Starting an online business may not be as financially demanding as setting up a physical store, but it still requires some initial investment. The phrase "starting a business on a shoestring budget" is often thrown around, but even a shoestring has a cost. What may be a small investment for some, say $1,000, could be a significant amount for others, perhaps $50 or less. So, what is the actual cost of starting an online business? Let's delve into the details.
Note: This article assumes that you already have a computer and internet access, and that you're planning to start a basic online business, not an e-commerce site with an advanced shopping cart system selling hundreds of items, which would require a larger investment.
If you're serious about your business, you'll want to choose and register a domain name - www.yourdomain.com. This can be purchased for as low as $16.00 a year. Some websites offer it for less, you just need to do some searching. Your domain name is a representation of your company, so give it a lot of thought.
Web hosting is a crucial component of any online business. Your website needs to reside on a web server, and hosting companies provide you with space on their servers for a fee. You could opt for a free hosting company initially, but for reliability, it's advisable to switch to a paid one. For instance, Pair.com charges a monthly fee of $5.95, with a one-time setup fee of $28.00.
Web design is a significant part of setting up an online business. You can choose to do it yourself by learning from a book for beginners, free online tutorials, or purchasing quality training materials. Alternatively, you could hire a professional designer. Fees for web design can vary greatly, from $10 to $200 an hour. You could potentially hire a college student to design your entire website for around $200.
Promotion, search engine submission, and copywriting can initially be done yourself using free methods and manual work. Once your website starts generating income, you can afford to automate and outsource many of these tasks.
Remember, you have a choice: you can either invest money or time into your business. Initially, time may be the only thing you can afford. However, as your business grows and starts making money, you can begin to invest more financially.
Let's summarize the potential start-up costs for your first year of operation. If your business starts making money in the first year, your expenses might increase as you'll likely be more willing to invest:
As you can see, starting an online business does require some initial investment. The amount you spend can vary depending on how much time you're willing to invest in your business.
If $166.00 seems like a lot to spend in 12 months, you might want to try a completely free website offered by Geocities or Angelfire. Your business won't be as effective because there will be no company domain name or a well-designed website, but it's a way to get started and understand what running an online business entails.
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