Ask WAHS Leslie: Home Business Legalities

I have a syndicated column at Work-At-Home Success. It runs weekly and responds to questions that I receive about working at home. If you are a webmaster and would like to have the column synidicated to your site, visit Work At Home Success: Ask WAHS Leslie.

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Dear WAHS Leslie,I would like to start a home business but I'm confused by all the procedures. How do I get a license or permit? What does it cost? What other legalities do I need to take care of? Carl in PA

Hi Carl,
There is no one answer to your question. Every city and county has its own policies on regulating home businesses. For example, in one city, I had to get a business permit but when I moved to a new area, I wasn't required to get one. Nevertheless, in my new town, I was required to pay business personal property tax. Either way, they get a cut of my profits.
There are four bits of information you need to find out about for running a home business in your area: 1) Business license or permit; 2) Sale Tax Permit; 3) Zoning, and 4) Doing Business As announcement.

The best way to find out about the rules in your area are to contact your local city or county government. Check your phonebook for the the listings under your city or county. Every area has them listed differently. Look for business licenses or it may be under licenses, businesses. If its not clear, see if there is an information line or contact your local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Administration office for help. In my experience, business licenses or permits cost about $50 and then each year require some extra money based on the business' earnings.
You will need a sales tax permit if your state or local area charges sales tax AND if you sell tangible goods. In most cases, services are not taxed and wouldn't require a sales tax permit. Again, its best to contact your local authorities regarding this. Hopefully the business permit office will be able to at least give you information, but sometimes the sales tax permits are given through a different office.

You will need to check the zoning in your area. The business license office should be able to help you with this. Or contact the Zoning Department in your city or county. Many areas still ban home business in their zoning ordinance. In this case, you should be able to get a waiver as long as your business won't increase traffic on your street, won't require a sign, and doesn't involve dangerous or disruptive (loud or smelly) materials. One more thing about zoning, if you rent or live in an area with a home owners association, you may be required to get permission before running a home business. Check your lease or HOA policies.

Finally, if your business has a name other than your given name, you will likely need to fill out a "Doing Business As" (DBA) form which will be run in your local paper. This is something else your local business office should be able to tell you about although you may need to go to a different office to complete it. In my experience, this cost about $10.

It is important to check out the home office laws and ordinances of your area. If you run your business without the proper permits or adhering to the laws, you could set yourself up for trouble should a neighbor complain. In most cases, the process is painless once you find the right office of your local government to help you.

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Ask WAHS Leslie is Leslie Truex a stay and work-at-home mom who has been helping people work at home since 1998 with her website Work At Home Success. She is also the author of Jobs At Home: A Complete Guide to Finding a Work-At-Home Job. Ask WAHS Leslie is a weekly column. You can submit a question to Ask WAHS Leslie by emailing here.

Multiple streams = multiple chaos

When I first wanted to work at home, one of the many books I read was a book that talked about having multiple income streams. This wasn't Robert Allen's book. I can't remember the name but it talked about having lots of little businesses. She equated it to spinning several pie plates at one time. It sounded like a great idea. But now I know different. If you really think about it spinning many pie plates could be messy. Do you remember the baker on Sesame Street? "Ten coconut cream pies...." And then he'd crash to ground with pies all over. I have crashed yet, but I do often feel like I'm teetering on the edge.

The problem with multiple income streams is that in many cases you can only do the bare minimum to keep it running but never enough to really get it up and running. One stream is constantly taking time away from another stream. When I think of great ideas, they take so much time to implement that other streams get neglected.

Being organized...which is a challenge for me... is a definite must in running multiple streams. But there is only so much time in a day. There is only so much you can do. There is a limit to how many streams can be effectively run to earn income.

So, am I against multiple income streams? No. But I do recommend limiting the number. And when starting, focus on one stream, getting to run as smoothly with systems and routines before beginning the next.

oops....gotta run... a pie seems to be spinning of kilter....

Leslie

Resolutions of a work-at-home mom

Its January 1, 2005. Wow...where did the year go? Remember when you were a kid and it seemed like life went by so slow? Today it seems to zoom by. Its true, youth is wasted on the young.

Like most people, I take time to take stock in my life; where I am today and where I want to be this time next year. I love goal setting but I find myself not ever reaching them. I did get closer to some this year. I lost 12 pounds since June (South Beach) and I promoted twice in my home business. The end of the year I developed several more clients in my telecommuting job... great for the extra money needed during the holidays.

Often where I get stuck is turning the goals into action plans; what needs to be done day after day. This is complicated by the fact that I have so many different projects and more I want to take on. Often what happens is each gets a little time but not enough to take them to the next level.

So what are my goals this year?

Health: I'd like to lose at least 8 more pounds and improve my fitness (which isn't bad as I'm an aerobics instructor.

Biz: I plan to increase traffic (1 mil hits per month) and ezine subscribers (25,000).
I plan to increase affiliate income by 50%.
I plan to promote to senior in my biz (and get my free car...a Volvo SUV).
I plan to finish my next book Mom's Online Money (MOM) and get it published.

Family: I plan to spend more focused time with my kids. I'm around them all the time but I'm not always present if you know what I mean. I want to improve on this.
I plan to take a great vacation (DisneyWorld) with my family.
I plan to enact a date night at least 1 per month and a getaway with my hubby every few months.

I have worked last week designing my plan which includes things like working out more, a regular delivery of articles and PR regarding my business, etc. Its all set up in my Palm Desktop software so its scheduled in. I find its more likely to get done if I schedule it.

Now that its written, the odds are more in my favor as studies suggest that people who write goals have greater success. And now that you know about them... I have to achieve them or look bad.

Leslie