Last month, Wachtendonk moved the business to a storefront on the North Side to prepare for his second full-time hire. But he gives his workers the same flexibility to work from home that he still affords himself.

"It's a perk," he said. "As a small-business owner, I can't afford to pay a large salary, but I can compensate in other ways, like flexibility."

Flexible telecommuting arrangements are becoming increasingly common among small businesses, with higher gas prices being the catalyst for some companies to give it a try, experts said. And among start-ups, entrepreneurs have a politically correct reason to work from home.

"It's environmentally responsible," said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation.com, which provides business advice and networking for entrepreneurs.

Given the high cost of commuting, business owners can reap big dividends by allowing employees to work from home.

"Companies are recognizing it's critical for the retention of employees in today's environment," said Eric Buntin, managing director of operations and marketing at Randstad USA, which conducted a large-scale World of Work study this spring that revealed half of all companies embrace non-traditional work arrangements.

Contrary to the concept that workers are prone to slack off when they're not in the office, Buntin said, they have a financial incentive to make telecommuting work. They're likely to work harder at home to keep the arrangement. "The key is productivity," Buntin said.

Working from home kept expenses down for Murder Mystery Maniacs, contributing to the company's profitability, Wachtendonk said. The first year, the company sold $17,000 in original murder-mystery parties from its Web site, www.host-a-murder.com. This year, Wachtendonk said, the business likely will ring up $250,000, about double its 2007 revenue thanks to more corporate work.

The company uses actors, who are independent contractors, to help facilitate the mystery events, which include corporate team-building and holiday parties, as well as standard mix-and-mingle parties for personal events.