This article, just like many others in this topic, states the OBVIOUS. Why am I wasting time telling you something you already know? Maybe because some of my readers still don’t “get” it. They still run after “freebies” thinking this is the way to be successful. Sure, less expenses mean bigger profits, but what if these freebies actually keep you from getting a good profit?

I started my first site in March 2006. I wasn’t willing to spend money, in fact I didn’t have money to spend on a “hobby”. The site was placed on a free host and I started working on it, doing my best to keep myself from anything that would require money. My problem was that Paypal wasn’t available in Romania either and paying abroad was really a pain.

The next 3 sites were also made on free hosting, with free scripts and more work from my part. I was getting so involved in them and they started to take off. I can’t say they started making money though, since the Adsense payments were so small it would take me half an year for the famous 100 USD check.

And then it hit me. I was limited. My free hosting meant no domain, this meant less chances to brand the sites. There were some free domains available (.tk), but I knew that it was not a good extension for a serious site. And my sites were serious. In 2005 I made my FIRST domain purchase and moved the main site (back then) to the domain. June 13 was the day I realized that FREE is good, but FREE is not always the BEST.

I kept on working with free scripts and tried to make the most out of them. In 2006 my Women Forums were elected “PhpBB of the Year” on the reputable phpBBhacks.com. A lot of work was put into it, but I proved I was able to manage a free script and really take it to the next level.

The Webmaster Forums were still on phpBB and more members complained such a script (even if modded and skinned to a great result) wasn’t “professional” enough for this topic. I knew that myself, so I managed to pay for my first vBulletin script.

More sites followed. Right now, the Dojo Design network consists of more than 30 sites. Some bigger, some very small, some inactive now or buzzing with posts and members. They all required investments (hosting, domains, scripts in some cases, skins for blogs etc.) Even if I do spend money on them (at least 200 USD/month) the profit has increased dramatically over the last 6 months. The earnings were small in the beginning, but now, as the sites grow and some get a good traffic and PR, they increase each month. The investments are now less than 20% of the earnings and this offers me the chance to make a pretty decent profit from them and also be able to grow them some more by re-investing some of the money.

I have friends telling me that I should stop reinvesting and just focus getting as much as possible from them. Still some of the money spent in my sites are important for their development. Stopping my reinvestments would mean hindering their growth and this would result in a smaller profit in the end. As long as the budget is carefully kept under control and the sites make more money each month, then it’s all just a good business.

What kind of investments does your site need? A domain name is mandatory, such as a good hosting account. Sure, this is the smallest investment possible, but together with your talent and hard work these would ensure a good growth and future profit.

Don’t be scared of this. Don’t be too cheap to keep your site from getting the minimum it needs to start well. A 10 USD (even cheaper) domain name and 3-4 USD/month for the hosting are the smallest investment you NEED to make in order to secure some future profits.

With under 50 USD/year your site will have a good domain name and a decent hosting account with all the things you need. No one said you have to buy expensive scripts (unless you need them for the site) or a fancy skin. You can manage the design on your own (if your design budget is too low) and you’d be able to make it work from the first moment. If you need a special script though (it’s not a blog for instance or anything that can rely on a good free script), then prepare to make the investment from the first moment. Most of the time script conversion leaves you with 404 errors, database problems and it can be hectic for you and your visitors.

The moment you start an online project with the idea of getting some revenue in the future, make sure you know all the details and are ready to invest. Not much at first, but the least you need so that your site would have a decent start. It really takes money (even small investments) to be able to think about money.