Charles,   Define your niche   Calling cards would be a great business to start.  If I were you, I would clearly define my target market.   Try to focus your niche as tightly as possible.  For example, my wife is originally from Colombia.  If she wants to call home to one of her friends or relatives who only have a cell phone, she must get a calling card.  But, not all calling cards are the same.  Some $5 cards last 30 minutes while others last 2 hours.  So, the Colombian community in the United States would be a great niche to carve out for your calling card business.   Leverage social media   Once you have your niche carefully defined, you need to get inside the head of your potential buyers.  Keeping with the Colombian example.  I would create a Facebook page for my calling card business.  I would join the half a dozen Facebook groups related to Colombia.  I would translate my Facebook page into Spanish.  I might even name my business after Colombia or a Colombian city.  Cali Calling Cards, for example.   I would also create an account on LinkedIn and create a group on LinkedIn for Colombians living in the United States.  Make sure you translate that LinkedIn account in Spanish as well.  Do the same thing for Facebook and all of the other social networkings.   Create a clean and simple marketing website   Once you have your viral marketing and social community profiles in place, I would work on that website.  I'm a little biased because I am a web designer.  But, my advice would be to make that web site clean and simple.  Use the colors of Colombia (again, just following the example of that niche).     On your website, you need to have clear calls to action, i.e., Buy a Calling Card Now.  Use Google Checkout to accept money.  Google Checkout seems to be easier for people to use than PayPal.  But, there are multiple ways to collect money.  When you visit your bank to open up your business checking account, you can also inquire about setting up a merchant account so you can accept credit cards.   Make sure you also have a blog on your website.  Blogging is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your Calling Card web site.   Set up your business legally   And of course, before you collect that first dollar, you need to register your company with the state.  Most people create an LLC, S Corp or C Corp.  Sites like LegalZoom can help you with that.  You may also have to register with your city or county as well.   Be sure to keep track of every penny earned and spent.  Accounting will be very important.  Finally, research the states that are most favorable to businesses.  Not all states are the same with regard to tax breaks and incentives for starting up.   Best of luck with you and your business.  Be sure to define that niche!   Hope this helps.