Hi, welcome back. Remember, this has been an on-going series of posts, a guide for anyone wanting to set up their own internet home based business. This is the final post in the series so if you have come in late and missed the earlier issues, you can pick them up from the archives. Each part of the series is numbered so it will be easy to follow the flow.
You have now decided to set up your home based business on the internet but your budget is very small, so how can you get going?
Well this is the beauty of setting up and operating an internet home based business. The costs are considerably reduced compared to the traditional brick and mortar type business. This is because you do not actually need an office or separate premises… you can work from home. No need to employ others and all you need to get started is a good computer and good internet connection.
You could start off by looking for free domain names but I strongly advise against it. There are a few sites around that will register a domain for you at no charge. However, there is a catch with most of them in that they will set themselves up as the administrator for your domain and you will not have control of it. Some will transfer ownership to you after a set period of time, but usually for a fee.
Because there are so many companies around who are now selling domain names, the market has become quite competitive. You can pick up your own Dot com, dot net or dot org domain which are the most popular and business-wise domain extensions for as little as $9.95 right here.
There are plenty of places on the web today that will host your site for free. But before you get too excited about this prospect, it is important to remember that there is a drawback to be had from using such places. Most of these free host sites will place a banner at the top of your pages for allowing you to do this.
Web hosting has also become very competitive, both in price and in quality of service. Be very cautious, there are some very shoddy web hosts out there. It is imperative that you host your site with a hosting company that is going to provide you with top class service. Your online business is absolutely dependent on it. If you can get a good deal on price as well the top class service, well that is icing on the cake.
I have been very lucky. I landed on a hosting provider back in 2003 when I was setting up my very first web site that has given me excellent service through the years. Their hosting is good and fast. I have never had a problem with them. Whenever I have had a query, or needed help to set something up Sam, the owner, has answered my emails by return and where necessary helped me work through the project until it was completed. And you won’t beat their pricing! They have a choice of plans that will meet your requirements starting from $3.95/month. Check them out here. Besides the web hosting, they can also register your domain name and design you web site if you want.
As you can see, you need outlay very little to set up your internet home based business. However you should be aware that an internet business is subject to some problems that you do not get with a traditional business, such as hackers, viruses, websites going down and data preservation. Provided you take the necessary precautions and safeguards, and constantly back up your data these things should not be a problem for you.
What if you are someone who does not have their own product to sell, but still wants to make money online? There are a number of solutions to that problem but the two most logical and easy to implement answers in my opinion are to become an affiliate marketer, which does not cost, or to purchase products with resale rights and on-sell them. We will look at both of these avenues along with ways and means of generating traffic to your site in future series. There is no point in you having a great product if nobody knows about it.
That brings to an end this series of posts on how to set up an internet home based business. I hope the information that I have provided for you over the past few days will help in setting you on your way to starting your first online business.
Good luck with your future online ventures!