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Arright BFI. I am guessing there are posters here who have or are running some type of business. It could be a home based business (where you build custom PCs), or it can be an online business (running a website w/ lots of ads, etc...).

Now I am guessing the usually way this type of asset develops is from scratch; something small, over time, gets bigger. Well, here I am trying to start off w/ something that is small, but not tiny (like a free word press blog).

I am looking to start a website. One that functions pretty intricately. This will require coding in several languages, and thus can possibly run up to $2,000 for a decent job. If you guys are asking what it is; basically a youtbe site with some very significant differences that would really cator to niche needs (IE you odnt just log on and say "ohh lets surf". You log on and say "okey I want to watch another independent movie")

Anyway, the business, or website is besides the point of the post. My post is aimed at some questions regarding using other ppl's money to make the site.

A. Have any of you started a website, small business. If so, how did it develop. Did you just stick $1,000 of your own money into it?

B. How would you go about getting money from strangers. Are there any online sites/forums that network ppl for this purpose?

C. If raising $1,000 or $1,500 is out of the question, what would my best option be?

Note: Money is not an issue for me; I could prolly make 5 of these sites w/ my own money. I am just trying to lower my risk, b/c I am a novice in the field, and would prolly be less succesful if I was the only backer involved in this deal. If I would have 3-4 other backers involved, there would be much more interdependence involved, and we would all put our brains together.

A good analogy to how I am trying to get this thing started,IMO, is taylor and andrew and josh (i think) starting up cardrunners; it was a team effort.

So any advice would be nice. I am not looking for anybody's money here. I am looking for a discussion on how to get your feet off the ground while minimizing the inevitable risk.

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Are we really talking about a few thousand dollars? I would think that the very act of incorporation would cost as much and strangers are unlikely to invest in your business without some sort of legal claim/protection. The best bet is to find friends or family members.

Btw, how do you start an "intricate" website that requires coding in several languages for a few thousand dollars? Are there a lot of outsourcing firms that specializes in building simple websites? I'm asking because I just can't see anyone doing any sort of quality work for that little money, unless it's really simple, easy stuff.