You think you have it tough scraping together enough funding for your startup? Well, let me tell you about the old days, when funding a startup cost real money.

O.K., we didn’t have to wear second-hand clothes and skip meals. But when I became involved in helping a team of entrepreneurs launch a health-newsletter business in the mid 1980s, the expected expenses were daunting, especially for a enterprise that likely wouldn’t be specially attractive to venture capitalists.

The then-newly introduced Apple (AAPL) Macintosh computers, ideal for publishing, were $2,500 apiece, and we needed four. A laser printer (black and white was the only option available) was $5,000. There were photocopy and fax machines, which would be another few thousand dollars. A phone system was thousands more. Rent for a small office in Mansfield, Mass., would be $1,500 a month, or $18,000 annually.

The Tip-of-the-Expenses Iceberg

And then there were the marketing expenses, the main one being a direct mail campaign to obtain subscribers. We figured the cost for renting lists of potential subscribers, putting together a mailing package consisting of a pitch letter and glossy brochure, and postage at about $1 per package. Figuring a 1% response rate, it would cost us about $100,000 to send out enough pieces to reach our initial goal of 1,000 subscribers. Monthly expenses for printing and mailing the newsletter could be expected to be another $4,000, or about $50,000 annually.

So we were looking at something approaching $200,000—in the neighborhood of $400,000 in today’s dollars—and we hadn’t even begun accounting for salaries. Moreover, this was merely a test of the concept—even assuming we hit our 1% response rate, we wouldn’t know for sure if the venture was viable until a year later, when we saw what the renewal rate was. In any event, we’d have to invest possibly another $100,000 or more to go after additional subscribers.

Today, a similar consumer publishing venture could dispense with nearly all these expenses. The computers, copier, and fax, together with a color laser printer, could be had for $5,000 or less, total. No need for rent, since the team could work virtually for the first year. Forget, as well, about the phone system, since the team would communicate by e-mail and cell phone. There’d be no snail-mail direct-marketing approach, or printing expenses, since everything would be on the Internet.

Use Your Savings for Marketing

Now, this isn’t to say today’s publishing venture wouldn’t have any startup expenses. But contrary to what startup consultants may advise, the expenses for tangible things—equipment, offices, and brochures—are much lower today than they were 20 years ago or can be avoided altogether.

And even more significant, today’s startups can use the money they save on traditional fixed costs to deal with their key challenges: building and managing a web presence and marketing their products or services, online or offline.

The cost of handling these challenges can vary widely. Many startups reduce the expenses associated with building and maintaining their Web site by subcontracting out key tasks to low-wage countries such as India or the Philippines and by using free open-source software.

Money-Saving Techniques

On the marketing side, it’s possible to run up huge charges generating clicks via Google ads. One entrepreneur I know tells the story of how he neglected to cap his expenses and wound up with $4,500 of ad costs in a 36-hour period from click-throughs on his Google ads—costs that failed to generate any revenues.

Smart entrepreneurs shave such marketing costs by collecting e-mail addresses of prospects and using search engine optimization techniques to increase the rankings of their Web sites via links and traffic.

Here is how these techniques translate into an overall startup approach designed to take advantage of today’s low-startup-cost climate:

• Reduce fixed expenses by going virtual for as long as possible. To the extent the founding team members can work from home and use e-mail and cell phones to communicate, fixed expenses like office space and furniture can be minimized. At some point—usually when the team finds it must bring other people aboard to accommodate growth—an office will likely become necessary.

• Avoid hiring people—engage contractors. Even when it’s necessary to bring in additional help, using contractors can be cheaper than employees. Individual projects and per-hour expenses may be higher than employees, but using contractors enables startups to retain spending flexibility.

• Keep online development costs in check. Setting up a sophisticated Web site usually is more involved and takes more time than expected. It’s essential for startup companies to monitor progress and expenses closely, especially if offshore developers are involved. Divide such projects into segments and set a project cost for each segment, if at all possible.

• Put as much of your money into marketing as possible. Professional investors always like to see a company’s major investment going into sales, public relations, and promotion. Using Internet tools such as search engine advertising, entrepreneurs can quickly and easily test different messages and measure return on investment—say, by monitoring click through  against sales.

The main goal of any startup is to test assumptions and obtain feedback. It’s increasingly possible to carry out that goal at a lower cost than ever. The old days don’t look very romantic in today’s climate.

Listed below are the top-ten most common work-at-home jobs today (In no particular order of course);

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is probably the most popular of the work-at-home options available today. Freelance writing is also the most “flexible” of the work-at-home options available today. To be a freelance writer all the skills/knowledge you really need is the ability to write well and a good command of the English language. Start up costs for most freelance-writing jobs are practically none – all you need is a fairly good computer and a reliable internet connection.

For more information on writing careers, visit the following sites;

www.copyblogger.com

www.writingcareer.com

www.writing-world.com

www.freelancewriting.com

www.freelancewritinggigs.com

Consulting

If you’re a professional in a specific field, why not consider starting your own consulting-services practice at home? Today, experts from several professional fields have chosen to provide their own consulting services. Such professionals range from medical professionals to legal and business professionals. You’d be surprised at how much people are willing to pay for what is essentially good advice. This is a flexible career choice that can be run entirely from the comfort of your home. Start-up costs would depend on the type of consulting services that you plan to provide. Although your business can be set-up at home, you will need a full-office set-up as well as software and other such materials related to your line of work.

Internet Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when an individual undertakes the task of promoting a business for either a percentage in sales profits, or a fixed amount for each “lead” that is generated. According to a study published in Wikipedia; total sales generated through affiliate networks in 2006 was ?2.16 billion in the UK alone! Millions of businesses out there are ready to rely on affiliate programs that will help them to effectively market their products.

Today, internet-based affiliate marketing is a hugely popular option for most people who wish to work at home. Provided you do it right, this can be quite a lucrative venture. For more information on affiliate marketing and the best affiliate programs online, try visiting;

www.affiliatetips.com

Secretarial Services

If you’ve got a good command of the English language and good writing abilities, why not consider starting a secretarial services business? This small business can be started on a very low capital and can be run entirely from your home. All you really need to “start-up” an “online secretarial services” business is a computer, printer, phone, ream of paper and a set of business cards. You don’t even need a high end computer; all you need is one that will be able to carry out basic word-processing tasks. Your printer need not be fancy either; one that will simply allow you to get all your documents and business cards printed will do. This type of “online secretarial services business” is one that offers all the services that are offered by regular secretarial service businesses – except for the fact that all the services are provided online.

Customer Services

Thanks to the advancement of technology, today it’s possible for you to log in to a company’s system from the comfort of your own home. This is what makes it possible for many companies today to hire remote customer service agents.

Graphic Design

Graphic designing plays an important part in the business world – particularly in advertising. Even the representation of a company using logos, colors and text is an aspect of graphic design. The entertainment industry makes use of a graphic designer’s expertise when it comes to creative aspects such as visual storytelling, decoration and scenery. Other areas that find a use for graphic design in the entertainment industry include novels, comic books, magazines, blogs and programs and props that are used on-stage.

A graphic designer has the advantage of having a wide range of businesses or industries to choose from. These industries or businesses include, but are not limited to;

· The Advertising industry

· The Magazine publication industry

· Product packaging industry

· Web designing industry

Thanks to the internet, graphic designers today can offer their services online.

Web Design

If you’ve got knowledge of web design and computer languages such as HTML, CSS and PHP, you can consider working at home as a web designer. This can be a very lucrative venture – if you’re good enough at what at what you do. You may work for a specific company, or you may choose to freelance as a web designer.

Teaching

Today a surprisingly large number of parents are opting to get their children home schooled. This also provides qualified teachers an opportunity to work at home – thanks to the internet. It’s not only home-schooling students that you can teach however. For instance; if you’re qualified to teach English, you may also teach adults who wish to learn English as a second language. You may choose to work independently or register with a company that will get you “in touch” with clients.

Notary Signing Agent

If you’re looking for a work-at-home opportunity, do a little research online and find out if a notary signing business is right for you. Did you know that you can make a significantly good income with a notary signing business? After just a single course of training, a notary signing agent can actually earn up to $50 to $125 per transaction.

A notary public or notary signing agent is an individual who obtains and notarizes legal documents. Thus a notary signing agent has to be knowledgeable in the procedures involved in the presentation and authorization of legal documents. A notary signing agent is also known as a loan signing agent, mortgage loan closer or closing agent. To train as a notary signing agent, all you have to do is go through a notary agent training course available in your region. And if you want to be a notary signing agent you have to be prepared to invest in training yourself to be one.  For more information on notary signing agents, try visiting the following sites;

www.notarypublic.com

www.notarytrainer.com

Word Processing

Do you want a small business opportunity that will allow you to make a sizeable income without taking up too much capital, or too much of your time? If you’re a good writer and if you’ve got a good command of the English language, why not consider starting a word processing business?

A word processing business is probably the easiest one to start, what’s more; its low maintenance too! This business is also one that can be run on a very low capital. All you need to start up the business is a good computer, a printer and a reliable internet connection. Your computer and printer need not be “high end” either. A basic computer that can carry out word processing tasks and a “letter quality” printer that can churn out clearly printed documents will do just fine.

The internet and easy payment schemes such as pay-pal have considerably increased the potential for work-at-home jobs. The internet has also become an extremely indispensable entity in most households today. This means that the internet has also become an invaluable marketing tool which most business will want to make use of. This in turn means that the internet holds great potential for those who wish to make an extra income. In fact, some people actually opt to run internet-based home businesses – full time.