If I only had $500 to start a business I'd start a candy vending machine
route. This way I could add more machines to build the business as my
capital/funding situation improves.

$500 would be plenty to start just about any E-Commerce business. And that
would be my first preference.

If i have $ 500, i quickly start online business. Because i have knowledge on
online affiliation programs. I make a plan to start a business on online. I
know the SEO and can rank up my popularity quickly.
If you have $ 500, it is enough to set up your business on online.

If i have $ 500, i quickly start online business. Because i have knowledge on
online affiliation programs. I make a plan to start a business on online. I
know the SEO and can rank up my popularity quickly.

Online Business is best at this amount.... you can even start your own
consultancy business in this amount. If you are aware of IT knowledge then it
will be good move.

You can write and self-publish an ebook and sell it on Amazon and other
online platforms. It would work better if you also have a blog about this
topic and build a community.

The costs are:
- domain name ca. $10/year
- hosting $2-7/month
- WordPress blogging software is free
- your time and expertise to write a book or you can order a ghost writer to
write it for you (50 pages under $400)
- self-submission of your ebook to Amazon is free

May i know your specific skill or interest? I believe you know what do you
love to do, and you can do well. Internet has become a place that a "nobody"
can be a successful business man/ woman.

I have two very viable options to offer.
One is a cloud-based suite of products, that you could help promote. It costs
under $200 to get started. The tools are great for small business owners. If
you know four people who love using the cloud-based suite, and they become
members, your membership is paid for and becomes free every month.
I also could sponsor you into a business, that creates a six-figure earner
every 25 days. A person could get started for $300-$1,200 and be able to
regain your investment in a month or two.
I also help you understand how you are losing money, and how to regain more
of your paycheck, in a legitimate fashion.

Depending on your skill set, you could easily start a virtual assistant
business for less than that if you already have a computer, printer, and
software such as MS Word. (Most people nowadays do.) What this entails is
assisting other businesses, self-employed people, even individuals with
office-type work, but you do it from your home office (thus the "virtual"
part). You could offer a variety of different office services or narrow in on
one such as transcription, bookkeeping, real estate, etc. You can Google it
to find all the different tasks that can be done in this field.