Starting A Business With $100 – Resources To Help You Do It

Over the last couple years, I’ve participated in getting the word out about Only72 sales (they last for 72 hours – hence the name) run by Adam Baker and Karol Gadja.  There have been a few other similar sales in that time (like the one about simplifying your family life earlier this month), but Baker and Karol tend to focus on subjects like building your own business (specifically something online), publishing, freelancing, technology, blogging, and increasing income.  Twice per year, they gather a whole bunch of resources from well-known and respected bloggers, authors, business owners, etc., and offer them in a package deal for 90% off retail.

In order to be included in the sale, the books, courses and resources have to actually sell at their retail price when the sale isn’t going on – no price inflation to make the sale seem like more of a deal than it actually is.  In the past, all of the resources sold with the Only72 sales were digital.  But this time around, they’re including a physical copy of Chris Guillebeau’s new book, The $100 Startup.  They’ll ship the book anywhere in the world, and it’s included in the $100 price tag for this sale (no additional shipping charges).  The current sale is on now, and lasts until Thursday morning.

All told, this sale includes $1000 worth of information on how to start or enhance an online business – everything from successful blogging to freelancing to ethical (and successful) sales practices.  They’ve got resources on improving ad income, structuring your small business systems, getting paid to create art, and turning your passion into your career.

If you’re interested in working for yourself in an online business, this resource package will be an excellent start.  Of course, it will only help if you devote the time required to study the contents and implement the ideas…. if you put it on your Discover and then just daydream about starting a business, you’ll just be $100 poorer.

I’ve blogged many times about how thankful I am that my husband and I started our own business ten years ago, and then took it online as soon as realistically possible (around 2003).  Working online has given us more flexibility than we ever could have dreamed of.  Right now, it’s 11 am on a Monday and my husband is at the park with our boys – he just decided to take a break from work for an hour and walk to the park with them.  Our business keeps us very busy, but it also allows us a flexibility that would never happen if we were working for someone else.

The one downside to how we started our business was the start-up expenses combined with the fact that we had very little income for the first year or two.  Although we learned a lot as we went along (and this was a decade ago, before a lot of the current online resources were available), we spent quite a bit of money getting our business up and running.  We paid for pay-per-click advertising and other marketing opportunities before we learned about SEO and how to make it work for our business.  I would say that the main benefit to the resources offered in the Only72 package is that they show you how to create and/or grow an online business without spending a ton of money in the process.  The physical book you’ll get (along with all of the digital books and courses) sums it up:  The $100 Startup.  People like to say “you have to spend money to make money” and in some industries, that’s true.  But the internet has changed a lot of aspects of business, and there are avenues to making an income online without getting yourself in over your head in debt right out of the gates.  The Only72 packages are designed to show you how.

Anyway, if you’ve been looking for something new career wise, or if you’re between jobs, or if you want the flexibility of working for yourself from anywhere you choose, the latest Only72 package might be just what you need.  If you’re perfectly happy with your current job and income, I’ll be back soon with more regular posts :)

In the spirit of self-employment and income generation, here are a couple of links that might be helpful – and they’re free!  In case you missed it the first time around, a reader asked me last fall for ideas on how a stay-at-home parent could earn an extra $500 a month to contribute to the family income.  Here’s my reply, and be sure to check out the comments, as other readers added more ideas.  And I also want to share with you an excellent article by Tiffany Washko (one of my all time favorite bloggers) on how to make a good living as a blogger.  If you’re interested in earning money from a blog, Tiffany has a ton of great tips – and she’s living proof that it can turn into a lucrative career.