Is A Cottage Industry For You?
By Sharon Nani
customerservice@theknittree.com
A home based business can be service oriented or product oriented. If you produce a product as a sole proprietor business owner, you have a cottage industry. Having a business in your home requires pre-planning and investigation.
There are several different federal, state, county, and city laws that regulate a cottage industry and they may each have different requirements or restrictions dependant upon where you live and the product that you wish to produce. The following list is not all inclusive. It is meant as a guide to get you started in the right direction.
Your Tax Assessment Number on your property tax bill will lead you to the first information you will need. Do you meet the legal requirements to have a business in your home?
Call the County Department of Resource Management: Planning Division and ask: What is my #147;Building Zone?#148; Then check that Zone#146;s requirements for a home based business. These might have requirements for public access, amount of public access, parking space, amount of space in your home that you can dedicate to the business, etc.
This is also the place that you apply for your #147;home occupation#148; permit, which will list your restrictions for the zoning in your area.
Do not despair if you do not meet these requirements. There are alternatives such as renting a spot in someone else#146;s business as your customer contact point or applying for a zoning change.
A certified public account can help you determine what your license requirements might be. He will also help you set up your book keeping system dependant upon whether you wish to claim that you are a #145;hobby business#146; or a business. It is to your advantage to apply for a Fictitious Name Statement from the County Clerks Office for your cottage industry. This is inexpensive and you will need this if you open a Business Bank Account or have a business phone. If your product is sold retail, you may also need a #147;Sellers Permit#148; from the State Department of Equalization.
Every cottage industry owner knows the importance of their
Bread Butter Basics
. These are the items that are usually easier to make, in great demand, and economical to the consumer. Check out some ideas for Bread and Butter Basics from this
web site
: hand loomed slippers, baby blankets, caps, hats, booties, sweaters, lighthouse placemats, hair scrunchies, and scarves. They might even be mascot stadium blankets: bears, knights, or leopards. Bread and Butter Basics also includes learning about the specialty techniques that add the finishing polish to your product. Don#146;t forget, you need to know how to determine the selling cost of your products before you start to market them. Get all #147;your ducks lined up#148; and you too can have a successful cottage industry.
The Knit Tree is a small family owned company on the outskirts of Redding, California#151;right at the tip of the Sacramento Valley#151;surrounded on three sides by beautiful mountain ranges. It is operated by David and Sharon Nani. It all began in 1970 when Sharon, as a young mother, received a knitting loom as a gift from her husband. The first item Sharon learned to make was the unique knit slippers which you can still find today in the showroom Bread and Butter Basics. As Sharon quickly became known as "The Slipper Lady" she realized what a wonderful opportunity had been given to her. She could add to the family income and still be at home to care for their two young children. E-mail:
customerservice@theknittree.com
. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com
