"Clients still perceive a home office as a negative," says

Johnson. Yes, home-based businesses have been around for a long time,

and yes, many have prospered while proclaiming to the world that desks

are lined up next to the washing machine. Nevertheless, Johnson says

it is risky to be too upfront about operating from a family room or

a corner in the bedroom. Once relationships with clients are

established

and your work is sought after, okay, but don’t let potential clients

in on the secret.

specialize

in creating an office presence for home-based businesses — without

actually giving them an office. Some have receptionists to answer

phones, office park addresses to which business mail can be sent,

desks available by reservation, and conference rooms to rent by the

hour. Find such a quasi-office, says Johnson, and never, ever even

think of inviting a potential client to a confab at the dining room

table.

no,"

but a surprising number of home-based companies use the same phone

line for general household calls — from grandma and the kids’

school chums — and for business calls. Do not do this, says

Johnson.

Get a separate phone line for the business, and use any threats

necessary

to keep other members of the family, especially those under 10, from

ever picking up that phone.

not be headquartered anywhere in the flyway between, say, the

refrigerator

and the television, or the family room and the deck. "Be as

secluded

as possible," says Johnson. Then, she adds, "forbid the family

to go into the room. Period."

not to interrupt unless it is an emergency. An empty container of

chocolate ice cream, it must be explained, does not fall into the

emergency category. Still, Johnson admits, there are times when

communications

that fall short of a request for transport to the emergency room do

need to get through. Her office had glass doors and her kids got into

the habit of holding up signs. Things like "Can I go play at

Connie’s

house?" This worked for her, she says. Others might find the signs

a tad distracting. If so, something like E-mail or Instant Messaging

might do the trick.

every time a squirrel passes in front of a window, it needs to be

sequestered far from the home office. Clients, says Johnson, do not

want to hear barking when they call to check on a project. The same

goes for crying, or for the gut-wrenching screams that tend to

accompany

an intense scuffle between two toddlers intent on playing with the

same dump truck. Get a sitter, is Johnson’s advice here. No serious

business person can field client calls while feeding an infant or

separating combatant pre-schoolers.

does not matter. In cyberspace, a one-person business operating from

a cubby in the dining room can appear just as big as a multi-national

in cyberspace. Build a professional, full-featured website.

the businessperson needs to get out. Selling is a part of every

business,

and some of it needs to be done in person. Networking is important

too, and Johnson encourages home-based business owners to attend

chamber

of commerce, association, and trade meetings.

deductible.

Keep records for the IRS, but perhaps more importantly, says Johnson,

keep them to project cash flow, to track operations, and to build

business success.

comparatively closer to major U.S. shipping ports. But being the first

stop across the pond no longer provides an absolute trade advantage.

Also, while the unification of European markets increasingly lures

foreign investment, all tariffs, value-added taxes, and other customs

fees are standardized, allowing no specific nation any price

advantage.

"Instead, Ireland’s real competitive edge must and does come from

our greater logistical ease — both in distribution and in

industry,"

Cronin says. All business is personal, it’s just a little more so

in Ireland. The old joke claims that in Germany and France you deal

with companies, in England you deal with representatives, but in

Ireland

you talk with people. Seminar speaker Lee, of Red Devil, says that

a can-do atmosphere prevails.

retrain its labor force with what Cronin terms "more relevant

skills." The country’s leaders have worked to initiate a spiral

of better education that leads to higher wages and to higher

productivity.

"And for the past five years, this cycle seems to have impressed

foreign firms. Those seeking to industrialize here, have perceived

it as well worth their investment," says Cronin.

packaging,

fewer and fewer items are totally manufactured and shipped from a

single home plant. More typically, a New Jersey enterprise may gather

pieces from Brazil and Thailand to be assembled and then placed in

packaging shipped in from Wisconsin.

Increasingly, Ireland’s industry is establishing such marrying

capabilities.

A growing list of companies exist solely to unite and reconfigure

all the product elements and ship the finished item out to markets

abroad. While the cost and time saving in this process are obvious,

there is one caveat. As your product slips further from your immediate

oversight, more diligence must be taken to maintain control.

about all of Africa. Our news media and trade sources still treat

it terra incognita, proffering little more than occasional snippets

from the Associated Press or from World Bank reports. Rooted in a

long missionary history, Ireland retains a strong trade through many

African nations, with representatives who know their way around the

ports, distribution networks, and regulations. They provide many

Western

hemisphere firms with an experienced launching point. These same

advantages

apply to both the Middle East and to the burgeoning markets of Eastern

Europe.

is convenient and swift, it is definitely limited. "High profit

margin, low weight products," says Cronin, "are what we most

specifically seek. In fact, it’s all we can handle." A glance

at a map would quickly discourage the selection of this small isle

as a site for livestock or large truck transfer. The New Jersey-based

pharmacology/health industries, however, find Ireland an ideal match

for both distribution and product reconfiguration. "Also, as

electronics

shifts to phototronics," Cronin says, "we stand ready to

convert."

Not only is the labor properly skilled for such work, but Ireland’s

flat, 12.5 percent corporate tax rate makes the country more enticing.