Take It Outside! ...or to your living room, your kitchen, or wherever you need to be. A wireless network not only boosts productivity, but also makes life as a homebased entrepreneur a whole lot easier.

It's a sunny 72 degrees outside, and that bench on your back patio looks mighty inviting. This would be a great time to pick up your laptop and step out of your home office for a little while. What's that you say? You're expecting an important e-mail, and you have some research to conduct online? If you had a wireless network, you wouldn't have to think twice about it. There are good reasons why wireless technologies are booming in home offices across the nation.

Your home-office wireless possibilities go beyond just a Wi-Fi network. There's a 99.9 percent chance that you already have a mobile phone you're married to, but we'll start with Wi-Fi. A wireless network can turn your whole house (and patio and porch) into an extension of your home office. This isn't just about technology for technology's sake, but about increasing your productivity and making your workday a more flexible and enjoyable experience.

Karen Oosterhous, 32, publisher of Firebrand Books, has been running her business from a home office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a year and a half. She installed an 802.11b wireless network with a little help, bringing in outside technical experts to assess her needs, recommend equipment and set up the system. "I do think it's important to have someone come out and look at your setup and recommend what's best for you. A little investment on the front end pays dividends on the back end," says Oosterhous. It cost her $300 for the experts' time, plus the cost of hardware. For entrepreneurs who don't feel comfortable installing Wi-Fi, bringing in outside help removes the headaches and gets the job done right.