We’ve all seen those viral videos of someone miraculously finding something close to worthless and turning it into a considerable income, so we know it’s possible–yet, why is it that one of the most common objections I hear from people who are interested in starting a business is that they don’t have enough money? While it’s true that there are many things you can’t do when you have very little or no money, starting a business doesn’t have to be one of them.

Don’t get me wrong, whether your aim is to start an online business or establish some other sort of offline operation, you’re going to need some seed capital. That said, the amount of cash you need on hand will depend on what kind of enterprise you want to launch and how much time you’re willing to put into it.

For example, as someone who is an online media specialist, my overhead is relatively small. Yearly, I pay a fee to LLC my business to protect my personal finances, plus have to invest in some additional programs and websites, etc, but it’s not a massive amount of overhead compared to other industries that require say, commercial office space.

The first thing anyone thinking about entrepreneurship needs to understand is that it’s less about the financial investment (though, there’s no doubt about it the more money you have to start the better) and more about the time investment.

Even if everything goes according to plan on this side of the equation, you’ll have to put in long hours and be willing to work hard. Yes, there are many satisfactions that come with being self-employed, but they aren’t immediate or guaranteed!

If you are considering starting a business with as little financial investment as possible, you will need to decide what kind of business opportunities are out there for someone with very few resources. If you’re willing to get your hands dirty and can think outside the box, chances are you’ll discover a variety of options that might not occur to someone who has higher expectations—or less imagination.

So, do you really need money to start a business? The only person who can answer that is you, but my advice is although starting a business is never easy — and I would strongly discourage anyone from quitting their day job unless they know exactly what it is they want — it’s important to dispel some of the myths about entrepreneurship: that it’s reserved for the rich, that you have to be a genius or an expert in your chosen field, that it requires lots of money.

There are many examples of people who’ve made great fortunes by doing business their own way, but even when you’re starting out with nothing more than passion and enthusiasm, you may find some satisfaction—not to mention financial rewards—in building something from the ground up.