737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page i Your Home Business 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page ii Also by Helen Chryssides Local Heroes, published by CollinsDove, a former division of HarperCollins A Different Light, published by HarperCollins Arabian Nightmare, with Richard Arnot, published by Allen & Unwin 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page iii Your Home Business Insights, strategies and start-up advice for aspiring entrepreneurs Helen Chryssides cartoons by Andrew Weldon 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page iv First published in 1997 This edition published in 2004 Copyright © Helen Chryssides 1997, 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Chryssides, Helen. Your home business : insights, strategies and start-up advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. 2nd ed. Bibliography. Includes indes. ISBN 1 86508 859 5. 1. Home-based businesses - Management. 2. New business enterprises. I. Title. 658.041 Set in 11/13 pt Minion by Bookhouse, Sydney Printed by SRM Production Services, Malaysia 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page v Contents Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 vii ix A new life beckons Getting started Home sweet office Money matters Performance and presentation Selling yourself and your business Dealing with stress and other health issues Making it work New technology Useful contacts Index 1 38 70 105 138 163 188 219 259 302 310 v 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page vi 737-main.QXD 19/11/03 11:41 AM Page vii Acknowledgments Acknowledgments would like to thank the home-based workers and all those who gave s