EPP 114: How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business

In this week’s episode of the Extra Paycheck Podcast we’re talking about the basic costs of starting your own online business

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When it comes to starting an online business a lot of people think this means investing a lot of money to get started. This is true for brick and mortar businesses but it doesn’t need to be this way for an online business. There are different kinds of online businesses and some of them will indeed require an investment. However, I’ve launched several businesses and all for (almost) free. I even started manufacturing my own physical product and selling it online, total start up cost was only a few hundred dollars.

On the other hand, some “gurus” will tell you that you can start an online business completely free which is not 100% accurate. If you want any kind of online presence there are a few things that you must buy. In this episode I’ll go over the “must-have” services that you simply can’t avoid.

Domain Name

Domain name is the address of your website. In my case it’s Extra-Paycheck.com. I’ve also registered many other domain names that lead to this very site but you only need one. You can certainly start a free blog under a domain name such as yourwebsitename.wordpress.com but it simply doesn’t look professional. I highly recommend doing it right from the very start. A domain name will set you back only $12-$14 per year.

Hosting

Hosting platform is where your actual website will live. It’s usually a high quality server and you absolutely need this. The bad news is that such servers cost tens of thousands of dollars. The good news is that you don’t actually need to buy one, you will simply “rent” space there to host your website. The typical cost for a hosting plan is between $50 and $100 per year. I tried different hosting providers over the years and currently I’m hosting most of my sites with these guys. The service is great, the support is awesome and prices are very affordable. I’ve been with them since 2014 and couldn’t be happier.

Autoresponder (Email List)

Building your own email list is crucial. If you’re starting an online business you need to start gathering the emails of your potential customers. If Google kicks your site to the curb or if you lose your website somehow you’ll always have your email list which you can use to re-launch your business. It’s important to start it early and it’s important to go with a high quality provider. I’ve been with MailChimp (aff. link) for a while now and I highly recommend them. You can get started completely free.

If you’re staring a business these 3 parts are a must. All in all it’ll cost you $20 per month or less to actually start and grow a business. A large pizza costs more than that and it feeds you for a day. With time you’ll start investing more money into your business but that’s not something you need to worry about right now. As you’ll start making money you’ll start spending more money in order to improve your business and efficiency but that will come later.

You can take a look at my list of tools that I am currently using for my online business. Some are free while others cost money but they are all highly recommended.

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If you do have any comments or question, please do use the comment form below! I will answer every single one 

– Alex