So, I stopped to think. I made sure she had a clear route to where I wanted her to go. And then I walked in there and said in a firm, but quiet and somewhat disgusted voice, "Kelly! You know you're not supposed to be in here!" She slowly looked up at me, turned around, and casually walked out with a look that said, "Gee, dad, you're no fun!" She went where I wanted her to go, I closed gate behind her, and that was that.

It occurred to me that this was a great lesson for our businesses. Things happen all time that could have very bad consequences for us. New competition, new laws that adversely affect us, loss of an important client, significant world events such as September 11... list goes on and on. How do we react? If we react emotionally, we could make problem worse.

Your gut reaction may be to yell at an important customer that's giving you a hard time. Stop. Call them back later.

Cash flow not what you need it to be? Don't panic. Think it through.

Does your local government suddenly want to slap license fees on home businesses? Be calm. Discuss it with one of your peers.

My point is this: if a horse gets into breezeway of your business, remain calm and carefully consider your options before reacting. The business you save may be your own.

For Lori - and for you - meaning of all this is simple:

Lori earned $15,000 in salary as an employee, but took home only $1,156. She could have netted entire $15,000 had she earned it in a home-based business!

This is an increase of almost 13 times her take-home pay as an employee.

Notice that Lori is not spending dramatically more money than she is currently spending. She would eat out anyway, go on trips and drive her car same as before. By having a home-based business, however, many of their expenses become deductible. This concept is known as "redirecting expenses." With a home-based business, she can now deduct some of expenses that she is incurring anyway.

Renegade Strategy: If you don't have a home-based business, start one!

In addition to all benefits mentioned above, Congress will subsidize you while you are growing your home-based business. If your home-based business produces a tax loss in first year or so, you can use that tax loss against any other income you have. It can be used against wages earned as an employee, dividends, pensions, or interest income-or you can use loss against your spouse's earnings if you file a joint return.

If tax loss exceeds all your income for this year, no problem. You can carry back loss two years and get a refund from IRS for up to last two years of income taxes paid, or you can carry over loss twenty years. You read it right: You can offset up to 20 years of income!

Here's an example:

Mike earns $50,000 in a job with government. If he starts a home-based business that generates a tax loss of 10,000, he only pays tax on $40,000.

Renegade Tip: You can never lose a properly documented business deduction.

In fact, if everyone in U.S., who is employed full-time began a home-based business, used strategies I suggest, each household could easily save between $2000 and $10,000 in taxes each year. If all employees in U.S. did this, tax bite of IRS would be reduced by a whopping estimated 300 billion dollars annually. Of course, Congress would have to change laws for this to occur.

Renegade Strategy: Get LUCK - Labor Under Correct Knowledge.

Can You Succeed In a Home-Based Business?

Research has constantly shown that it rarely business that determines success or failure. It is usually business owner. Why does one person succeed and another fail at same business?

Two words - Knowledge and Action.

Some people want benefits of having their own business, but they don't take action. The result is business failure.

Then there are people who are always working. The take action but still fail. The reason is that they are not taking correct actions, knowledgeable actions, that will bring desired results. Again, business failure.

It's like drilling for oil. If you set up a drilling rig in your back yard, it is going to fail at producing oil unless your back yard is in Texas or Alaska. The same rig in a good field will produce a gusher, because it was placed where oil was known to exist.

The point is that most people who get excited about starting their own home-based business do so without all necessary knowledge. Consequently, many people quit before they acquire, through experience, knowledge they need, without realizing that they are getting substantial tax breaks. This leads to another strategy....

Renegade Strategy: Learn to duplicate success of others.

Duplicating strategy of others is much quicker and more effective than going to school of hard knocks.

It is also known as modeling, which is well-illustrated by way The McDonalds Corporation blazed a trail to success that many have since followed.

In early 1950's McDonald's and other start-up companies discovered that they could grow many times faster than conventional firms through franchising. Instead of company investing millions of dollars to build new stores, they let independent franchise do it for them.

It seemed like a great idea, but at first no one figured out how to make it succeed on a consistent basis; therefore, media attacked relentlessly and continually. News articles featured destitute families who had lost their life savings through franchising schemes. Virtually every state attorney general in U.S. condemned new marketing method. Some congressmen even tried to outlaw franchising entirely.

Over years, however, Ray Kroc and his management team at McDonald's developed a turnkey franchise business team at McDonald's franchise. The newfound success-from system-turned public perception of franchising around. Today, virtually every franchise business models-to some extent-the franchise business system created by McDonald's, making franchising one of most respected ways of doing business in world.

Modeling is simply learning what other successful people have done to achieve success in a specific area, and then doing same thing. Someone said that "education is shortcut to experience." With modeling, you literally leverage your own learning with collective years of learning through experience of many others. Modeling success of others saves both time and money and reduces frustration and stress.

The light at end of tunnel, for you and millions of others today, is financial opportunity that starting your own business offers. If you have one going already, then make sure you are enjoying many financial advantages to which your smart choice entitles you. The tax advantage alone can make a home-based business single best financial move you could ever make.