Go to your library, Amazon.com, and search engines. Look for books, web sites, and videos about your chosen field. Give yourself a crash course. Become a self-taught expert (or even more knowledgeable than you are already.)

2. Find a group of potential customers who REALLY want what you have to sell. AND, make sure they are a group you can advertise to with little or no money. Then promote, promote, promote. Don't sit at home and wait for phone to ring. Go door to door, send out letters, call a talk radio station, write a letter to editor, talk to an organization, or join a trade association.

If you're really serious, do all of those things and more. Buy or borrow Jay Levinson's "Guerrilla Marketing Weapons" and find a half dozen promotion methods that work for you.

3. Keep track of your money. Most of small businesses that fail do so for one of two reasons. The owner lost interest or owner didn't keep good books. Buy or borrow "Small Time Operator" by Bernard Kamoroff. It tells you in simple language all things you need to do to stay legal and keep track of money and inventory.

4. Don't give up. It takes most of a year to get a new business going. Most business owners tell me they got almost no business first year. The second year was better. They ended up being pretty busy third year. The fourth year they had more business than they knew what to do with.

If four steps above still sound too daunting, try working with a good reseller or networking business. They are like franchise opportunities for individuals. Usually you can get started for free or for very little cash (we're talking $30). The good ones give you lots of help with marketing, selling, and a great line of products.

Online Sales

If idea of starting a low cost home business is appealing to you but direct sales is not, you might want to try selling products online. The Internet has made it possible for thousands of home-based entrepreneurs to earn a solid living from home -- with little investment and flexible hours.

Hundreds of large corporations pay hundreds of thousands of online entrepreneurs commissions to sell products from their websites. These 'affiliate programs' are easy to join and most are free:

< http://www.quinstreet.com > < http://reporting.net > < http://www.commissionjunction.com > < http://www.linkshare.com >

Be aware that many of headlines proclaiming lay-offs and poor stock performance have come out of technology sector. (The spectacular demise of eToys is an example!) The affiliate model is young and evolving. Many programs are being discontinued on a daily basis, so once again, research is essential.

You should also understand that your income potential with affiliate programs is directly in proportion to number of people you are able to reach online. If you explore this route, you will probably spend a lot of time learning about website promotion and ezine ad placement before you start earning a substantial income from affiliate programs. However, *it can be done* -- in your spare time -- and at very little cost.

The Service Option

Your third option for starting a low-cost home business is to offer a service that others will need. And once again, with so many people starting businesses on side, it should not be too difficult to fill this niche.

Even with tumult in Internet economy, having a website is becoming a necessity for everyone in business. Web design, site promotion, advertising copywriting and newsletter editing are all services you can offer to other home-based entrepreneurs. So are classic services like tax preparation, bookkeeping, errand running, bulk mailing, secretarial (virtual assisting), desktop publishing and more.

You'll find some great books to help you get started here:

< http://www.parentpreneurclub.com/bookreviewz.html >

Like I said, it's a great time to start your home business... so what's keeping you?