Copy Doodle is thrilled to have Tess Taylor, owner/CEO of Taylor Resources Writing, as our guest blogger this week. If you would like to be a guest blogger, simply click the contact us link and pitch us your idea.

Have you been thinking about starting a business for a long time? Or maybe you have an idea for a great business plan, but just don’t have the funds to launch it. Now is actually a great time to start that online business of your dreams – even on a shoestring budget.

As the owner of a very busy and successful freelance writing and online content business, I can tell you from personal experience that you can easily start an online business of your own on a very limited budget, in some cases even for free. There are many helpful tools available for small business owners to get started. Everything from free websites to low cost business marketing and advertising resources is readily available with just a click of the computer mouse nowadays.

When I first started my company in 2008, Taylor Resources Writing, I was still struggling to hold down my “day job” in Corporate America. I was definitely not searching for a way to get rich quick, but I knew more than ever that I had to get out of the rat-race and be in charge of my own destiny. My website was literally formed from a blog that I had been using to journal my progress and highlight some of my work online. This blog was completely free and featured some great tools that I used to update my clients, keep in touch with contacts and market myself. When I later decided to officially launch my business, I registered my blog with a low cost domain hosting service to give my business a more professional atmosphere.

In addition to taking advantage of free blogs and practically free web hosting services, there are other cheap ways of operating a business online. You can order business cards and flyers from services that offer free products. You can also design free digital business cards and logos on many web-based applications. These can be added to your email address signature along with the link to your company website or blog. Speaking of email – this can be one of the most effective methods you can use to market your business to potential clients and to offer specials to your existing customers.

Advertising and social media marketing opportunities for your business abound on the Internet. Look for and list your blog and website with as many online directories you can. Include links to your website wherever you have community accounts set up – such as on your Linkedin profile, Facebook, and Twitter. Include a link to your website in any community forums or associations where you regularly participate. Be sure to take advantage of free classified advertising resources like Backpages and Craigslist. Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to find you.

If you need help along the way, remember to seek out people who are experts in helping launch small businesses online. There are a variety of companies that can help your dreams become a reality and bring you the kind of exposure and success that you need to get noticed on the World Wide Web today.

Tess C. Taylor is the Owner/CEO of Taylor Resources Writing, and offers a wide range of writing and web content marketing services from her home office in Charleston, South Carolina. Tess is also currently authoring a series of self-help eBooks for the start-up entrepreneur as well as managing The Writer WAHM Network a community website for work at home Mom writers.