Spousal Support And business makes three, keeping secrets, card games.

Couples who run homebased businesses together can enjoy bigbenefits, but all marriages pack a potential for problems. Add ahomebased business partnership to the mix, and sparks can fly.Scott Gregory and Shirley Siluk Gregory, co-authors of The HomeTeam: How Couples Can Make a Life and Living by Working at Home(Panda Publishing, $22.95, 888-447-2632), say to avoid these fivepotential traps to help both your marriage and your businessthrive:

1. Misplaced priorities. Your relationship shouldalways take priority over your business. If the company becomesmore important than your marriage, you could be headed for bigtrouble.

2. Overworking. It takes hard work to make abusiness succeed, but be sure to take time for nonworkactivities.

3. Poor communication. Couples must talk openly andfrequently about issues affecting the marriage, home and business.It helps if partners clearly define family and business roles,divvying both up fairly to avoid hurt feelings.

4. Forgetting the big picture. It's easy to getbogged down in the crisis du jour. Couples must agree on goals forboth family and business.

5. Conflicting personality styles. Diverging pointsof view can bring creativity and growth to both marriage andbusiness. Think of your differences as opportunities, notroadblocks, and you'll find working together to iron them outbrings great rewards.

Lynn H. Colwell is a business writer in Post Falls,Idaho.

Something To Hide?

While homebased businesses have mushroomed in recent years, someclients still question the professionalism of a homebased office.So should you reveal you're homebased?

It depends. In many cases, the nature of thebusiness determines whether you should trumpet your homebasedstatus. Customers also play a role: Consumers tend to be lessconcerned about working with homebased firms, while large companiesmay find it disturbing.

Beatriz T. Halbert, co-owner of The Sequoia Group Inc., anAtlanta facility operations and maintenance company, worked fromhome for three years. During that time, she never revealed hercompany's location.

"My research indicated [my clients] were interested inoutsourcing to small companies, but they were uncomfortableoutsourcing to a [homebased business]," Halbert says.

Parents of young children often find revealing the nature oftheir site is unavoidable. "Clients may call when a child isnagging me, so I always tell them I have a home office," saysJudith Lederman, owner of JSL Publicity and Marketing Inc. inIrvington, New York.

Many BIZ Experiencess take the middle ground. "The largerbusinesses I work for may or may not know I work from home,"says Pam Paris, owner of Paris Graphics, a computer graphic designfirm in Hanover, Maryland. "I don't hide it, but if itdoesn't come up, I don't broadcast it, either."

Card Tricks

You've already paid for them, and they don't do any goodstashed in a drawer. Here are some ways to capitalize on yourbusiness cards:

• Post your business cards anywhere they'reallowed--libraries, colleges, supermarkets.

• Get creative with your cards. If you're a private eye, forinstance, how about slipping them between the pages of books in thelocal law library?

• Never pass up a chance to pass out your cards. Whenever you payfor gas or make a purchase in a store, if you think the salespersoncould use your product or service or might know someone who could,give him or her your card.

• Include business cards when you pay bills by mail. You neverknow whether the person opening your bill might need yourservice.

You can benefit from potential customers' business cards,too. Here's how: Contact a local restaurant or business thatcomplements yours. Ask if you can place a fishbowl near the cashregister. (If necessary, barter your service or product inexchange.) Post a sign on the fishbowl inviting customers to dropin their business cards to be included in a weekly (or daily)drawing for a prize.

If you run a catering service, for example, the grand prizewinner could get 50 percent off a catered dinner party. Offer 15percent off the first order to anyone who enters. Once you collectthe cards, start calling to remind participants about thediscount.

Contact Sources

JSL Publicity and Marketing, (800) 575-3263, JudySL@aol.com

Paris Graphics, 1408 Fairbanks Dr., Hanover, MD 21076,(410) 519-5388

The Sequoia Group Inc., SEQUOIA_GROUP@msn.com