invest_home_businessDetermining your capital resources available is an essential part of finding the home business opportunity that’s right for you.

One of the most common questions I get from people interested in getting started online is:

How much money do you need to invest in a home business?

A Wide Range of Answers

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer.

There are success stories where people have invested $100 or less and launched a profitable company, just as there are companies that invest millions of dollars in a product before bringing it to market.

The answer really has to do with what resources you’re willing to commit.

Many types of online work, like freelance work or affiliate marketing, don’t require much capital to start. A few hundred dollars easily covers the cost of your website and a few extra materials or training to help you start out.

Other businesses, like domain flipping, software development, or micro-investing businesses, require more capital.

On the even more expensive end are startups, which are companies that require hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to launch, and need to get professional, outside investment to do so.

For your average home business, however, you’ll probably want to stick to the cheaper end.

Starting On The Cheap

If you’re like me, you tend to think carefully about your budget.

Starting a business for very little money is a term that many in the industry refer to as bootstrapping. You can read about this concept in books like $100 Startup or The 4 Hour Work Week.

While easily accessible technology has made a large number of business opportunities available for very little money, remember that starting cheaply often means that you’re going to be inversting more of your time, and/or your company growth is going to be slower than if you had some upfront capital.

So, choosing an amount you can invest reasonably, without causing yourself undue financial distress or hesitation, is an important step that will help you determine how your home business will grow.

Click here to read more about budgeting with affiliate marketing, or click here to learn how to start a business for free.