Starting a web business has got to be one of the most affordable ways to go into business (if you would). Why's that so? Simply because it will not burn a hole in your pocket and because you have control over just about every aspect of the business (eg colors of your "shop", etc). Let's do a simple case study on how one can get started (assuming you have not gotten your own domain / business yet).
For starters, you definitely need your own domain (blog hosted businesses do not quite cut it do?) So that's where the first $ 10 goes to (payable each year). With that done, you'll need a web hosting account which is really pretty affordable as well going at the rate of $ 10 / month on average. That's just about it really (assuming you do not pay others to do design and coding).
Finally, I would really recommend that you signup for some email marketing solution such as GetResponse or Aweber as that would allow you to build a relationship with your prospective customers. This is a must have (IMHO) if you're marketing your own products.
So in summary, here are the figures payable for your 1st year:
* Domain Registration – $ 10 / yr
* Web Hosting – $ 10 / mth (or $ 120 / yr … often you'll get better prices if you prepay for a year)
* Email Marketing Solution – $ 17.95 / mth (or $ 145.40 / yr)
Grand Total …. (drum roll pls) – $ 275.40 / yr
Your needs will certainly grow over time (if you're doing the right things) and that's a good thing is not it? And when that happens, you'll probably need dedicated web hosting, etc.
As for those of you who are wondering what happened to costs for web design, etc, I left that out because it's pretty easy and simple to get decent web templates / logos for FREE. Granted, some of you would want unique site designs and logos and have never done graphics with Adobe Photoshop before. Well if that's the case, then you would need to fork out a little more depending on who you decide to pick to design for you.
As I end this writeup, think about how little it cost to start having your own web business (with your own domain too) for less than $ 1 a day. So if you have not got your own web business yet, what are you waiting for? =)