Home security is on everybody's mind these days. If you have a home-based business or a home office you can be the target of both asset theft and personal attack right in your own home. In this series of articles, we look at three practical security steps you can take to guard your home and home business against attack using personal security and home security assessments.



Step 1 – Physical security

Keeping your physical security simple and cost effective is vitally important. If it becomes a burden, you know you won't keep it up. This approach uses a combination of home security and personal security.

The underlying issue to consider is what it would cost you if you were robbed, sustained asset damage or sustained personal injury? Look around your home, your home based business and, using a pad and pen or a simple word document, note the replacement costs for the furniture, stationery, paper books, technology products, computer software and downloads and other items that could be stolen or damaged in a home invasion.

Now look at your personal security and consider the cost of physical injury to your body, or your mental equilibrium, if faced with assault, confrontation with a thief or the aftermath of such. Put figures on what it would cost you to repair this damage and to cover your absence from the home based business if that were to occur.

Now, look at the cost of protecting yourself against this physical damage. If you aren't already familiar with ballpark figures for some of these items, contact a retail outlet, or your local medical center, or look them up on the internet. When you have a list of figures, total it and see what a simple Break & Enter might cost you.

Then it's time to look at options for physical protection – simple home security and personal security. These will be influenced by factors such as: your location, building style, property location demographics, local police crime statistics, assets on the premises, your psychological risk-management approach (see the forthcoming part three of this article series: Personal Security in Your Home-Based Business).

Some of the options you might consider include:

• a variety of simple easy-to-mount door alarms and locks, and window alarms and locks;

• a driveway alarm to alert you to visitors or intruders before they reach the house;

• a front door viewer or even door viewer camera that gives you a record of who's there when you aren't;

• a personal alarm – you don't want to be hunting for help in an emergency;

• internal door alarm stoppers as an alternative to alarms for external doors and windows – less expense and good for those in shared accommodation or travelers;

• outdoor cameras for deterrence value and recording or indoor viewing;

• fake surveillance cameras for deterrence;

• an indoor safe if necessary, although a safe can be an attraction for some;

• diversion safes – those small container safes that look like everyday items of no value, inside which you hide small valuables;

• personal or door alarms that send out prearranged calls to alert authorities, relatives or associates when there is a break-in;

• emergency lights so you don't have to come home in the dark;

and finally, but just as importantly,

• insurance: for your property and contents, for personal injury, for income protection.

Tick which of these you might like to consider for your home based business and find ball-park costings for them. For some initial product price options for the budget savvy, see the link below.

Now you are ready to compare what it will cost you to pick up the pieces after a theft or attack and what it will cost you to guard against or cover yourself against that attack. This gives you the ability to make your home security decision and act.