I have people over to my house all the time (I sell baby carriers) and I've never worried about the security aspect of it.
However -- diapers have an even lower margin than baby carriers, and are less expensive.
So say you have a $20 dollar diaper that you spent $10 on wholesale, plus $1 shipping. And after spending an hour -- or more -- basically running a solo cloth diaper workshop for one customer, she buys one diaper. Or zero diapers. Or she buys a bunch, and then returns all but one because her husband/babysitter/mother/whoever flip out about a) the money she just put into them b) the laundry c) their own squick factor d) whatever.
You have to have somewhere in your house to have all your stock and display it. You have to keep your kids occupied and make sure that the area you're doing demos in is a) clean and b) child-proof and c) entertaining for the older kids who are coming with their mom.
My point -- doing one on one appointments is AWFULLY time-consuming. You have to act like a business person and sit down and crunch some serious numbers -- how much stock is going to cost. How much advertising is going to cost because you will need to get your name out there. How much even a basic, good-looking website is going to cost. How much your TIME is worth and how you'll be able to pay yourself at least something to make up for the hours spent on your business and away from your family. How well you know how to set up an accounting system, because you will have to deal with sales tax, federal and state income tax, all the rest of it.
I don't mean to discourage you -- but you do need to take a harsh, cold, clear-eyed look at the reality of it. Diaper WAHMs are a dime a dozen and in the 8 years since I started CDing I could barely name a handful of brands of diapers, let alone diaper WAHMs, that are still around. I look at the portfolios of web designers who specialize in WAHMs and half the stores aren't even open any more.
Obviously there are exceptions and there are successful stores.....but I think the people who do really well are good at BUSINESS, marketing, advertising, bookkeeping, etc. (or are willing to outsource that work) and the expertise in xyz (diapers, baby carriers, natural toys, etc.) is almost secondary.
Really brainstorm, sit down, work up a business plan, and think about whether you have the resources and family commitment to turn this into a business rather than a hobby.
I am speaking from the perspective of someone with no business background who has learned a lot of these things the hard way -- and am realizing how much I truly did not know when I started. I've been lucky enough to make money -- but not enough to replace the income I would have had working outside the home, and honestly my children would have seen me just about as much if they'd been in daycare. Sometimes half a parent who's not paying attention to you is worse than no parent at all (with a caregiver who is focused on paying attention to you).
OK, novel over!
