Keeping Inventory in Your Home What to do when your city restricts the use of your home for inventory storage

Q: Iam a seamstress, and eventually I will also offer custom-designedphoto transfers for T-shirts and other items. The problem is, I wastold that while I can sew from my home, I cannot keep anyinventory. I would be mailing everything from the post office upthe street from where I live. Also, do you recommend I set up a Website?

A:Apparently your community's residential zoning allows you tooperate at home but restricts keeping inventory in a home. If youprobe deeper, you may find some wiggle room to allow you to do whatyou want. Inventory is not an exact term, though it's usuallythought of as being merchandise, stock-in-trade or commodities. Itcan also be defined to cover materials and supplies. But creatingcustom-designed items arguably puts you in the category of anartist. Most artists create their works at home. They havematerials and create original products as you plan to do. Artistsare often favored as a home occupation in zoning ordinances and,even when not, are generally allowed to do their thing.

Sometimes what this kind of zoning restriction seeks toaccomplish is preventing residents from using their garages tostore merchandise and thereby having to park their vehicles in thedriveway or on the street. Still other ordinances are intended toprevent manufacturing, retail sales and commercial repair serviceson the premises. Since none of these applies to you, your communitymight not resist your using a spare bedroom or basement space foryour materials and creations. If, through talking with the zoningofficials, you learn what you want to do is OK, ask for a letterconfirming that.

But what if you aren't able to keep what you create on yourpremises? Self-storage facilities dot communities across thecountry. When we had one blocks from us in Santa Monica,California--which is home to some of the most expensive real estatein the nation--the monthly cost for a storage unit was less than$100 a month. While you might not welcome that additional overhead,you may be easily able to afford it if you have a sufficient volumeof business.

Sheltered workshops are another option. They provide employmentto physically and mentally challenged people and will not onlystore your merchandise, but also ship for you, generally at areasonable cost.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from having a Web site. Manypeople use the Web instead of the Yellow Pages to find products andservices today. So if you want customers to be able to find you,you need a Web site.

Paul and Sarah Edwards are the authors of several homebasedbusiness books, including Working From Home. Their latest book is The BIZ Experiencesial Parent.