If you think you've got an idea that's going to make you big
money, there might be a reason why everyone else isn't doing it
- and that reason could be related to the law. Many types of
businesses are strictly regulated and controlled by governments.
I once knew a guy whose great idea for a 'home business' was to
run poker tournaments from his house. Needless to say, that
didn't last long once the police heard about it.
Many local governments have a thing called a Smart Licence".
SmartLicence is a one-stop shop for all business licensing,
registration and information requirements.
Alcohol
Yes, it seems odd to some people that you need a license to
serve alcohol - after all, you can invite people round to your
own house for a drink perfectly legally, can't you? As soon as
you start charging them for those drinks, though, the nature of
what you're doing changes drastically in the eyes of the law,
and you're going to need a license. If you don't get one, then
you could be heading off to jail for quite a while.
Again, you're going to have trouble getting an alcohol license
for your home, unless you're holding some kind of event there
and the drinking is just incidental. Alcohol licenses are
usually subject to appeals from people who live near the
premises being considered, and you can guarantee that your whole
neighbourhood is going to turn out to say what a bad idea it
would be.
Gambling
However fun and profitable it might be to put fruit machines in
your house, run a mini card casino or just invite the local old
people over to play bingo, it's almost certainly illegal without
a license. Gambling is an industry that's almost always strictly
controlled - it might be fine to gamble privately with your
friends (or, depending on where you live, it might not be), but
as soon as you start running it as a business you're on very
dodgy ground. You'll also find that most places have laws
against for-profit lotteries - sorry. Applying for a license to
turn your home into a gambling premises is unlikely to succeed.
If you wonder why, consider what would happen if people in your
area could do that. It wouldn't be pretty.
Medics
If you plan to do anything medical, then you'll probably need a
license. When I say medical, I mean doctors, dentists,
opticians, and even vets. You might think it'd be fine to turn
your home into an 'animal hospital', but you need to be
qualified and licensed. Of course, if you've previously been a
doctor, dentist, or whatever, then you shouldn't have too much
trouble getting licensed to do the same thing from home.
Food
If you're going to sell food, you usually need to register, for
hygiene and safety reasons - imagine if just anyone could sell
you food, without any checks! For various reasons most local
government agencies are especially strict if you plan to handle
raw meat. It's usually fine to sell cooked meat, but raw meat is
considered more dangerous. Food licenses aren't too hard to get,
anyway, provided you have a relevant hygiene qualification and
you're willing to have your kitchen and products inspected at
regular intervals.
Children
People get jumpy around children, and you're very unlikely to be
able to look after any as part of your business without jumping
through all sorts of hoops. Just to be a nanny, there are all
sorts of courses to take and regular inspections to go through.
If you ever wonder why there's a shortage of small-scale
childcare, it's because it's so hard to keep within the rules
while making any profit.
More
This list is nowhere near exhaustive - it just covers some of
the most common kinds of businesses that people think of. If
you're planning to do something more unusual, then you really
need to check your local laws.
Should I Bother?
Most home business owners don't know about the rules that apply
to them, and don't especially care either. Every day you operate
in a regulated industry without a license, though, you risk
being shut down, or worse. It's only going to take one upset
customer or neighbour to get you into big trouble - so unless
you want to be worrying all the time, make sure you're properly
licensed for whatever you want to do.
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