13. Starting From Home Is Often Smart

If your company does not need commercial space, do not lease an office to make it feel legitimate. Low overhead buys time. Time buys experiments.

A home-based business in Lake Wales still needs both tax receipts. The City's rules (code section 23-348, rewritten in August 2022 to match state law) are specific:

• Up to two employees or contractors who do not live there may work on site. Remote employees do not count.
• The business can use up to 25% of the home's air-conditioned floor area.
• Customers come by appointment only, no more than two at a time.
• One non-illuminated sign, flush on the house, up to two square feet.
• No outdoor storage or displays. No more than ten extra vehicle trips a day. One delivery a day, and no tractor-trailers.
• Park in the driveway, not on the sidewalk or the grass.
• Working out of a detached building on the lot needs a special exception.
• Not allowed as home businesses: beauty and barber shops, auto repair, commercial kennels, public dining, antique or gift shops, preschools, private clubs, and classes of more than two people.

One warning. The Home-Based Business Affidavit posted on the City's site still carried older, stricter language when this was written: residents only, no signs, no commercial vehicles. The ordinance is the law. Ask Development Services which standard they are applying to you, and read the section yourself. State law (section 559.955) limits how far any Florida city can go in restricting a home business.

Home-business rules, fees and contacts are also in the business directory.

Then enjoy your twelve-second commute.