North Adams Transcript from North Adams, Massachusetts • 9

The Transcript, Thursday, April 16, 19929 their homes setting up shop in peopu vice. "You can talk to family and friends, but it might be better to talk to someone objective, who can see something that might be missing." Compliance with zoning bylaws' and whether to take home-office tax deductions are other considerations. The Supreme Court has taken a case to resolve which taxpayers are eligible for the deduction, Under Internal Revenue Service rules, the area must be used exclusively for business. Marusak, an accountant, doesn't take the home-office deduction. a lot you have to do to prove" eligibility, she said.

"We're not doing this for lax reasons." Sole proprietors may only lake a TKEE ore LOWELL, Mass. (AP) If You're thinking of starting i home wsiness, you're not alone. Within 10 years, 50 percent of jusincsses be home-based or people who work from their lome, according to Elaine Abramo, a member of the board of directors of (he Homebased Businesswomen's Network, a group that' meets once a tnonth in Danvers to talk about marketing, motivation and other problems unique to the setup. Twenty (eight percent of businesses nationally jire an Increase of 8 percent over last year. i For the price of a computer, extra phone lines telephone lines, business fcards, and advertising, you can be in Sbusiness.

I The attractions, say proprietors, Sare being your own boss, setting your town hours, and commuting from the kitchen to the study. "It's certainly convenient, there's mo commute, you can wear whatever uu vraiu, saiu iiaucK grapiut; ue- igner Carol Pavidson. "You can orit in your pajamas, ana no one ill know." "The advantages of working for ourself are you make your own ours, pretty much, and wear all the Monitor locations KationK home office deduction to theextent of their income, and can't use it to throw their business into'a loss. And if there is an office in another loca-tion related to the. business, the IRS disallows the deduction.

The downside of running a busi-, ness from home: Being your own boss. Video producer Fox works at least 80 hours a week, twice that of a traditional job, and accountant Maruska does her own copying and answers her own phone. Pet sitter Eldred walks dogs even in mucky weather. "On sunny days, it feels like I'm cheating being paid to be out," Eldred said. "Everything has its flip side." standards OPTIMUS -Him, ii'irm! from her Holliston home, calls associates whenever a thorny problem crops up "but it's usually a longdistance phone call." An active Holliston Business Association member, she is setting up a network for sole proprietors to share advice.

At the end of last year, Weiner was evaluating her 1992 business plan. She was thinking of branching out from specialized publishing into more mainstream An HBA colleague gave her the name of someone who might be helpful, "He said, 'Do you have all the. business in your primary market that 1 there is to and I said no, and he said, 'Why don't you go for that," Weiner said. She followed his ad OPTIMUS gf 100-Watt Stereo 16-525 Sale rogramming omes to IfflfflSSBffl Prompts for Easy Programming iifaiaJll -Wag mm 'a agjjjj- i6oo 259" iplSS Low As $15 Per Month Reg. 319.95 i.

lufaS jffssas-ys agmfi Antrt DmiQrOn DlnxkLr Damans DMunr Eli LL-I 1 -Tftsa SChri'stian Science Church turns it off one year after starting it tixt" Receiver 70 339.95 Low As $15 Per Presets from Hz, with no Sale Price Ends 41892 CD Player Auto-Search are hats, and pick and choose which clients you work with," said Hollis-ton video producer David Fox. "You are your own boss and you earn as much money as you want, which is -never near enough." Owners of home-based businesses say they probably earn more or about the same amount of money as they would working for someone else in a comparable position. Earnings from pet sitter Sally El-dred's 20 or more hours a week are equal to a "good part-time because she has no commute and doesn't need to invest in an inexpensive dressy wardrobe. Graphic designer Davidson makes about the same as if she worked for an employer, accountant Dorothy Maruska and her partner, Mark Rosen, both make more than they used to working full-time in an accounting firm. But salaries can take a back seat to putting money back into the business or paying off bills.

"There's no such thing as a steady paycheck," Fox said. "When bills come due you pay them, then look at what's left and decide if there is money for you." Home-based businesses don't last any longer than the typical family Channel an end Its 24-hour programming included the nightly news show, "Monitor News," social satire with commentator Mort Sahl and financial shows as "Business Report" and "Money and You," plus specially produced documentaries. After Discovery opted to drop "World Monitor" earlier this year, it moved to the Monitor Channel. But the expansion into broadcasting was marked with internal dissent over whether the church should be expanding into television. The dissent ended in uproar when church officials admitted $41.5 million was borrowed from church pension funds to cover cash needs.

An estimated $230 million has been poured into its broadcast media operations and those operations jcpst an estimated $4 million amontlLt Station officials said they wereton track with original financial protections. However, the channel needed to reach at least 25 million homes to become financially stable and had reached only about 5 million. After a major reorganization of the church's leadership last month, officials said the channel would be sold by June 15 or shut down. That date was pushed up to Wednesday. Some observers said that the fledgling station went too far, too fast, spending money too quickly in a sluggish economy.

"I think if there was overspending, it was because the people who ran the channel wanted it to be wonderful, and quality costs," Harris said. The station will continue to own WQTV in Boston, but officials were unclear about what programming it would have after June 15. Mt. Grey lock trail cleaning planned LANESBORO The Department of Environmental Management and Appalachian Mountain Club's Bascom Lodge Committee present Trails Workshops on Mt. Greylock on May 2 and 3.

Trail maintenance instruction with tools provided to help prepare the trails for the hiking season. Meet both days at 9 a.m. at either the Visitors' Center on Rockwell Road in Lanesboro or Town Park at the Junction of Hopper Road add Route 43 in Willlamstown. Bring lunch and a variety of clothing and footware for the changing trail conditions. For further information, contact Don' Noble at 802-442-5306 or Bob Hatton at 499-4263 (work) or 458-3123 (home).

Price Ends 41892 With Random Play business, Elaine Abramo said. Three-quarters of family businesses last only one generation, with an average life span of 24 years. Because home workers often can't go to an office and discuss business strategies with colleagues, getting an objective view when it comes to working on a business plan is essential, home business owners said. Home business, owners say they need to make a special push to connect with others in their field. Sally Eldred set up informal, occasional meetings with other pet sitters; they share referrals as well as on-the-job horror stories.

Roberta Weiner, a marketing consultant and copywriter who works No Down Payment $200 Minimum Purchase Computer Products Only! 0 Interest and no payment until July 1992 on approved RSVP account with single-ticket purchases ot computer products only, totaling $200.00 or more. Following the no-interesTperiod, any remaining balance is subiect te a finance charge of up to 2M APR Spending on vour state of residence (50 minimum monthly nance charge). Refer to your RSVP Account Agreement. Offer is valid March 26 through April 18, 1992. 4 1ASTCKANCE! SALE ENDS SATURDAY! Come in Today and Get 20 OFF All In-Stock Batteries BUY ALL YOU NEED, NO LIMIT! I Not valid on special-order batteries.

Offer ends April 18, Offer Ends Saturday! Ideal tor Small Businesses $1.00 End-of-Lease Purchase Option Applies to Any 386 or 486 System Over $3,000 HURRY! Offer Valid March 26-April 18, 1992 On approved lease for qualified businesses (2 years in Ksferred) with approved credit. Single lease Sment Kg $3,000 or more, plus applicable axe Requkes one (1) payment security deposit advance. Leasing through Tandy Computer Leasing. Ask store manager for details. 1 11 Fast 25MHz 386SX System With 85MB HD, Modem and Monitor SiToff $1588 Reg.

Separate Items 1799.85 Low As $49 Per Month i Tandy 2500 SX25HD i Digital Sound Built-in 1 2MB RAM -MS-DOS 5.0 25-161040441037 Most Major Credit Cards Welcome lie I ap 1 MiSiia'iB Offer Ends Saturday! i ii 1992 Cut'140 100195 Off 19095 lOiV "eg- Month 199.95 Bidirectional Audible Search BOSTON (AP) Just under a year after it went on the air, the national cable television channel of the Christian Science Church halted production the result of controversy over the church's ambitious and expensive expansion into television. The Monitor Channel, which broadcast a mixture of news, public affairs and entertainment shows, will now air reruns to its nearly 5 million cable households around the nation until June 15. If the channel is not sold by then, it will be shut down. Most of the station's 400 employees received pink slips last week and a small staff remains to finish shutdown operations. Employees spent Wednesday saying goodbye and comparing job prospects in a tough TV market.

Somaijof them had found jobs at ihe Monitor Channel after being laid' off during recent hard times at local network affiliates. "All of us got a little spoiled in being here," said "Monitor News" anchor Gail Harris. "Such an atmosphere encouraged creativity." John Palmer, a former NBC correspondent and anchor of "World Monitor," said he spent part of his last day working on the closing lines of his Wednesday night newscast, the last live program scheduled on the channel. "At a tjme when the line between news and fentertainment have become so blurred, we feel the 'World Moni- tor' and the Monitor Channel have stood out as beacons of quality," he concluded. Negotiations to sell the channel, a move mandated by church officials last still continue, but spokesman Harry King declined to disclose details.

The cost of shutting down the channel will be $43 million and funds will come from the church's pension reserve, which is part of the unrestricted funds, according to a statement released Wednesday by Virginia Harris, chairman of the board of directors of the church. Churcp spokesman Victor West-berg sad other assets would be moved into the fund to keep it sound. The shutdown halts the Boston-based church's attempt to do for television wjj'at it has done in print with its respected Christian Science Monitor newspaper. In September 1988, the church launched, "World Monitor," an international 'news show, which aired on the. Discovery channel.

Last May, the Monitor channel debuted on the church-owned station WQTV, Chan-nel 68 in Boston, and was offered to cable systems around the country. DUOFONE Voice-Mail Answerer Save s30 Low As $15 Per Month Matrix Surround Output 24 100 watts per channel, minimum rms into 8 ohms more than 0 3 total harmonic distortion 31-3013 43-700 Sale Price Ends 41892 Power Strip With Spike Phone 69 Low Cut 37-Q -888 Protects Your Valuable Electronics 61-2780 And Save Program 16 Tracks in Any Order 42-5019 Sale Price Ends 41892 40-Ch. Walkie-Talkie Keeps You in Touch Reg. 99.95 Low As $15 Per Month 21-1645 Sale Price Ends 41892 Radio hack Compact Trim-Fone Cut 29 2495 Each Reg. 34.95 White, 43-585 Almond, 43-586 Gray, 43-587 Tonepulse dialing Stereo Headphones Reg.

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10 a.m.-Noon April 17 April 18 BERKSHIRE COUNTY SAVINGS BANK Check Your Phone Book for the Radio Shack Store or Dealer Nearest You MS-DOS licensed from Microsoft Corp. Most battery-powered items exclude batteries. SWITCHABLE TONEPULSE phones work on both tone and pulse hies. Therelore, in areas having only pulse (rotary dial) lines, you can sti use requiring tones. FCC registered.

Not lor con or party hies. We service what we set. Sale Prices End 5992 PRICES APPLY AT PARTICIPATING STORES AND DEALERS Except Where Noted.