How to start a business for $274.05

How to start a business for $274.05

Being the frugal guy that I am I was wondering the other day what is the bare minimum I could spend to start a business. Through some quick internet research I found the answer is $274.05. Below I will break down what you will need and why. Please note that some of this information pertains to Florida and your mileage may vary depending on your state. Tip: left clicking while holding down the left ctrl button will open the below links in a new window or tab so that you can stay on this page while opening new windows or tabs in the background for bookmarking etc.

Fictitious Name Registration

• Why: Even though I recommend registering an LLC or an S Corp AKA Inc. for your business we are going to forgo the usual business and legal reasons on why to incorporate your business. A Fictitious Name AKA DBA legally allows you to do business as any name you choose. Usually you can set the DBA as your domain name, depending on your states DBA restrictions.
• Cost: $50.00
• Where: https://efile.sunbiz.org/ficregintro.html -- State of Florida only, search your favorite search engine for "state of <mystate> DBA form"

UPS Store MailBox / PO Box

• Why: You probably do not want customers showing up at your home from a Google or Internet Yellow Pages search, so the next best thing with a local address is a UPS Store MailBox AKA PO Box. In my area it is a little bit expensive, if you can find a local vendor for cheap; even better, remember do your research, if you can save even $50.00 a year on this, that is $50.00 more that you can spend on advertising.
• Cost: $200
• Where: http://www.theupsstore.com
  

Cell Phone

• Why: I am quite certain that your spouse or loved ones do not want potential clients calling you up out of the blue at home. Get a cell phone, they are very cheap and virginmobile has an excellent track record. Again if you can find anything cheaper in your area go for it and remember do your research.
• Cost: $10.59 with tax and shipping - recharge the phone when you need it; about $25.00 every 90 days or so, depending on usage.
• Where: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ Use Coupon Code 0JUw0wNI for free 60 minutes of bonus airtime.

Domain

• Why: In order to attract new customers you will need an online presence, owning a domain name is the fastest most inexpensive way to do so.
• Cost: $7.49 Per Year
• Where: http://www.godaddy.com/

Hosting

• Why: If you own a domain name you will need to host it somewhere, the best and most inexpensive in the industry right now is godaddy.
• Cost: $5.97 Per Month, Cheaper if you purchase by the year.
• Where: http://www.godaddy.com/

PayPal Business Account

• Why: At some point (hopefully quickly) you are going to need to accept online payments, the defacto standard in web payments by far is PayPal.
• Cost: Free signup, they take a small percentage when people pay you.
• Where: http://www.paypal.com/

A service or product to sell

• Why: In order to have a business you need something to sell, whether it is a service or a product, everybody has some kind of knowledge that other people are willing to pay for.
• Cost: Free for services just a little time and hard work, if you have a skill even better.
• Where: Left as an excercise for the reader.

Update:
GoDaddy is giving away $75.00 in free Google Adwords credits on new accounts with hosting and a domain purchase.
I do not know how long this will last so get yours today.

Part 2 will discuss exactly how to get your new business in the search engines and dominate your competition.

Stay Tuned, and be sure to post your ideas, comments and suggestions below and join us in the new seo forum for further discussion.