Most new business owners are strapped for cash. Inventory, payroll, business licenses, trade certificates, advertising, and lead generation are just a few of the start-up expenses that a new business must face. Certain expenses are nonnegotiable, leaving the new business owner to decide what to do with the money that is left. Often the new business owner simply cannot afford to pay for expensive software applications, many of which are priced in the hundreds of dollars.

But there isn't such a thing as a perfect solution, as quality must not suffer. Documents that appear unprofessional send a message that the company is small, broke, and untrustworthy. It is critical for the new business owner, who does not yet have a solid list of references, to exude professionalism in each and every aspect..

Enter freeware. The concept of freeware has its history in the early days of the personal computer. At that time, computers were hulking machines, much more impressive for their sheer size and mass than for their processing power. The self-taught engineers of Silicon Valley were much more interested in perfecting the hardware than in ensuring practical usability for the home market. This opened up a niche for self-taught engineers in other parts of the country who, having invested in the machines, had a vested interest to see what they could make them do. So they created programs and released them to their friends and acquaintances. As they acquired modems and began logging into BBS's (the precursor to modern internet forums), they began to distribute their programming more widely. Shareware began to develop, in which a program was released for free with certain features disabled, and by sending a small amount of money (usually $5-$10) to the programmer, the user would receive a code to unlock those features.

A reasonable alternative to costly software applications is freeware. Freeware has its roots in the earliest days of personal computers. Back then, computers were impressive to look at, but not so impressive to use. Computer designers in those days were largely self-taught, experimenting in their home garages in Silicon Valley. Their interest was in building a machine that would work. As the early computers reached other areas of the country, others took on the task of developing programs, giving the computer a new level of functionality. The early programmers wrote software for themselves and their friends. Gradually the programs were released to a wider audience through the use of BBS's (the early forerunner of today's forums). They were often released with a few key features disabled. For five or ten dollars sent to directly to the programmer, the user received a code that unlocked the full functionality of the program. The disabled versions of programs were known as shareware.

An underground revolution has begun, with a new market created by those tired of spending ever more money on software that still wasn't without its faults. Freeware designers meet a very real demand and their work is admirable, not uncommonly even bettet than the paid alternatives. Most freeware is now released as "open source," meaning that the code is available to anyone who cares to use it. This allows any user to add his own twists, and even to release his adaptations for public use.

Freeware programs that are useful for home-based businesses are numerous. Open Office (www.openoffice.org) packages a word processor, spreadsheet and database program with a multimedia presentation program and even a truly stunning graphics package. Mozilla's offerings (www.mozilla.com), notably the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird e-mail, are in many regards the best in their field, particularly in stability and safety. Gimp photo editing (gimp-win.sourceforge.net) and Free Accounting Software (www.freeaccountingsoftware.net/default.aspx) complete the basics of what the average home-based business owner should need.

Freeware offers a reasonable alternative to costly software options. The programs are comparable, and freeware allows the user almost unlimited flexibility to customize his experience. For the new business owner, who is struggling to appropriately allocate limited resources, freeware is often the best choice.

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