The really nice thing for the home-based self-employed persons is the tax benefits of using space in your home. You must contact your professional tax advisor for all of the minute details. There is a list of guidelines that you must answer to be sure that you qualify for the home office deduction. Once you do that, you are allowed to take a deduction of the percentage of your home that is used for business purposes as well as a deduction for the same percentage of your utilities (known as direct and indirect expenses). As with everything our government does, there are mountains of paperwork involved in a home-based office and (as previously stated) is best if you contact a qualified professional to give you all of the specifics.

As for liability issues, those would be more along the lines of insurance - and you must contact your insurance agent for business liability insurance. For example, my insurance agent looked at my home-based office and went through a checklist to see if I needed additional coverage (over and above my home-owner coverage). Since I do not see clients in my home and since the information that I store is all on my computer, the only thing that was necessary was to ensure that my computer and peripherals were covered. There is also the issue of (for lack of a more general term) malpractice. That is, if I were to take money from a client and not produce the goods in exchange for the consideration - I must ensure that I have proper liability coverage.

After those things are taken into consideration, you can start finding people to help! Best of luck to you!

About the PowerHomeBiz.com Guide: 

Tammy Harrison is a successful home-based working mom for over five years. She holds a degree from Mizzou in Consumer Economics. Her business focuses on Marketing and Creativity for Small Businesses as well as numerous other small businesses. For more information, you may contact her at http://www.jdharrison.com  

The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, not of PowerHomeBiz.com. Users should not treat the Guide's response as legal, accounting, or professional advice as all answers are intended to be general in nature. Such advice can only be properly given by qualified professionals who are fully aware of a user's specific geographical areas or circumstances, such as an attorney or accountant.