How much does it cost to start your own business as we enter 2023? Clearly this will depend on what business you’re starting, so let’s look into what the costs are for different business models. We’ll go through this tier by tier to see what could be possible to help get out of the rat race.
To be fair, you can start a business for less than $100 but more time will be required as opposed to capital. I don’t think it’s any surprise that the more money you have up front the easier it is to get going.
Some people have very little up front to get started and that’s why we will look at various business models within different tiers. This means that literally anybody can have their own business up and running depending on where they fall.
That being said, let’s get into it.
How Much to Start Your Own Business in 2023?
We understand that a business model can cost almost virtually nothing to a billion dollars. That means nothing to the average person, so here are some options based on different tiers.
Businesses You Can Start for Less Than $100
In 2023 anyone can start their own business. For $15 you can get your own website and for $5 a month you can get hosting. That’s all you need to get started a new business venture.
From there you can promote your site through various methods of content creation, blogging, YouTube, etc.
You can even start selling on Etsy or other similar platforms.
The internet allows anyone to be able to start their own business. All you need is internet access and either a phone or laptop to work on.
You probably already have those making these initial investments almost nothing.
What it does require is your time.
In addition to just online selling, for less than $100 you can get involved with many direct selling companies, many of which follow a multi-level marketing (MLM) sales funnel.
Just be aware of what you’re getting into with MLM. Most of the time they are selling products for far more than what they’re actually worth, in other words, the business model itself is standing on a weak foundation (in my opinion).
In today’s day and age, making money online building something around your passion is my top recommendation.
That being said, with less than $100 you can also run other various businesses out of your house that are more catered to your local community.
Or they could be a mixture of both. What I’m referring to here is any type of service that you can provide for other people that is mainly based on your time doing some type of service.
There are many different options you could go with here. Some examples would be: a tutor, a jewelry maker, a pet sitter, baby sitter, a translator, a graphic designer, a personal trainer etc.
You get the idea, and really with most of these it would probably be a good idea to have a website for as well.
Recap of businesses you can start for less than $100:
- Blogging/affiliate marketing (own your own website)
- YouTube (link to website)
- Etsy-sell your own products
- MLM (yikes)
- Home local business providing a service (babysitting, pet sitting, personal trainer, tutor, etc.)
Businesses You Can Start for $1,000 or Less
Any option listed above; you can list here as well and with some additional money upfront you can really speed things up. Starting up a website completely alone with no clue what you’re doing means your chances of success will be low.
If you have additional capital, then you can save yourself a lot of wasted time by following trainings that are already proven to work.
Having money always makes making money easier, no exceptions. You can also buy content or buy advertising with additional capital.
Still with under $1,000 you’ll still be limited to a business that will likely require a large bulk of your time up front before you can expect any amount of large reoccurring revenue.
That being said, with 1k as your initial investment this opens up dropshipping as another online opportunity. Dropshipping requires an initial investment in physical products to be shipped, and $1,000 very well could be a great starting point for you.
Dropshipping is another excellent way to make money online.
This also opens up home business opportunities that will likely require over $100 and up to $1,000 as the minimum investment. Examples here would be: a lawn care business, a pet grooming business, photography business, etc.
These types of businesses may very well require more than that but it is possible to get going for around this amount as long as you already have the space needed for it.
Recap on businesses you can start with 1k or less:
- Any business listed at the lower range with more leverage
- Dropshipping
- More home business opportunities
- lawn care business
- pet grooming business
Businesses You Can Start for $10,000
With 10k you’re starting to invest some real money. With more money on the line, the more you’re likely to follow through.
This will cut through a lot of the garbage out there and place you into a business model that could actually bring in revenue sooner than later.
Did you know for 10 grand you can actually become a franchise owner of a Chick-fil-A restaurant? Don’t get your hopes up though, this isn’t likely happening as there is always a catch.
Regardless, 10k gives you an initial investment that opens up doors that were previously closed.
This amount of money really expands various small business opportunities, examples would be: starting a beauty shop, becoming a real estate agent, becoming a self-employed personal trainer with a home gym, starting an equipment rental service company, a meal prep company, a catering business, etc.
You get the idea. This amount of money means you can buy some products that you can use to actually run your own business. For 10k you can get a good start on plenty of tools, etc. needed.
Having money for various tools that other people don’t have and could use your expertise with provides a great business opportunity.
Recap of 10k or less businesses:
- any of the lower range investments with additional leverage
- real estate agent
- more local small business opportunities
- food prep company
- equipment rental business
Businesses You Can Start for $20-40,000
If you have 20-40k then this puts you in another category because it opens up the potential to own some real estate. Now that doesn’t mean paid off real estate, it means it’s enough for a down payment.
The average price of a home sold in 2022 according to Zillow estimates at 348k. Typically to buy a house you’ll need somewhere between 5-20% down. Yes, there are exceptions to the down payment but for most people this will be the reality and especially if you’re buying a property for business purposes.
In other words, to purchase a 348k property you would need roughly anywhere between $17,400 and $69,600 as a down payment.
Now average price is skewed from higher price homes being sold, so keep in mind you won’t need that much up front for a lower cost home.
However, buying a piece of property could make you money by renting it out.
And another way to maximize your earning potential this way would be to run an Airbnb. The profits on this would likely be much higher than renting, although it will require more work.
Either way, purchasing real estate is one of the safer longer-term investments and if you find ways of getting the mortgage paid for you then you’re building equity in that property (markets can fluctuate).
So what would 20-40k give you in this aspect?
Well, if you’re running an Airbnb business, you’ll need to furnish the place, be able to pay the mortgage until you become profitable, have to have money upfront to fix repairs, etc.
This means you’re looking at more than just the down payment on a property.
So here are some ballpark figures on a 200k property that could land you in this category.
- 10% down payment = $20,000
- $10,000 to furnish and fix up the place
- $10,000 available to run your business, insurance, etc.
That puts us at the top end of this. Now the lower down payment you can get the better off you’ll be at least in terms of getting started, you just won’t have as much equity in the property.
You can see how 5% down would make this even more possible, while 20% down would already put you at 40k with no additional funds for your business.
Again, these are hypothetical numbers. What you can get lent to you will be determined on your income and credit score amongst other factors. Keep that in mind.
With real estate investing you can also flip houses or use the property for more small business venture like a daycare, local gym, equipment rental business, junk removal business, a food truck, etc. This opens up new doors.
Recap of businesses you can start between 20-40k:
- Any of the lower range investments with additional leverage
- This is enough for a down payment on a property that could be used for a business
- Flip houses
- Run an Airbnb
- Run a daycare, etc.
- Some brick-and-mortar businesses
Businesses You Can Start for $50,000-$100,000 (or More)
Now we’re getting into “real money” territory. This means you can do anything listed above with far more leverage. It also opens you up to better real estate options.
Instead of a 200k property you’re at 500k to a million-dollar properties potentially. Again, if you’re able to get a loan then the down payment is now in this range.
So with the above example of running an Airbnb, you could get a property that will likely bring in more reoccurring income since you’ll be able to charge more.
This also puts you in the ballpark of actually being able to get some type of franchise or already profitable business.
You can now buy something with less risk.
Other options include owning a storage unit company, or really any business you see in the city or town you’re living in.
Obviously, the cost of living and the area you live in, as well as the type of business will play a role in determining price.
Again, with these numbers we’re talking about being able to still leverage debt as this is only what would cover the down payment of original start up price.
It is important to note that you can also do any of the businesses listed above on this list with far more leverage. At this stage you could just buy a website that is making thousands of dollars a month.
Websites tend to sell around 10-30x there monthly income (depending on various factors). So a site making $1,000 a month could potentially sell for $20,000. Or, with this range if you had $100,000 to spend on a buying an already established website you could buy one making roughly $5,000 a month.
As long as the website maintained that income it would then take 20 months to get back the initial investment. Far worth it if you are able to get a site that could make that or more for several years.
And also why creating profitable websites is a terrific business model in itself.
Recap of businesses you can start with 50-100k:
- Any of the lower cost investments with more leverage
- A higher end property Airbnb or flip
- Storage unit company
- Become an owner of a franchise
- Wide array of brick-and-mortar businesses
Summary
You can start a business for less than $100 or you can start a business for $100,000 or more. Hopefully this article gave a wide range of options in between those 2 extremes.
The less money upfront you start with the more time you will likely have to invest before you become profitable. Owning your own business takes commitment and either way you’ll likely be investing a lot of time.
That being said, the saying “it takes money to make money” can definitely be true. Any business that doesn’t require a lot of money to start up can benefit from having money to invest into it.
Many businesses mentioned here were also referring to the down payment and initial money upfront you will need and isn’t referring to the total cost which most people will likely need a loan for.
There are plenty of options within these ranges to choose from, although I definitely didn’t list every option. Are there any business opportunities you would have included in this post that wasn’t?
Did this help you think of some idea of a potential business venture you may want to start? Let me know in the comments below!