How Much Money Do You Need To Start A Business Online?

Have you seen all the stories about online entrepreneurs making their dreams come true with an online business? Do you dream about working from home, wearing your slippers and taking a break to walk the dog or do laundry or read a book in bed? Do you wonder how much it would cost to get into an online business situation? It actually doesn't cost that much.

If you are starting right at the beginning and do not know what product to sell, there are two places to start.

1. EBay is a fabulous place to look at what sells and to begin selling. While you do not even need a website to sell on eBay, you are much better off having a website to sell your products as well. So, join eBay for free and look at what is hot, what interests you and what you think you could sell at a profit.

2. Use product sourcing trade portals like eSources.

3. Consider whether or not you will begin with drop shipping. As a drop ship business, you take orders from customers, forward the orders to the drop shipper who will send out the merchandise. You pay the supplier after you get payment from the buyer so there's no initial outlay for inventory. While there are downsides to drop shipping (no control over stock, higher prices than wholesale, longer delivery times), it can be a no-cost way to start.

Once you've decided what to sell, you need a website.

Designing a website

It can cost as little as $10/yr to reserve a domain name and web hosting can cost as little as $120/yr at hosting sites such as 1&1 and Godaddy. Or you can try Microsoft Office Live Basics which supplies hosting, domain and web building tools for free. Of course, these tools are very basic but it is a start.

Strategic Marketing Program

Next you have to get people to buy your products. If you start on eBay, the only costs you have will be small listing fees and sales fees that are a percentage of the sale price. However, it also makes sense to market outside of eBay.

In that case, you can either write material for your site and learn how to get your articles placed for pick up by search engines, mostly all free or you can purchase articles written for you by freelance writers.

Most of what you need to know to optimize your site can be learned by getting on the Internet and reading. There are dozens of sites dedicated to teaching newbies the basics of Internet sales, such as Ecommerce Times, Startup Nation and Internet Retailer.

Total it all up and you can conceivably start your Internet business online for free or nearly for free.

You probably won't become an Internet millionaire without adding some of your own capital but it is perfectly reasonable to try things out in a low cost or no cost way first.