# Anyone living in Lake County Illinois start an at home business?



## TiggerWood (Jan 1, 2014)

Just want to know how you did it. There is a whole bunch of red tape. My biggest concern would be what had to be done to your shop to get a pass from the fire marshal?


----------



## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Easiest way to do it is to locate a good lawyer, accountant and insurance agent. Once you give them business, they'll answer every question you need to ask and it will be right for your location.

I'm not running from a house but the basic premise is the same. If you make your insurance agent happy, the fire marshall will probably be satisfied too. Insurance companies have access to every statistic out there and they know how fires get started and how to prevent that. Dust collection is important and if you spray flammable finishes, they'll want to see a real spray booth.

Don't try to trick your insurance guy with misleading info because he can't help you if he doesn't have the right information. Same goes for the lawyer and accountant.


----------



## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

If you are doing woodworking in the home business, after you get everything in place, you might be surprised by the state OHSA-type people to inspect for safety violations such as no blade guard on a table saw, wiping rags disposed of in a certain way, sawdust disposed of in a certain way, etc. Their fines can be rather *expensive*. The fire marshal, IMHO, could be the least of your problems.
I saw a custom shop get gigged for several things when the ownership changed hands. The new owners were given warnings for the following: no hot water in the restroom, no blade guard on the TS, dust allowed to accumulate on the floor and other places, wiping rags not stored in fire-proof containers, finishes and solvents not stored in fire-proof cabinets. They had to dispose of the wiping rags by using a certified company and had to pay so much per pound for disposal.
Good luck!


----------



## TiggerWood (Jan 1, 2014)

Thanks for the replies.

Knothead62, I don't plan on employing anyone but it is nice to know that OSHA most definitely expects a lot in the case that I may ever want to expand.


----------



## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

You don't have to employ anyone. Your business license and other things will be the factor that they will zero in on. When your revenue reaches a certain point, then you might expect a visit. Remember, that you will have to collect sales tax for the local and state governments. Your accountant can tell you what you can deduct for business expenses. I have a CPA that has been a great help. I used one of the walk-in tax offices and they weren't much help. Haven't been back.
I have several friends, like me, who build custom fishing rods and have been visited by the IRS to make sure they are paying the required excise tax. So far, I haven't been visited by them.
Forgot: Will you be subject to zoning laws or restrictions where you live? My parents lived in an exclusive neighborhood in Florida. Restrictions were such that Dad had to park the company truck in the garage as it had the company name an logo on the doors.


----------



## TiggerWood (Jan 1, 2014)

I've been working with a Score mentor. Everything is understood. My village doesn't care what I do. The county simply needs me to pass a fire inspection before licensing. I'm very good at record keeping and, since I only plan on selling what I make, there won't be a whole lot of record keeping homework. What I really want to know is, will I have to just put up an exit sign and get two fire extinguishers? Or do I have to wall up my garage and get a sprinkler system?

I have called around in an attempt to figure this out but I get conflicting answers. Like, Lake County said home businesses were not allowed. Well, that can't be true. Every where you look around here someone is running a home business. That is when I contacted Score. My mentor figured most of it out for me and now I am at the fire inspection. I called them and they said they just have to come and do the inspection for me to figure out what I need to do to be in compliance. If the inspection was free there would be no problem. I'm just trying to either avoid two inspections or not waste my time and money if way too much is expected (eg., sprinkler system).


----------

