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War Zone Homebased entrepreneurs fight to put zoning on the national agenda.

By Cynthia E. Griffin

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Imagine working 16 hours a day, seven days a week to create yourdream business. Then, just as you've got it up and running, ananonymous call to the authorities threatens everything you'vebuilt. That's exactly what happened to Colleen Wolf, whostarted communications and marketing company Wolf Prints Inc. inYorklyn, Delaware, in 1992.

"I had converted a garage into an office," says Wolf."It had a separate entrance and was attached to the house.Then, once it was finished, I put a sign in my front yardadvertising the business."

Within two weeks, Wolf says she got a call from the local zoningoffice saying a complaint had been filed against her and that arepresentative was coming out to investigate whether it was legalto operate the business from her home. "It was shocking,"recalls Wolf. "When I filed for my business license andincorporated the company, at no point did anyone ask me where itwas going to be, nor did they tell me about county codes. I had noindication it might be illegal to operate a business in myhome."