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How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business

How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business
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Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to start an online business? Well, we all know that a typical brick and mortar business will cost you upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars to even think about it.

The startup cost for an online business is quite different. For an online business, you don’t need to pay for rent because your business is operated on the internet.

Let’s not forget about the cost of employees. You can’t run any bricks and mortar business without employees right? … unless you plan to run it yourself.

In this article, I will go over how much it really cost to start an online business. If you are thinking about starting a regular brick and mortar business, you might want to reconsider and start thinking about the internet instead.

The Cost Is Either Time Or Money

time or money
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Before we dive deeper, I want to clarify that the startup cost for an online business can differ depending on how much time or money you’re willing to invest.

First, if you don’t have a lot of money, you’re going to have to put in more of your time to get things started. However, if you have plenty of money to throw around. You can simply outsource for people to handle some of your tasks.

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Examples For A Blogging Business:

  • If you’re broke like me… you’ll have to blog for yourself, set up your own website, customize its design, and handle all the email inquiries.
  • If you’re not broke like me, you can hire freelance writers to do the blogging for you, so you can focus on the marketing aspect of your blog.

As you can see, it requires either time or money. You don’t need to have both obviously, but having both time and money will help you reach your goals much quicker.

If you don’t have time or money, you’ll find it quite challenging to start any business, not just an internet business.

You Can’t Run An Online Business With Zero Dollars

You Can't Run An Online Business With Zero Dollars
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I get this question quite often from my readers asking if it’s possible to start an online business with absolutely zero dollars. Well, even though my recommended platform is free to join with 2 free websites.

The websites you get are subdomains for SiteRubix. Which means you will not be able to add Google AdSense or scale your business as fast as a top-level domain such as (.dot, .org, etc).

If you really want to start an online business, you’ll need to buy a domain name and it’s going to cost you annually. Also, you’ll need to pay for website hosting. That is the bare minimum that you’ll need to get started.

Quick Note:

The SiteRubix websites are great for beginners, but it’s only enough to get you familiar with how things work.

Think of it as a free test drive for a car. It’s free to try and if you don’t like it, simply move on.

So How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business?

So How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business
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Fortunately, starting an online business will not cost you an arm or a leg. You don’t need to get a business loan from a bank. For example, my domain name cost me around $13.99/year.—That’s only $1.17 per month!

However, website hosting will cost a bit more. For me, I host my website on the same platform that taught me everything there is to know about how to make money online ($49/month) or (roughly around $29/month if you go yearly).

Holy Cow… That’s Expensive!

Sure it is a bit more expensive compared to your typical website hosting, but you’re getting way more than your typical website hosting service.

For example, you can host up to 50 websites with free SSL on the domains that you’ve purchased. Let’s not forget about the incredible speed and SiteSupport.

Not Convinced? Well, you’re also going to get training on how to make money online with resources and keyword research tools, webinars, coaching, plus more.

A typical website hosting provider will not teach you how to make money with the websites that you create. You’re pretty much on your own trying to figure things out.

Quick Note:

If you think starting an internet business is expensive… you can almost forget about starting a brick and mortar business.

If you can’t find an excuse to invest less than $100.00 per month in yourself and your online business. Maybe you should stick with working a regular day job. — Sorry for being so blunt, but it’s the truth.

An Online Business Has A Higher Profit Potential

Since the startup and upkeep cost of an online business is so little. You can easily profit more money compared to a brick and mortar business.

For example, bloggers like John Chow spends roughly $3000-$4000 per month to run his online business. Sounds like a lot right? But guess what… His blogs monthly income is more than a typical Starbucks annual income!

What If You Don’t Have A Lot Of Money?

What If You Don't Have A Lot Of Money
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Well, for most people, coming up with a business idea is not the problem. The problem is the money. The money is the reason why most people never start a business.

For an online business, you don’t need to have a lot of money to get started. If you can’t afford to pay someone to work for you. You’ll just have to put in more time and effort.

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I Have Another Tip For You!

To build a successful business, you’ll need to understand that it is not going to be a 50-meter dash… it’s going to be a marathon.

If you don’t have a lot of money, you must ask yourself if you’re willing to put in more work compared to the guy who has money. However, the bottom line is, you’ll still need a bit of money, but not zero.

Is Website Hosting and Domain Name All I Need To Be Successful?

The answer is no. Having a domain name and website hosting will only get you started. If you’re going to do most of the legwork in the beginning, you’ll save yourself thousands of dollars.

Here’s a break down of what I spend on a monthly basis to operate Smart Affiliate Hub:

  • My Domain Name – $1.17/month.
  • My Recommended Platform (Website hosting, Keyword Research Tool, Training, Webinar, Coaching, plus more) – $22.33/month with Black Friday Annual Special Pricing.
  • AWeber Email Marketing Service – $16/month (Will go up as my list grows).

After adding it all up, my current monthly cost is only $49.50. That’s less than $2.00 per day!

Can you think of any bricks and mortar business that you can operate for less than $50/month?—Also, I don’t even pay the $49.50 out-of-pocket because Smart Affiliate Hub generates more than enough money to cover the monthly expenses.

The Cost Will Depend On You

The Cost Will Depend On You
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I operate Smart Affiliate Hub on my own. I do all the heavy lifting and that’s how I am able to maintain a low monthly cost. Obviously, I’ve spent additional money on the Genesis Framework paired with the Authority Pro Child Theme, plugins, and more.

If you have money, you can outsource people to write your own eBook, create a custom design for your website, hire a graphics designer to create your logo, etc.

The Bottom Line:

If you are willing to see pass the get-rich-quick schemes because it doesn’t work.

If you are willing to work hard and focus on helping your readers/customers.

You can definitely start an online business for under $1000.00.

However, if your startup budget is less than $1,000.00. I highly recommend that you spend your money wisely.

That’s why I recommend signing up for my recommended platform. It comes with nearly everything you need to start an online business at a reasonable price.

Sometimes trying to save money will actually cost you more money:

My friend wanted to save a few dollars by hosting his website on a different platform.

Sure it saved him maybe $20.00 at first, but months later, he had to change hosting services because it was too slow for him.

Also, if he wanted services like SSL, spam blockers, etc. It would cost him even more money compared to my recommended platform.

Don’t make the same mistake and start off with the right platform.

Let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment down below!

The Golden Opportunity

Start Your Online Business Venture By Signing Up For Your 2 Free Website + Training Today!

Kind Regards,

home, make money online home, make money online now, make money working from home, niche, niche website, self employed, SEO
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Eric Chen

A regular person who envisions his success from helping you become successful. He is not featured in the New York Times, but we all start somewhere, right?Life Motto: Nobody will ever pay you, the way you pay yourself. Be your own boss and control your own income.

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