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Lock down the home office
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February 10, 2000: 11:19 a.m. ET
Take precautions to protect your home-based business from theft, fire
By Staff Writer Hope Hamashige
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Gene Fairbrother knows that if his home office is broken into and his equipment is stolen, he is out of business. At night he pulls the shades so nobody can see the computer equipment he keeps in his spare room. And he diligently backs up the information on his hard drive and stores the backup disks in a safe deposit box.
"I take as many steps as I can to make sure my home office is secure," the Texas-based business consultant said. "My business is in the computer. If I lose the computer I have a huge problem."
When starting a business at home, most people focus on getting the right equipment, making the business viable and finding a way to keep their work life from interfering with their home life.
Initially, however, home-based entrepreneurs must take on responsibilities far beyond just doing the job they set out to do. Even someone who is a caterer or a business consultant has also to be his own receptionist, janitor, accountant, and, yes, security guard.
While most home-based entrepreneurs are not security experts, it is important to secure equipment and come up with a plan to keep the business working in the event of either burglary or fire.
Homeowners' insurance alone won't do
At the very least, people with home offices should have separate insurance to cover their home-based businesses. In most cases, homeowners' insurance does not cover home office losses in the event of theft or fire and does not give home-based entrepreneurs any liability protection.
Most people running a business from their home, however, desperately want to avoid having their equipment stolen because the minute their computer leaves the home, they are out of business.
Fairbrother, who also counsels other home-based business owners on safety, recommends all home office owners run through doomsday scenarios and come up with ways to protect their businesses. He keeps copies of his critical information on disks that he stores in a safe deposit box far away from his office.
Don't wait for disaster to strike
Security experts also recommend people protect their equipment with more equipment -- like alarm systems. Although many small business owners may consider an alarm system too costly, it can be quite inexpensive.
A basic alarm system -- one that consists of contacts on all doors and windows and motion detectors inside the house -- can be had for monthly monitoring fee of just $25 a month, said J.C. Canazes at Active Protective Services in Miami, which secures both corporate and home office settings.
The mistake most people make, said Michael Sutton, owner of Major Monitoring Service in North Hollywood, Calif., is they get protection only after they have experienced a break-in.
At a minimum, people running a home office should have an effective deterrence system in place, he said. Motion sensitive lights are a particularly inexpensive way, at about $20 apiece, to scare off burglars. The most effective deterrence, however, is a sign out front of the home and window stickers that warn intruders that the house has an alarm system.
Even people with alarm systems, Sutton said, should get solid door and window locks and use them whenever the home is vacant.
A couple more don'ts
Keep quiet about your home business, Fairbrother advised. Making it known you are operating a home business is akin to inviting theft. Don't, for example, keep your garage door open if that is where you store inventory. Keep customers and deliveries to the home office to a minimum and consider getting a post office box if you think the amount of delivery traffic to your home will draw attention to your business.
Finally, talk to your local police department. Depending on where you live and the size of your local police department, they may pay particular attention to your home when they are on the beat. 
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