Nothing displaying? Tough to read? Click here and view the Classroom in full-size. Feel free to link here.

Launching an online business doesn’t have to be, and isn’t, that difficult.

Making use of the Internet for your first company allows you many advantages over the traditional brick-and-mortar business.

• An online business doesn’t require a high amount of capital to start with — many businesses can be started for $200 or less.

• You can constantly test (Startup Launchr readers will soon find out how anal I get about numbers) and tweak according to what the market is telling you.

• Spreading the word is easy with the help of social media tools (how did YOU find this site?) and other vehicles for word of mouth.

• Your shop is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I could go on and on, but you probably already know all the benefits of setting up shop online or else you wouldn’t be reading this.

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Nothing displaying? Tough to read? Click here and view the Classroom in full-size. Feel free to link here.

NOTE: StumbleUpon people, here’s a brief background to clue you in what’s happening here at Startup Launchr.

A couple of posts ago I announced that a new blog is in the works and asked for your help in naming it. The poll received a great response from Startup Launchr’s readers (that’s you guys! Don’t worry, your free report that I promised will be headed your way real soon).

In anticipation of the new blog to be launched alongside Startup Launchr (more on that in a couple of days), today’s post deals with the core elements of a successful business. This new blog will be dedicated strictly to the business ideas, and will venture to the business planning process in the near future.

Which name did I eventually choose to use, and how did I come to that conclusion? Are you hungry for ideas to help jog your mind for businesses you can start in an instant? Subscribe to the blog, and wait for the next post to find out. Till then, enjoy this week’s treat on Startup Launchr!

Every profitable business is built on a solid foundation. 4 of them, to be exact.

In order for a business to be profitable, these four elements must be in tune with each other from the core to the outer layer. They supplement the 6 rules to follow and give you a basic framework for your business model. When coming up with business ideas, think about it using this structure, starting with the core and building upon it layer by layer.

These 4 layers also serve as a troubleshooting guide. If your product isn’t selling, reverse-engineer the process. Fix your outer layers, and dig in deeper as necessary. If your outer layers are all in check and your product still isn’t selling, then maybe you need to consider moving on to the next business idea and hit a different market altogether.

Using this framework will tremendously help you in brainstorming for new business ideas, as it allows you to think of businesses, markets and products in a systematic manner. Of course, brainstorming should be as form-free as possible, but having guidelines to steer you in a general direction never hurts.

To view this Classroom in the proper order, start with the core and start going outwards.

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Tough to read? Click here and view the presentation in full-size

So you’ve read through the 6 rules to follow when starting your online business, and you’re itching to launch something.

You understand that your business must, first and foremost, solve a problem for a certain group of people. You’ve taken it to heart that you must be able to get your business up and running quickly. And most important of all, you understand that your business must scale and should require the same amount of work whether you’re servicing 10 or 10,000 customers.

With that said, I’m going to share you with 10 types of businesses you can work on today. These are all businesses you can start without having to quit your job, and can be worked on during nights and weekends.

Hopefully, this should generate some buzz for the launch of Startup Launchr’s sister site (name TBD — help us name the new blog, will you?).

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Tough to read? Click here and view the presentation in full-size

“What kind of business should I start?”

Most aspiring entrepreneurs ask this very question during the beginning of their journey into business. If you are like most people, the idea of starting your own business probably involves a restaurant franchise, a coffee shop, or a retail store of some sorts (such as selling clothes or books). Or, if you’re a little more in-tune with the times, you’ll be thinking of starting a technology company of some sorts and hoping to secure some venture capital funding.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with these types of businesses. However, if you’re a first-time entrepreneur (and likely, you are if you’re asking this question) these businesses are a bad idea to start with. They are very risky, take a lot of start-up capital, and you’ll most likely end up doing 12-hour work days, 7 days a week. Even more so, you are betting your most important resources (time and money) on an unproven strategy.

Instead, I challenge you to think of your first business as a pet project of some sort. Something that you are passionate about, and don’t mind spending a little bit of money here and there. You’ll never “fail” — you’re simply learning.

And to maximize your chances of success with your business, here are 6 rules you should follow when you’re launching a new business.

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Tough to read? Click here and view the presentation in full-size

Note to readers: This post marks the beginning of this blog officially being an interactive business blog. Future “meaty” posts on Startup Launchr will include Classrooms™, an interactive presentation such as the one included above. For more on Classrooms, click here.

You’ve got that million-dollar business idea, and can’t wait to put it to action.

This idea probably came to you in less time than it takes to snap your fingers at first. But you’ve nurtured this concept, and over time its evolved from a vague idea to a full-grown brainchild.

You’ve taken down your notes, and whatever spare time you have are spent with visions of your new company up and running. Any book with “how to” and “start business” on its front cover probably catches your eye. You’re thinking about subscribing to Entrepreneur magazine (if you haven’t already done so) and follow a huge set of blogs about business.

And there’s only one thing stopping you from pulling off this plan of yours.

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