You may be wondering how it would feel to run your own online business. How would it be, if, every morning you were able to wake up and proceed with the day on your own time. No boss would be there to tell you what to do, or how late you would need to stay, or how to “more efficiently” complete the same tasks. You would be able to move about the world as freely as you are able. No borders would hold you in, as long as you had some passive income streams to allow you to enjoy your new-found freedom from the office confines.
Now, you would ultimately be responsible for all of the ins-and-outs of the daily operations of your business, and that is a lot of responsibility. With that being said, I would strongly advise against proceeding into this career path if you are the type of person who likes to be lead, or feels more comfortable with some superior’s guidance throughout the day. But for those who feel that this is the path they want to choose, I encourage you to continue on in your journey. After contemplating the benefits of being your own boss and deciding this is for you, another question comes to mind; How much money could you expect to front in starting your own online business venture?
This can be a loaded question, as there are many variables to consider: Are you selling a product? Are you wholesaling? Are you paying storage? Are you selling information? Are you outsourcing? How much advertising can you afford? …and many other concepts to consider.
However, for the most part, the basics are the same for many online businesses. Today, thanks to the internet, entrepreneurs around the world are able to setup their home-based businesses for a fraction of what the standard brick-and-mortar offices cost. And many of these entrepreneurs are doing this in their spare time! In fact, they are able to earn money while they sleep, as the Internet never sleeps. The goal here is to generate constant income-producing assets, and the Internet has made this possible for anyone looking to capitalize on the technology.
The idea of starting up a $3,000-$5,000 a month business for less than $600 may seem impossible. But taking a look at the numbers reveals that this is entirely probable, and is happening every single day. Assuming you already have a profitable idea, as well as a computer, let’s take a look at the average costs for setting up a simple online presence:
Internet Connection – $40/month
Hosting – $8-$15/month
Domain – $10/year
Logo/Material Design – $5-$100/logo
Email marketing service – $20/month
Outsourcers (If unwilling to design your own website & customer service) – $400/month
Looking at these costs, your potential ROI is astounding. Your online business venture can cost pennies compared to traditional start-up costs. You don’t need staff to run, nor do you have offices to maintain. In addition, you can just as easily leverage advances in new technologies for similar low costs that will usually have comparable returns for the future.
Again, these are just the basic numbers for setting up shop. You will also find yourself purchasing additional resources, advertising campaigns, and an education – Lots of books, memberships, websites, and programs, dedicated to teaching you new strategies and keeping you up to date on the advances in the industry. But in the long run, this is an incredibly small price to pay for the change in lifestyle you will experience. Once you’ve grasped the idea that you can afford, and must afford, an online business, you will soon be on your way to the world of location independence.
[…] the previous post “How Much Does it Cost to Start an Online Business,” I detailed the benefits of starting an online business, specifically the low up-front costs […]