Cottage industries come out of the closet; Tips for home-based workers

Home-based business owners may be interested in contacting Mrs. Kern's organization, the National Association for the Cottage Industry, PO Box 14460, Chicago, Ill. 60614. Telephone (312) 472-8116.

William Renfro, president of Policy Analysis Company Inc., offers the following advice for those working out of their homes:

* Get dressed in whatever you would normally wear to the office.

* Set up office hours and keep them.

* Get to work on time.

* Quit on time, too - don't linger over office problems through dinner time.

* See people - incorporate a game of squash or a trip to the newsstand into your routine. Join a professional association to maintain your business contacts.

Mrs. Kern offers this method of separating office and home: ''Every day I get up, get dressed, grab my purse, and walk down the hall to my office. Then I'm at work,'' she says with a smile.