pounds, this device offers all the benefits of traditional file boxes with more convenience.

Finding a protective storage solution that fits the needs of their business is a challenge business owners should overcome before disaster strikes and the obstacles become insurmountable.

Do you carry sample size toiletries? Can you use your smartphone camera and snap-on telephoto lens instead of lugging a traditional SLR? How small can you go?

Bruce wrote, “Those of you who know me or have been reading this blog for a while know that I am obsessed with traveling light. In my mind, there are only two types of luggage: carry-on and lost. I prefer the first kind.

“I’m very careful with what I carry and how I carry it. I prowl camping stores for folding toothbrushes and smaller and smaller bags. I constantly try to pare down the electronics I need for presentations and entertainment. I look for new ways to mix and match what I wear for meetings and sightseeing. And I experiment with new folding and packing techniques to take up as little space as possible.”

Read the rest of his blog here - and be sure to read the comments. Great tips from his loyal readers. And always strive to lighten your own load on the road.

My new APC Back-UPS Pro 1300 seemingly came with a mental retuning. The introduction of this device didn’t just mean I had more time to power down devices in the event of a blackout. It gave me a whole new outlook on home office cleanliness.

Cables, cords and wires are the bane of the modern technologist. Neat and tidy as we hope it all can be, the wires that link and connect the lot often end up going awry – just like our best laid plans for keeping them from doing just that.

We’re not alone. But there’s hope.

“Organizing home office cables can seem intimidating at first glance, but it’s actually incredibly easy to do with just a couple of minutes of planning and the right products,” says Paul Holstein, VP with Cable Organizer.com.

First, take stock of the cables you want to manage, tracking and noting the directions that they need to go in. Then, he says, bundle them together accordingly.

It’s actually pretty simple. First, I closed all my open docs and apps, and powered down the PC. You don’t know what you’re going to be unplugging in the process of organizing stuff. Best to have all the power off.

Next, I had my Dyson DC16 Root 6 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner, a feather duster and a damp washcloth handy. I removed the old battery backup from the top of my desk and pulled the monitor away from the wall. With the Dyson, I sucked up all the nasties that had accumulated since the last time I’d cleaned behind there. Then, I dusted more particulates aside, and I wiped the whole space down. My allergies will thank me in their own special way.

Next, I broke out the reusable Velcro ties for wires and cords I tend to keep around for my computing and garage band cable needs. Holstein’s a big fan of Velcro (originally created for NASA to keep pens and the like from floating away in space capsules, shuttles and various vehicles orbiting weightless in space). Velcro One-Wrap wire wraps work like zip ties, Holstein says, but are gentler on cables, and can be repositioned and reused hundreds of times. I loosely wrapped cables and cords and secured them with the Velcro ties. This works wonders to tame errant and wily cables.

For his part, Holstein uses One-Wraps to attach cable bundles to desk legs and other structures. This way, “computer wires can be run discreetly along the lines of your office furniture, instead of in plain sight.” Another option: The Cable Catch. Affix the Velcro strap to the wall with its self-adhesive attachment, and create a secure, hidden home for running cables.

Next, I labeled my cables. Tracking cables beneath a desk or through a wire chase can be a fool’s errand. My former solution – pulling on one end of a cord to see which would wiggle on the other end – was ineffective. This time, I grabbed a Sharpie marker and a roll of white athletic tape my son uses to tape his hockey sticks. I affixed a short strip of tape to each end of every cable, and wrote the name of the device – PC, Monitor, Headset, Phone, Router, etc. – on either end. This proved an effective remedy indeed.

This was one of those projects that started in one place, then scaled to encompass the entire home office. Dust bunnies? Gone. Cables? Tamed. Storage? Organized. Clutter? Decluttered. I gave business and tech books I’d reviewed to the local public library. I sold old tech – some unopened – on eBay.

I even threw stuff that had been vexing my spirit for months as it sat idle on my floor into the garage.

Alas, that organizational endeavor will have to wait for another day.

Finding them shouldn’t be too difficult. Their phone numbers and email addresses are one Word doc away. At the U.S. Department of Energy, it’s all posted on a Natural Gas Regulatory Team Flexiplace Schedule.

The brochure-like document, originally created and reported on in my NetworkWorld HomeBase column in 2001, helps co-workers, managers and others within the Department of Energy to keep track of teleworkers. As more companies explore the possibilities of telework, keeping track of who teleworks when – and how to reach them when they’re out of the office while still respecting their home-office work hours – becomes essential to a successful telework program.

More than letting co-workers know where she is, the document helps the team make sure no gaps are created by multiple workers teleworking on the same day. As part of its creation, a “Buddy System” was instituted. By linking three co-workers, two cover the third when one is teleworking or is otherwise out of the office.

It also includes such policies as teleworker responsibilities for keeping the doc updated with current home office contact information and schedule information, changing voice mail greetings to provide home office contact information on work-at-home days, and submitting weekly reports on work completed.

Next up: How to create a flexi-work doc.

But to keep this working arrangement healthy, it’s necessary to have a remote work policy. This policy isn’t meant to take away the flexibility inherent in working remotely, but provides guidelines and boundaries that maintain order and allow staff to function at their best.

Here are Mutidjo’s eight points that should be included in your business’ remote work policy:

1) Office rules apply. Even though your remote employees are not physically in the office, they still need to adhere to all relevant rules outlined in your employee handbook. For example, if you have defined policies concerning work-related electronic communication, these rules continue to be applicable. Read the rest…