This is absolutely possible. Consider www.Weebly.com for a retail website. 

It's fairly simple and essentially free to create a website with an online gallery, blog, store, and more. A few of the options do cost a little money, but all the options combined cost less than $100 per year. Just as importantly, the folks at Weebly can do the work of creating your website for about $500 if you decide you want some help.
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You will find it's possible to have some of the resources you need at essentially no-cost such as credit card merchant services, website, etc. Still, you should expect to need a little money for obtaining the materials you may need to deliver products or services. Perhaps this could be assisted using a personal credit card.

For example, you can sign up for a Google Checkout account at no cost and begin to accept credit card payments. You'll pay a small percentage (about 3%) of the amount and some small fees (usually less than $1) each time you bill a credit card, so include this in your prices to cover these expenses. There are other solutions such as Weebly.com for setting up a free website with an online store.
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Joomla (and other content management systems or CMS) are very complex to setup and utilize effectively. Still, they become a solution to the problem of having many people updating a website at once or running websites with hundreds or more pages. In this scenario, the complexity of the CMS is preferable to the monumental challenge of maintaining the website.
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The iWeb software that comes with current computers from Apple can be used to create small business websites, including those that require blogs or online stores. Some of the advantages of starting with iWeb include:

1. The website is easy enough for many business owners to create and manage. 
2. There software is effectively free since it's included with Macintosh computers.
3. The software uses templates that are professional looking.Therefore, if you own a Macintosh it's worth experimenting with iWeb to determine if you can achieve the results you desire.
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Websites can be useful to many small businesses, particularly those with a a tech-savvy audience, but a website isn't always needed. Websites intended to work as Internet advertisements may not be useful. Others that serve as distribution centers, business offices, or retail stores could mean the difference between business success or failure. You need to decide what your website needs to do for your business before you can determine if you need one.  
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Many small business owners may be surprised to learn that a website can cost as much to setup and operate as its equivalent physical alternative. For example, while a website store may not require leases, fixtures or displays it does requires substantial setup and maintenance. Retail stores can be managed and staffed by generalists, but website requires the work of more expensive specialists. I recommend you plan and budget similarly for physical and virtual locations to avoid compromises that can leave you with an ineffective website.
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My website at www.OmarBarraza.com was created using Weebly. There are many ways to create websites, but I have found that Weebly works well, is convenient to use, and includes the capabilities I want. If I used a more sophisticated alternative there would probably have less time available to do other things. Simple and effective works for me.
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