What are Zoning Laws?

Zoning laws cover specifications of where and how residential, industrial, recreational or commercial ventures are permitted. It is the government’s method of controlling any physical development of land and the particular function of individual properties. In addition, zoning laws cover other land use such as dimensions of lots and buildings, development density and occupancy.

Home based businesses fall under the jurisdiction of zoning requirements, and you need to take zoning laws into consideration before you begin operating a home based business in a residential area. The onus is on you, as the home based business owner, to clarify the relative zoning requirements set out by your state, county and municipality.

There are no strict guidelines as zoning requirements vary from one location to another. Some towns are very meticulous as to exactly what constitutes legal land use, while others are a little more lax, tending to lend a blind eye to home based businesses that do not disrupt the neighbourhood.

How Will Zoning Laws Affect My Home Based Business?

Your first step, as a home based business entrepreneur should be to determine the particular zoning category of your neighbourhood. Consulting with the planning department in your particular municipality, which is usually located in the local government office, can often give you clarification of the particular ordinances and rules your home based business falls under.

Depending on where you live and the nature of your business, you may or may not require a business license to operate a home-based business.

Most of the time, a quick visit to your municipal office can steer you in the right direction. They will be able to tell you where and how to obtain licensing information for professionals and small business owners.

Once you have filed your application, your municipality’s Planning Department will inform you of any zoning requirements which may affect your business.

It is crucial that you contact your state’s Department of Commerce in order to find out whether or not your home-based business falls under licensing guidelines. In addition, check out whether you will need any of the following permits:

Health Department Permits

If selling food is part of your business, whether you sell directly to customers or operate as a wholesaler to others, you will be required to obtain a county Health Department certificate.

The cost varies from one location to another and is generally based on business size and the type of equipment your business uses for production.

As a general rule, fees for Health Department Permits fall within the $25 - $50 range. The Health Department will most likely arrange to have your premises inspected prior to issuing this permit.

Fire Department Permits

Depending on whether or not your venture requires the use of any flammable materials for production or if your business caters to traffic from the public, you may be required to obtain a fire department permit.

Again, this varies from one municipality to another with some areas only requiring periodic fire inspections in order to ensure your premises meets all fire safety codes.

Any business that encourages a lot of people to gather, such as restaurants, boarding houses, or bed and breakfast will be looked at very carefully by the fire department. You will be required to adhere to all fire department requests in order to bring your property up to the necessary fire code standards.

Environmental Permits

Most municipalities now have dedicated departments that deal solely with controlling air and water pollution.

Depending on the nature of your business, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in your district may require special permits prior to any business undertaking. You will have to inform this department as to whether or not you will be burning material, discharging refuse into sewers or waterways or using a product that may produce gaseous emissions (e.g. spray paint).

Closely regulated permits will be issued should your operation fall under any of these criteria.

In addition, the EPA may insist that their approval be granted prior to the start of any construction. Again, check with your state or federal governing power to find out about any regulations that affect your business.

Sign Permits

Most areas now have ordinances regulating the size, location and type of signage allowable. Check with your Zoning Department and get written approval before designing, manufacturing or erecting any signs.

A word to the wise

In order to avoid costly and often damaging repercussions in the future, always check with your County, State and Federal Licensing Commissions prior to beginning any home-based business. The footwork you do now may save you countless headaches and incalculable dollars in the future.

The above article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as financial or legal advice.

When starting a new home-based business, one of the first things you need to do is decide on a business name, and then register that name. Don't skip this step: registering a business name in your province or county at initial start-up can prove to be invaluable down the road for several reasons.

For example, registering a business name allows you to open a business account at the bank. A business bank account not only lends credibility to your venture, but also allows you to keep track of your small business transactions in a more professional manner.

Also, when you register a business name you find out if any other business is using that name. You don't want to start doing business under a name that someone else has registered, because they can force you to discontinue using that name. This can be a stressful and expensive experience, especially if you have built up a client base or reputation under that business name.

The procedure for registering your business name needs to be done in accordance with the particular business structure you choose.

For example, if you are going to run your business as a sole proprietor (the simplest form of business structure), your Social Security number will serve as your tax number and any profits or losses from your business will be included as part of your personal income tax. But if you are going to have an LLC or incorporated business, the business name registration will be done in accordance with the LLC/incorporation requirements.

Shortly after starting HomeBusinessWiz, another blog stole my article How to Outsmart Credit Card Companies at Their Own Game and published it without permission.

I'm surprised how angry I felt. I'm a pretty easy-going person and I wouldn't have predicted that copyright infringment would bother me as much as it did. What I most resented was that I had spent several hours researching and writing that article, and then in a flick of "copy and paste" someone claimed my work as their own.

Someone stole my content. So what did I do?

First, I looked for some contact info to write to the blog owner. Alas, there was none. But there was a comments section so I left a pointed comment demanding that they remove the offending material immediately or else I would consider taking legal action.

Every business is obligated to operate within the law, regardless whether it's located in a home office or the executive suite at Trump Towers.

Home business legal structure

One of the initial steps to take when setting up a home-based business is determining the type of business entity (legal structure) to operate under.

Generally, there are three methods of operation: sole proprietorship, partnership or limited liability company (corporation). The most common method used by home-based businesses is sole proprietorship, primarily because it's the simplest and cheapest way to go.

However, as a home-based business owner, you may be subject to a wide array of liability issues, so be sure to get expert advice suited to your type of business. For example, if your business involves considerable financial risk or the potential to be sued, you may want more legal protection than that afforded by a sole proprietorship.

Home business registration

Registering a small business is not a legal requirement if the business is being operated as a sole proprietorship. However, you may want to register your business anyways because doing so is a relatively inexpensive method of providing some copyright protection for the business name. As the business grows, you may decided to change its entity and having the business’s name already registered will be one less step you have to take at that time.

Choosing the form of small business you operate under requires some planning and foresight. Variables such as administrative costs, tax planning and control need to be considered. There are several options available and none are "the best". It all depends on your needs. Here's an overview of the various types of business structure.

1) Sole Proprietorship

• By far the simplest method, sole proprietorship is most common for small business ownership. A sole proprietorship operates either under your own name, or under any name you choose (DBA – Doing Business As), provided you do not add any of the legal designations of other forms of business such as Ltd. or Inc.

• As a Sole Proprietor, it is not really necessary for your business to be registered (although sometimes this is a good idea, especially if your product or service is popular – by registering your business name, you will have a modicum of copyright protection).

• A sole proprietorship is basically an extension of your personal identity and as such, you can include business transactions as part of your personal income. This eliminates the obligation to file taxes separately.

• The advantages of setting your business up as a sole proprietorship are ease of setup and administration. You alone control both sales and costs, allowing more comprehensive operational leverage.

If you're like the majority of new small businesses, you're operating on a financial shoestring. And although you may be tempted to skip hiring professionals such as a lawyer and an accountant, that's not the place to skimp. I'll tell you why.

Hiring good professional advice from the outset is never a waste of money. In fact, no matter how tight your budget, getting professional legal and financial advice will usually result in saving you money in the long run.

Financial recordkeeping for small business

Unless you have both the time and the expertise to maintain a complete set of financial records for your business, you should not hesitate to hire an accountant. Most new small business owners discover too late that maintaining current financial records can either make or break their venture. Most of the time, this message does not register until tax season or when they attempt to get financing from a lending institute.