“We don’t have a website yet because it’s too expensive. We’re being very careful with our money.” That’s what the lawyer told me when I asked about being unable to find his site on Google.

“We’re just getting started, and we’re in a small town,” he explained. “It’s just me and my partner, and we’re planning to do that later.”

I got the same answer when I asked about his “@gmail.com” email address. They’d decided that it wasn’t worth the money to commit to their own domain name just yet.

I’ve got to say that I disagree. If he had a site, I’d have found a reason to link to it from here. That would have generated interest and referrals. If he had a site, I’d have added it to my list of referrals on my North Carolina Divorce site, and that would have generated referrals. I would have bookmarked the site in my browser and saved it for when I need someone in his area.

But, alas, no site and nothing for me to save, so no referrals.

Did they save money with that money-saving decision? I don’t think so. It’s costing them—big time.

Here’s what I would do if I were a brand new lawyer running a very low budget, startup operation.

I’d go to a domain registrar and buy a domain name for $10 or less.

Then I’d go to Google Apps for Business and sign up for the free account (good for up to 10 users). It’ll get you hooked up with email from your own domain name (like mine: lee@roseninstitute.com). The domain name is important because it helps us find your site and start sending others to visit.

Finally, I’d go to Squarespace and build a website. It’s got a deal for $8 per month, and the site has great templates. I built a site the other day as an experiment. It took me 10 minutes. You don’t need anything fancy to start. Just build something simple using the templates and add some pictures you take yourself.

Total investment to have a website and an email domain name? $106 per year.

If you don’t make money on your $106 website, then you’re not trying.

When I talked to the lawyer mentioned above about why he hadn’t spent the $106 and built the site, he provided an excellent explanation. They’d been approached by a number of website vendors. Each of the vendors presented packages including website design, domain name registration, and email setup that ran thousands of dollars. They were looking at a big outlay of cash to buy what they needed. No one presented the $106 alternative.

When the vendors asked for thousands of dollars, the lawyers rationally concluded that the expenditure would have to wait: they didn’t have the money to write the check—yet. They knew they’d have it eventually, so they waited.

You don’t have to wait. Do what I’m suggesting and spend the $106. You’ll be up and running instantly. Then I’ll have a place I can link to and a site to bookmark and save. Your $106 expenditure isn’t something that needs to wait. It needs doing right now.