For many it's the American dream: owning your own business, being your own boss, calling your own shots -- all from the comfort of your own home.

If you have a neuromuscular disease, there are other pluses to having a business in your home. You don't have to deal with inaccessible workplaces and getting accommodations for your work space or equipment. Gone are the sometimes difficult challenges of transportation, weather, regular hours and office attire.

COMFORTS OF HOME

While Regina Lee worked for a government agency and a disability agency, she began doing some word processing for others on her home computer. In 1989, she left her job and established The Scribe, a word processing business, in her New Carrollton, Md., home. She much prefers working from home.

"It just makes life easier," she says. "I don't have to get up and get dressed. I don't have to go out in the elements; whatever's happening outside doesn't really affect what I'm doing in here. I'm just more comfortable."

Daniel Wrigley of Collinsville, Ill., has practiced both law and accounting from an office in his home, the house he grew up in.

Kerri Braun, left, says her husband Tom's caring attitude toward customers helps make Monmouth Mobility a success. Photo by The Studio.

"I was able to make the accommodations that I needed and sort of adapt it to my changing needs, and it's fully accessible and very friendly," he explains. Wrigley doesn't drive, and he no longer has to rely on others to get him to and from work on time.

Just this year, Wrigley built another house -- right across the street from his previous home, which now houses his office and the offices of his brothers' excavation company.

"As far as me getting back and forth to work, I just need to go from one side of the street to the other," he said. "I usually do that without any kind of vehicular transportation, unless it's inclement weather."

Tom and Kerri Braun of Freehold, N.J., have found another advantage to operating their Monmouth Mobility transportation service from home.

Kerri, who does office work for the business, says: "For me personally, I'm able to pursue a lot of other interests. I'm an artist and craftsperson. I can work on those things as long as we have the phone nearby."

Her husband, who is able-bodied, drives the van that takes elderly and disabled people to doctors' appointments and other errands. His wife notes, "It's really helpful that he has flexible hours and makes his own schedule. If I were to become ill and he needed to be home with me, he could just not schedule things for a couple days. He has the freedom to be home when needed."

Bruce Burk calls himself the "editor, publisher and janitor of the Lolo Peak News."

Bruce Burk of Lolo, Mont., publishes a monthly community newspaper and combines that career with free-lance writing for other newspapers and magazines. Lately he's taken a break from the free-lance work to spend more time with his 5-year-old son. Burk is also studying for a Ph.D. in education.

Having a tracheostomy a couple of years ago led him to reassess his employment choices and to realize that working as a newspaper reporter would be difficult. "I feel like I can't go out and cover fires and spot news kinds of things," he said. "That's why I like this format so much because I can spend time with people and interview them and then take my time with it and work it, kind of like a piece of art."

THE RIGHT STUFF

Of course, there's more to self-employment than sleeping till noon and raking in the money in your bathrobe. Not everyone is personally suited to working from home.

Jim Tillman put in about 12 hours a day running Tillman Computer Consultants. Photo by Brad Bartley. (Shortly after being interviewed for this story, Tillman unexpectedly died. See Robert Ross' "Keeping in Touch" column.)

It takes a self-starter, someone who can work without supervision or frequent feedback from colleagues, flexibility, adaptability, a wide range of skills and self-confidence.

Jim Tillman started Tillman Computer Consultants, based in his home in Elk Grove, Ill., because "I believed I had the skills to start a business." Tillman set up computer networks for local businesses and assisted with software problems, set-up, hardware, installation and databases.

To have a successful home-based business, Tillman said: "First of all you've got to believe in yourself. You've got to have a lot of drive."

Next, "You've got to have good communication skills because you might be dealing with a client with a situation 20 times a day, trying to correct it. You just have to hang in there with that person, calm them down, relax them, make sure he's comprehending what you're trying to get across."

Tillman also warned that you must consider yourself competitive with other companies, large and small, that offer the same service. "Even though you're small, you can't be afraid of them. If you throw your hat in the ring, you might as well go after the brass ring."

Wrigley advises, "You have to be conscious about productivity and efficiency because there's nobody there to guide you and counsel you except for yourself. You have to be responsible enough to seek out the work to do and to perform the service or make the sale and then collect the money. You have to have all that responsibility and capability at your disposal. And you need to be certain you have the discipline to make sure all these things get done."

MONEY, HONEY

One of the big challenges of self-employment is financial. No matter what kind of business you choose, there are always start-up costs -- equipment, advertising, licenses, etc. Most small businesses don't make much money at first, so you must be prepared to stick with the business until it can support you.

For people with disabilities, another consideration is Social Security benefits. Most states limit the amount of income you can earn and still qualify to receive disability from Social Security and health insurance through Medicaid or Medicare. Entrepreneurs can find they've earned too much to qualify for benefits, yet not enough to support themselves.

There are some solutions.

You can manage the timing of the funds you receive, Wrigley points out, to keep your monthly income under benefit guidelines. Many business expenses are tax-deductible, including a percentage of home maintenance expenses involved in running your home office. This reduces your taxable net earnings.

Many states allow self-employed people to continue to receive Medicaid even if they're no longer qualified to get disability payments.

For now, the Brauns consider their earnings Tom's income, so that Kerri's benefits remain untouched. Others deliberately keep their income low so their benefits won't be affected. For more ideas on managing benefits, see Sources of Help or talk to a knowledgeable accountant.

GETTING STARTED

If you think a home-based business is for you, how do you start?

First, decide what kind of business you would like. The best ones combine your interests and talents with a marketable product or service that you can manage from home.

Lee has become a travel agent, in addition to her secretarial service. She enjoys travel and can arrange trips and reservations by phone, as well as go on some business trips to check out tourist sites.

The Brauns believed there was a market for a transportation service because "we knew there were a lot of retirement communities here and we also knew that the population was very dense in this area." They didn't do any formal market research, but knew there was a need for their service.

"What we were trying to do was kind of fill the niche between a regular taxi and an ambulance service," Kerri says. "There's a government-subsidized service, but you have to schedule with them six weeks in advance, and they only operate three days a week. Really, there is no other service like ours."

Before starting the service, using their own van, they had to investigate and pay for incorporation, licensing and insurance.

Burk's home town didn't have a newspaper and it was "kind of losing its identity." He suggested that he'd love to publish a community newspaper, and other Lolo residents came through with advertising and subscription support.

Cliff DeFore of Plano, Texas, works as a senior leader in vendor management for Educational Data Systems and anticipates retiring in the next few years. He's already started a home business that he can continue after retirement: as a distributor and marketer of educational and instructional videos and CD-ROMs in conjunction with a New Jersey company.

Before choosing this company, "I spent about three years looking and trying different things before I really settled on what I'm doing with the videos. I looked at every multilevel, every franchise, you name it," DeFore says.

"I had some goals. I didn't want to have to put pressure on people to buy something. I wanted something I could operate from home, even from a wheelchair if necessary. I didn't want to have to handle the product; I wanted something that would sell itself. I wanted something I could promote on the Internet from my own PC at home. I also wanted something that, if need be, I could show in a catalog."

His research showed that retailing via the Internet is growing, and he found himself using videos in training people at his own job.

DeFore set up a Web site and learned how to market products via the Internet. He's already earning money, with a minimal investment, and has sales representatives in several countries.

Some home-based businesses aren't strictly home-based. Tillman was on site at clients' offices about three days a week. He had some free-lance subcontractors who went to sites that were inaccessible to his wheelchair or when work was heavy.

Wrigley's secretary makes some deliveries, and he brings an aide when he must go to the courthouse to file papers. As much as possible he has clients come to his office but sometimes goes to other law firms to do depositions.

HANGING OUT THE SHINGLE

Every business owner must get the word out about his service or product.

When they started Monmouth Mobility in 1993, Tom and Kerri Braun "printed up fliers and we took them to various doctors' offices and to pharmacies and wherever we thought that our target market would maybe see them." They also notified churches and retirement communities of their service. Since then their business has grown by word of mouth.

Lee lined up clients before she quit her job. Starting with people in the building where she worked, she passed out a letter explaining that she'd be working from home and inviting calls.

"It's hard to start unless you actually have some kind of base or foundation," she said. "I had thought about advertising in college papers, but things just blew up where I never really had to do that. All my business has been word of mouth."

In some cases, you may need to take classes or do volunteer work to get the necessary training. Professional organizations may be a source of mentors or advisers in your field.

Tillman noted that, even when things are going well, you have to keep on your toes. "You've got to continue growing yourself, as an individual. You've got to evaluate your business every year and make sure that what you're doing is what they want out there. Stay up with the trends and be able to keep up with what's coming up in the next two or three years."

THE DOWN SIDE

Though home-based businesses have proved ideal for the people interviewed for this story, all admit there are a few drawbacks. A major one is the difficulty of separating your private life from your business life.

"If you really enjoy your work, it's very easy to be consumed by it and sort of neglect other facets of your life," Wrigley says. "When the office is actually right in the home, your work is in the room right next to you and quite often you hear it calling you, and you get to feeling guilty because you could be doing something. You have to be conscious to make sure you provide for recreational and spiritual time."

To the extent you can, set regular hours and close the door to your home office when your day is done. That isn't always possible, even on weekends and holidays.

Lee works six days a week and sometimes uses Sundays to get her office organized.

Braun's business "is pretty much seven days a week, and Tom pretty much counts on working on holidays." For a break, "Every once in a while we just put a message on the machine that we're closed for the day, so we can have a private life."

Some other realities: No paid holidays, vacation or sick days. You buy your own health insurance and pay your own Social Security. You're the only one who can meet your deadlines, even if you get sick. Work, and income, may arrive in a feast or famine manner, beyond your control. Friends and relatives may think it's OK to drop by or phone any time, not understanding that just because you're at home doesn't mean you aren't working.

ON THE OTHER HAND...

There are some great satisfactions to being your own boss.

The Brauns have the gratification of knowing that they're providing a needed service, and they've become close to many of their regular customers.

Tillman was able to apply his own philosophy of work and "deal with the public in a more humane way. Computers can be very cold. It's nice to try to bring people a little bit back to normal where they're dealing with somebody with a pulse over the phone. And I talk to them in a way that they understand what their problem might be."

SOURCES OF HELP

The Small Business Administration offers financing for starting, acquiring or operating a small business, with special funds earmarked as Handicapped Assistance Loans. For information on the program, call (800) 8-ASK-SBA or go to www.sba.gov.

SBA also offers several free or low-cost publications on small business financing and development. These, including "Starting and Managing a Business from Your Home," are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402; or on the Internet at http://consumerlawpage.com/nographics/brochure/homebusi.shtml.

Your local SBA office can also put you in touch with a nearby Small Business Development Center or the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a free service offering advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. (800) 634-0245.

The Social Security Administration offers some work incentives, including the PASS (Plan for Achieving Self Support) program, which allows someone to establish or maintain SSI eligibility while saving money to start a business. Call SSA at (800) 772-1213.

The Disabled Businesspersons Association, a nonprofit organization, has information on industry trends, marketing, business plans, financial resources and other aspects of small business. DBA, 5850 Hardy Ave., Suite 112, San Diego, CA 92182-5313; (619) 594-8805.

"Earning Power in the Home," a newsletter from Yes, You Can!, P.O. Box 368, Weatherford, TX 76806, (817) 594-4415, $10 per year.

"Employment in the Mainstream," a quarterly magazine on disability, rehabilitation and employment issues. Mainstream Inc., 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 830, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 654-2400; $25 a year.