Starting a business can be expensive. Buying a franchise, for example, can cost well over $100,000.

So what do you think it would cost to set up your very own home-based travel marketing business? A lot, right?

How does nothing sound?

Sure you can spend thousands of dollars to sign up with an agency that will offer you GDS training and marketing support and a lot of other bells and whistles.

And that may be absolutely the right choice for you. If so, there are hundreds of reputable agencies to choose from.

They advertise aggressively on the Internet, charge a pretty penny, and seldom offer any sort of money-back guarantee.

But it is still possible to get started selling travel as a home-based outside agent for absolutely nothing. Even as a rank beginner. (Of course, experienced agents, with a track record or, better yet, a following should have no trouble getting an agency to take them on with no upfront cost.)

Oh, all right. It'll probably cost you something. Some phone calls. Some gas. The cost of cleaning that suit to take a meeting.

The tradeoff is time. It can take time to smoke out a situation that lets you get into the travel industry with little or no upfront investment. And time, as some wise person once said, is money.

But it can be done. I know because I did it myself. When I made my first commissionable booking, I didn't even have a business card. Mind you, I don't encourage you to be that casual. I just want to make the point that there are many ways to accomplish essentially the same goal.

The important thing to remember is that no two people are alike and some people will feel far more comfortable paying a reasonable sign up fee to get started quickly.

Others will feel they need GDS (global distribution system) training. But many of these people don't know that it's possible to earn good money selling travel without ever going near a GDS.

Others will want to test the waters and keep their cash outlay to a minimum.

The decision is yours. But I think you can guess where I come down on the issue.

I believe it's better to learn how the business really works before you go out and start spending lots of money for things you don't really understand (like those GDS systems).

Once you have a good working knowledge of how to make money in this business, THEN you can start adding elements to your business -- IF it makes sense.

So do your homework. Don't fall for the first slick come-on you see on the 'Net.

Dig a little deeper. Look for so-called "host agencies" that charge no sign-up fees.

Or find a local agency that will take you on as an outside rep. Like I say, that can be a challenge, but it can be done.

Being a good travel agent is largely about doing good research, so this is an exercise that will pay dividends for years to come.