The article below is excerpted from Inc. Magazine by Editor-at-Large Leigh Buchanan and includes helpful tips for Home Based businesses.

1. Language is important. Tell people you “work out of my home office” or that you “work from home.” Never say, “I work at home.” That suggests you create window treatments freelance in your spare time. “Home office” sounds more professional when you’re giving someone your phone number for work.
2. Some people like to dress for work, even though they never set foot outside their houses. Others like to lounge around in sweats or pajamas. It’s a matter of personal choice. But if you prefer the latter, change clothes at least once at night and once in the morning. Casual is fine. Crusty isn’t.
3. Talk to someone at least once a day. Stay connected with clients and fellow business owners to avoid “work from home” fever.
4. Gossiping, Web surfing, popping out to do a little shopping at lunch—those are healthy ways to decompress when you’ve spent an hour com-muting and another three hours sitting in an uncomfortable chair. At home, where all is relative peace and luxury, such activities seem decadent. Still no one can work eight hours without pause. So establish some useful, non-fun things to do during work breaks that don’t induce guilt.
5. If you have children, explain that when your door is closed they should not disturb you. If they fail to comply, explain that if they continue to interrupt then you will miss your deadlines and lose your job, which will force the family to live on the streets and sell all their toys for food.
6. Larks will love working from 4 AM to 1 PM; owls from 3 PM to mid-night. But remember some commitments (interviews, teleconferences etc.) will likely fall outside your preferred work hours. So while it’s tempting to create a routine customized for how you like to work, instead schedule yourself fresh every day based on how the world requires you to work.
7. At our house we have three phone numbers: one for the family, one for the kids, and one for my work calls. When someone calls the family number the phone rings once. When someone calls one of the kids it rings twice in quick succession. When someone calls for me at Inc., it rings three times in quick succession. That way no one else ever accidentally picks up my work calls
8. Stay caffeinated. The Saeco Incanto Sirius is a totally awesome es-presso maker, even if it does sound like something out of Harry Potter.