This post may contain affiliate links. Read more here.

How To Start an Online Business on a Shoestring Budget (2022)

For many people, starting an online business seems like something only the rich can do. However, if you are resourceful and make good decisions, you can start your business on a shoestring budget. I remember when I first started my own business; it was difficult to go from getting paid every two weeks to not knowing how much money would come in every month. But I am not going to lie – it is one of the most rewarding feelings to watch your business grow.

1. Make a plan and write down your goals

I know you have probably heard this a million times but seriously, do it! You need a plan for how you are going to spend your time and what you want to get out of your business. Your plan should detail how long it will take to get established and what resources you have available to meet those goals. Also, remember to set smaller goals in addition to your long-term ones. This will help keep you motivated when times get tough.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy

Estimated Cost:

$0

2. Choose the right business model

There are a few different business models you can choose from when starting your own business:

Service-based Business Model

The most common type of online business, service-based businesses offer their customers a product or service.

Product-based Business Model

If you have a product you want to sell, this is the business model for you.

Audience Building Business Model

This model focuses on monetizing your existing audience rather than offering a product of your own.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy to Medium

Estimated Cost:

$0

3. Find a profitable niche

Before you start an online business, it is important to find a profitable niche so that you don’t waste time and money on something unlikely to succeed. Do your research and figure out what people are buying online. Once you have a good idea of what to sell, it is time to start creating your product or service.

This is completely free in most cases, and when you actually start making money, it is possible to scale up your spending accordingly. The key here is that when you are starting out, keep your costs as low as possible.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy to Medium

Estimated Cost:

$0

4. Create a website or blog

If you have never built a website before, this step might seem daunting but it is actually pretty easy and there are several online options for creating something for free. If you already have a website up and running, that is great! Just make sure it has at least one page where you can share your product or service with potential customers.

This step can get expensive if you don’t know what you are doing and end up paying someone to build your website from scratch when all they really needed was a template. If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, there are plenty of online tutorials that can help you get started.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy to Medium

Estimated Cost:

Under $100

5. Start building your email list

This is another important step that is often overlooked. Building an email list gives you a direct line of communication with your customers. You can let them know about new products, sales, events, etc. They can also use your email list to tell you what they want to see more of – which is invaluable feedback!

There are a few different ways to start building your email list and the best way to do it depends on your business. If you are selling a product, you can offer a freebie in exchange for someone’s email address. If you are offering a service, you can offer a free consultation or assessment.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy

Estimated Cost:

Under $100

6. Set up social media accounts

Social media is another important marketing channel that you should have active on your website. People are spending more and more time online so it’s essential that you find ways to interact with them. Social media is the best way to find new people who might be interested in your products or services.

Again, this is a free way to market your business and can be a great way to connect with potential customers. Make sure you are active on all the major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn) and that your website links to them.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy

Estimated Cost:

$0

6. Optimize your website for search engines

It’s fairly easy to get a high ranking on Google if you build and optimize your website correctly. The better you rank, the more visibility and traffic that site will receive. But unless you know what you are doing, it can take a lot of time and money to rank high enough in Google’s search engine results.

This is another step where it is much better to pay someone to do the work for you rather than trying to figure everything out yourself. You don’t have to break the bank though because there are plenty of affordable SEO services available.

Level of Difficulty:

Medium

Estimated Cost:

$100 and up

7. Start marketing your business

Now it’s time to start marketing your business! This can be done in a variety of ways, some of which are free and some of which will cost money. But don’t worry about that just yet. The first thing you need to do is find where your target customers hang out online and then start engaging with them.

Every business will market in a different way but some of the most effective strategies include:

• Social media marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Public relations
• Affiliate marketing

Each of these has a cost associated with it but, depending on the industry you are in, some of them might be free. It’s important to start small and figure out which strategies work best for your business before investing too much time or money into one particular channel.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy to Medium

Estimated Cost:

Variable, depending on the marketing strategy chosen.

8. Measure your results and make adjustments

As with any marketing campaign, it’s important to measure the results and make adjustments accordingly. If something isn’t working, you need to figure out why and fix it. If something is working well, you should do more of it!

The best way to measure the results of your marketing is to set up some sort of tracking system. This could be something as simple as using Google Analytics to track website traffic or setting up a Facebook conversion pixel.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy to Medium

Estimated Cost:

$0

9. Keep learning and evolving

The last step is to keep learning and evolving. Marketing never stays the same, so it’s important that you are always trying new things and improving your skills.

This plan should act as a guide for you to start marketing your business but there will be plenty of places along the way where you need to make adjustments. Keep an open mind, be flexible, and don’t be afraid to try new things.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy

Estimated Cost:

$0

Conclusion

So there you have it! A step-by-step guide on how to start an online business on a shoestring budget. Just take it one step at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.

If you follow this plan, you will be able to start marketing your business for free or with very little money and, if it generates enough revenue, you can always invest in paid marketing solutions down the road.

Good luck!

This blog post was written with my AI writing assistant, Jasper.

Did you find this blog post helpful? If so, I have a favor to ask:

This blog is free and maintained through the awesome power of sharing by amazing people like YOU!

Please consider sharing or pinning this post on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest etc. to help us reach more people. It really helps!

For your convenience, a ready-to-pin photo is below: (My social graphics are created by automation, too!)

P.S. You can use any piece or all of our posts for your website, blog, social platforms or any other need so long as you do not plagiarize. To avoid plagiarizing our work, make sure to credit EricaNall.com for any portions you use and link back to our post. You can even modify parts of it (i.e. spelling) if you want to make the tone fit your brand/website better. I’m flexible like that! 😉 

All I ask is that you reference EricaNall.com and hyperlink back to our site.

Thanks for your clicks, comments and support!