The cost of starting a business is a major reason why most people shy away from working at home. They fear investing too much money that could potentially be used for other more important things, so they don’t. Stumbling upon a not so affordable home based business opportunity that seems to be legit is intimidating to a lot of people. Most people looking for home work aren’t rich and don’t have hundreds of dollars to invest. It just seems much safer to just continue working as they always have.For those of you who have looked a few business opportunities, but have decided not to invest, there is good news. Not all work-from-home businesses require an outrageous start-up cost. You can safely find things to do online that will make you money for little to no investment. A few of them are as follows:1. Blogging – Blogging is an affordable home based business opportunity because it’s free. First, go to either Blogger.com or WordPress.com and create an account. Next, go to Google AdSense to create an account as well. To make a legitimate amount of income, your blog should be about something you enjoy talking about. Create content that centers around your interest. Add a product to your blog related to your interest. For example, if you’re blogging about working from home, find an affiliate product such as an eBook or instructional guide on how to become successful from home. Keep your content interesting so people continue to come back. Add a few graphics to make your blog interesting. After a few months, you should be able to generate at least a couple hundred dollars per month.2. Freelance Writing – Freelance writing is another affordable home based business opportunity because it also requires no start-up cost. A few websites that provide freelance writers to earn money are associatedcontent.com, suite101.com, helium.com, textbroker.com, and demandstudios.com. As an independent contractor, you’ll need to set up your own website (perhaps by using Blogger or WordPress) to advertise your services and attract personal clients.3. Sales – Starting a home sales business is usually one of the first things people think of when working from home. Everyone has their own idea of what they would like to sell, and if they do not, there are hundreds of opportunities out there that provide supplies, training, personal websites, business cards, etc. The only downside is that there is a start-up cost and monthly membership involved in almost all home sales businesses. Costs can range from $50.00 to $200.00 or more to start, depending on the opportunity you choose. Monthly fees usually do not exceed $100.00, which really isn’t that much considering earning potential.Unless you have some great big idea that requires a huge down payment, you won’t be required to spend your life savings on a business venture. Sometimes it pays to be on the safe side. An affordable home based business opportunity won’t leave you hanging high and dry in the financial department.

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.