Your Home Office

If show business is your life, behave like a CEO and set up a home office ASAP. First check out websites-Staples, Office Depot, Ikea-to find a desk and an ergonomic chair that fits your space. The chair should be adjustable and have a contoured seat with back support, and it should move easily. Reasonable prices start at $150 for desks and as low as $60 for chairs. Be sure your workstation has adequate outlets and phone jacks for your equipment.

Your computer should have upgraded Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, and high-speed Internet access. Dell often advertises deals on desktops; Verizon offers high-speed hookups at competitive prices. You can get a Hewlett-Packard copier-scanner-printer combo for around $100; for a little more you can get one with fax capabilities. If you opt for a separate fax machine, get one with a phone, but you’ll probably want a phone at your desk regardless. Your file cabinet can be freestanding or a part of your desk; it should contain folders with business receipts, submission materials, correspondence, postcards, and DVD reels.

If you don’t have the room to accommodate a desk 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, a flat panel monitor can save space-or consider downsizing to a lap top. Install a modular shelf system, or get an enclosed cabinet with holes in the back for the chords. New York-based actor Jamie Askew’s business center, for example, has “open shelves for plays, audition books, a dictionary; jars with highlighters, pens, pencils; magazine files with sides and monologues, letter trays with headshots and paper.”

On your computer, create letter-head with “From the office of,” “A note from,” or your name and contact number, as well as labels with your return address. You can also make labels for casting directors and agents. Invest in bi-monthly editions of Ross Reports Television & Film for updated office information on the industry and informative articles. You’ll need 9x12 manila envelopes with claps, as well as No. 10 letter-sized envelopes, which will safely mail your 4x6 pictures postcard. Stock your office with ink cartridges/toner, notepads, a stapler and staples, paper clips, a ruler, postage, and a calendar or daily planner.

You are responsible for overseeing your professional expenditures. The job can be made easy with ActorTrack, career management software for actors available at www.HoldonLog.com. For a nominal fee, this user-friendly program helps you keep track of appointments, audition-callback-booking details, income and expenses and contacts; it also gives you a career overview, making it easy to track where your money has gone at the end of the year.