Depending on the type of business you wish to start, your start-up costs can be as little as $50 or less, even close to free if you use companies like Bravenet

The fact is, most businesses do NOT need to incur expensive start-up costs... and most businesses should not invest a lot of start-up capital before they've tested their business and their market online. That's where so many "dot bombs" made such a grave mistake in the past, and there's just no need to take that risk.

Only once you've tested your business idea on the Net and found it to be a viable opportunity should you start investing in the kind of software, web design, inventory (or whatever) that you'll need to grow your business. Then again, you may want to just do it all yourself every step of the way...

These days, you can keep your start-up costs down to approximately 50 bucks or less. And you can begin adding the other components of your online business once you've proven that your business can be profitable.

And you do not need a product idea to start---and not only that: If you do start with a product idea... you'll be off to a bad start!

The reality is, most businesses that start off with what they think is a good product idea are destined for failure. Your product might be great, but if nobody wants it, your business isn't going to get very far!

That's why it makes so much more sense to look for your market first. If you can find a need in a market you can reach, then simply give them what they're asking for... your business is bound for success from day one.

For example, there is a man named Eric Weeks who doesn't really like trucks very much -- he's never owned one himself. But when he noticed that thousands of people search the Internet for "truck accessories" every day, he knew there was a market just waiting for him to give them what they needed...

When his Truck-Bed-Covers site was only one year old, he was generating $800,000 annually in online sales!

Eric's advice is, "I sure as heck wouldn't consider building an e-commerce site on personal interests. So whether it's weight loss or travel, home business or truck bed covers... if enough people are interested in those subjects, then THERE is where you need to apply your efforts."