[Squandered Halfpints]

I have an idea for a website that will profit purely from its traffic (advertizing revenue), and I'm very confident about its success. The one thing stopping me is the initial cost of creating the site. I don't want to waste my time finding investors or co-founders, so I plan on financing it myself. This is not easy because I'll be a jobless student for one more year. I'm debating whether or not I should take out a loan with a ridiculous interest rate.

The site I want to create will be very similar to the format and functioning of craigslist (free online classifieds) with some very special perks that won't cost much more. It will have an very easy user interface, allowing users to upload small pics. and a short description (their "ad"). And it must be able to allow the the "buyer" and "poster" to exchange info/documents.

I don't need to start out with a database that is as large as craigslist's. I just need something that could hold about 1,000 "ads" or posts. I have a good friend who works for walmart.com as a software engineer. She is going to help me, and she referred me to someone who could do the "backing" She gave me an estimate of the cost, and I think its pretty low. Can anybody give me another estimate with the info. I provided?

I also want to know if anybody has an idea of when I'll start seeing some cash flow. How much traffic do I need before I find interested advertizers, and how much can expect to receive from them?

[gregdavidson]

Starting a website is the easiest part but getting it off the ground will be even harder. First, consider all the free ways to advertise your website because that will probably be the best way to start off with. If you're spending $.15 a visitor you'll probably go broke before you even start.

[Squandered Halfpints]

Originally Posted by gregdavidson

Starting a website is the easiest part but getting it off the ground will be even harder. First, consider all the free ways to advertise your website because that will probably be the best way to start off with. If you're spending $.15 a visitor you'll probably go broke before you even start.

I know exactly how I'm going to market my website. It will be a very successful technique, and won't cost anything other than my time. The site will start out locally, so physically selling the idea to potential users is something I'm actually excited to start doing.

[EasyAutoSales]

How is this better than Craigslist? What do you plan on offering that will make a user want to switch to you vs. using what already works? Don't get me wrong, I'm doing the exact same thing in autos right now - but despite our resources, it still isn't cheap by any means.

[cwish001]

Since you have a low budget and you are just starting out why not do all the coding yourself. Just make it simple using tables and links and once you get the income coming in you can afford to have your friends contact start making a more advance interface. Do not and let me repeat do not get a loan. Whith my experince you will go through several websites before you get one that will be profitable it is just the nature of the industry. Don't start spending a lot of money until the website is a proven winner.

-Corey

[wackoo_jackoo]

I would recommend not taking out a loan as your idea does not sound very viable at this stage.
I recommend searching the net for a free classifieds listing, there out there and easy to find i once ran a classified site.
As per advertising you can simply find some low paying ads through ad networks, while you are building your visitors and content.
You need to build your site up before contacting companies to advertise, as they generally wont be interested until you have some decent levels of traffic.
In my experience you may be able to build a site with a classified scriot installed for as little as $100-$500.

Good luck

[Squandered Halfpints]

I've kind of let this idea go, because the part that made it unique to other is the fact that the users would very susceptible to idenity theft. This was my orginal idea:

I then hit a couple of other road blocks, each one a little harder to get around. I probably shouldn't have stopped trying, but instead of trying to work out the problems, I thought of a another possible venture. I know... this isn't good.

-Now that my idea is out for the world to see, what do you guys think of it.

[cwish001]

Actually if it is local housing listings your advertising and idea will be a lot more feasable. You will only have to worry about your local area and you have a niche and not some broad "craiglist" kind of thing. Buy a domian name, webhosting space and play around with the coding and make the site look kind of nice. Go around to apartment complex, renters, and offer to put their properties on you site for free. Use this to bring users to your site. Once you get good traffic you can sell ad space on the site. As for advertising use google adwords and narrow down to your specific area and then put a small ad in a local newspaper, post flyers around school campuses, and put a small ad is the free real estate, rental books. Don't give up.

[EasyAutoSales]

Originally Posted by Squandered Halfpints

I've kind of let this idea go, because the part that made it unique to other is the fact that the users would very susceptible to idenity theft. This was my orginal idea:

I then hit a couple of other road blocks, each one a little harder to get around. I probably shouldn't have stopped trying, but instead of trying to work out the problems, I thought of a another possible venture. I know... this isn't good.

-Now that my idea is out for the world to see, what do you guys think of it.

Check out this video: Come for the Ride… » Randy Pausch: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

I'm not saying your idea is the best or worst but you will hit roadblocks and walls for every idea you have. The question is, how bad do you want it and how willing are you to work through the roadblocks?