inancially
challenged folks who want a web business, just forget about it?
Absolutely not!
You can have your own business online for less than the cost of
a cup of coffee, and I will
show you how today.
I know that may sound absurd,
especially when businesses in the real world cost thousands of
dollars to start.
I also realize there are many
companies out there selling "turnkey web business opportunities"
for anywhere from $1,500 - $5,000 and more. (Most of them are
just a ripoff!)
So where do I get off telling
you that you can do it all on the cost of a cup of coffee a day?
Easy, I'm a real cheapskate at heart! I got started with next to
nothing, and you can too. And believe me, things were much more
expensive online when I started out.
Nowadays you can get a great
website design program for $0, an FTP program for $0, web
hosting for $1 a day, payment processing for pennies, and that's just about everything you need.
In fact, here are the essentials
for any web business, including the web's best no-cost and
low-cost solutions available. You've probably never heard of
some of these solutions, but they are solid, reliable, and
dirt-cheap.
Step 1: Put Up
a Website
The first thing you'll need when
starting a business online is a website or a blog. Whether you
plan to make money selling your own products and services or
selling as an affiliate, you need a "home base" to direct your
prospects to. Fortunately, there are many low-cost and no-cost
resources for building your own website.
Cheapskate Resources:
NVU.com - This is one of the best website design programs on
the web. With it you can design your entire website. You can
start from scratch or use a pre-designed website template. This
program rivals programs costing hundreds of dollars. Cost: $0
EZMinisites.com - A great source for pre-designed website
templates. But not just "pretty" templates -- these professional
templates contain all the sales components of top selling
websites. BizWeb eGazette subscribers get 10 free templates... Cost: $0
WordPress.com - If you like to write then you may prefer to
go the blog route instead building a website. Using this
web-based blog building platform you can get started in less
than an hour. Cost: $0
Blogger.com - Another top-notch blog builder. Cost: $0
More after this
important message...
Need To Make Money Online? I Can Help...
I'm
Jim Daniels and I've
helped thousands of people just like you, earn money online.
Whether you're trying to earn
enough to pay some bills, or you want a full-time income, maybe
all you need some real
At your site or blog, your number
one priority should be to give something of value away, such as
an ebook, so you can collect opt-in email addresses. This will
grow a growing pool of prospects that can be contacted
regularly.
I
n
order to get started with this task, you need two things... a
giveaway such as an ebook you write yourself, or acquire master
rights to. And a service that will help you grow and manage your
list.
Cheapskate Resources:
OpenOffice.org - With this tool you can create your ebook.
This awesome program rivals Microsoft Office, but without the
high price tag. Plus, the word processing program called
OpenOffice Writer, (looks like Word) has something really neat
built in. I call it an instant ebook creator. In a nutshell, you
can write content in the word processor then when you're done,
click File, Export as PDF. You
have an instant ebook! Now that's a great feature. Especially
considering how much you pay for this entire suite of tools... Cost: $0
- Once you have a site designed, you need a web
host. This host gets great reviews from their customers and
businesses. Plus, you get quite a list of features you'd
normally pay separately for, including
all-important followup autoresponders.
If I were on a very tight budget and
just starting out, this is the host I would use. (While you can
find free business hosting on the web, most include 3rd party
ads on your site - a big no-no.) Cost: Less than $1 per day (the first month is free via
that link above.)
FTP Commander - If you're going to build a website you need
a way to upload the files to your web host. This tool is easy to
use and comes with the perfect price tag. Cost: $0
Step
3: Take Credit Card Payments
If you're selling products and
services as an affiliate, you can skip this step, as the
merchants will handle all customer payments then pay you a
commission. But if you plan to sell products or services of your
own, then you'll need a way to take payments. Years ago I'd tell
people to get a merchant account for this. But with an average
cost of $500 or so, this is really not the best choice for small
and home web businesses, at least during the start-up phase.
That's because other options are now mainstream and far cheaper.
Cheapskate Resources:
PayPal - Millions of people use this payment solution online
now. It is so universally accepted I increased my sales by 20%
overnight, simply by adding paypal as an option for my
customers. And there's nothing wrong with having paypal as your
only payment option ether. As far as costs go, unlike standard
merchant accounts, you don't pay unless you make sales -- that
alone makes it a nice fit for new businesses. Cost $0 setup and per transaction fees
ClickBank - Similar to paypal, this site lets you accept
credit card payments for your goods -- as long as they are
digital, such as ebooks and other downloadable products.
Clickbank has an added advantage though -- they have a network
of more than 100,000 affiliates you can tap into instantly. They
charge more per transaction than paypal, but their vast network
of affiliates can more than offset the extra costs. Cost $0 setup and per transaction fees
Let's wrap it up for today...
A bit of quick math show us that we're at about $7 a week.
The coffee I buy at Dunkin Donuts is $1.93 a cup. Do the math. Who says a web business has to be expensive? So what are you
waiting for. Money is not an obstacle. All you really need are
some ideas and some time.
S
ee ya in a few weeks...
Jim
Daniels
JDD Publishing Co.
P.S.
Do you want to earn a full-time income from the web, in your
spare time? Download the exact Work At Home Plan I Used.
To
bypass the $97
order form, just click the Gold Key at the site. It will bring you right to
the download area.
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