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?).

Coaching and Consulting

Everybody is an expert on something.

Maybe your passion for something has lead you to be more educated than most when it comes to the topic. Maybe your current job has given you the skills and knowledge to be able to train others brand new to the industry. Whatever the case, there are plenty of people willing to pay for the information you have on top of your shoulders.

Scaling the business could mean developing a program to deliver to your clients either through email or a membership website. It could also mean hiring other employees which you have personally trained.

The key here is to realize that “expert” is merely a frame of mind on how to label yourself. You don’t have to be the best — just more knowledgeable than most. Of course, Startup Launchr is NEVER an advocate of ripping off your customers — be sure to always provide value.

Examples:

SEO/SEM consultant
Small business marketing consultant
Social/dating/life coach

Reseller or Affiliate

Want to get started selling but don’t necessarily have the patience to create your own product? Maybe you came across a certain book or product that you find so compelling, and believe that you could spread the word about it.

Many people make good money as resellers and affiliates for products and services. You don’t need to keep an inventory, handle orders, deliver items, deal with pissed off customers, and every other headaches that come with your own business. Once the customer purchases an item through your link, you get paid and your job is done.

Examples:

Clickbank Marketplace
E-Junkie Marketplace
Other infoproducts that include affiliate programs

Clothing and Accessories

Got an eye and a hand for design and illustrating your own clothing? You can make money by selling your own clothes and accessories online. Publish-on-demand websites like Cafepress.com and Zazzle.com allow you to sell your own products without manufacturing anything.

Of course, your profits are much less per item sold, but this eliminates the need for a high investment in capital in something you’re not sure that’s going to sell just yet.

Examples:

Specializing in bags with environment-friendly designs
Selling shirts for people who frequent clubs, bars and parties
Selling merchandise (such as mugs, mousepads, etc.) with office humor (“I Heart Spreadsheets”)

eBay Vendor

Do you frequent garage sales, flea markets and have an eye for bargain items? If so, consider selling goods on eBay. The basic premise: buy at a low price, sell at a higher price. You can also consider dropshipping, where you develop relationships with wholesale suppliers. The idea is to let them handle delivery while you sell their goods at a higher price.

With eBay, competition is likely to be fierce. Copywriting skills is more essential than ever if you want to compete. Rckstr.com offers a great resource on copywriting specifically for eBay. If you can ignore the short salesletter, you can read the contents for free.

Examples:

The whole eBay site ;)

Freelancing

Closely related to consulting, you might want to give freelancing a shot. Companies usually prefer outsourcing work to freelancers as this allows them to save on hiring permanent employees.

Be careful, however — set this up the wrong way, and all you’ll get for yourself is another job, not a business. Don’t sell yourself; instead, sell the company brand and the results you can deliver. This allows you to hire others in the future, employees that you’ll be able to train with your expertise.

Examples:

Copywriter
Graphic designer
Programmer
Photographer
Blogger

Software

If you know your way around programming and computer languages, consider building a better piece of software or a web application. There are plenty of software out there that has a weak user interface (*ahem* Microsoft *ahem*) and can be drastically improved on.

A popular trend for web apps is the “freemium” model; that is, having a free option so users can test your product, and if they want more features they can opt to pay for it.

Examples:

Basecamp
PlanHQ
CampaignMonitor
Clicky

Websites

Can you build a website that connects two groups of people together? There are many profitable online companies whose model is based on matching two groups of people with each other.

One thing to consider with this business model is monetizing it. You can either charge people for using the service (Monster.com charges employers to post jobs), charge people when an actual transaction takes place (eBay takes money from the sale when the item is sold), or you can run with the free model supported by advertising (plentyoffish runs a free dating service supported by advertising).

Examples:

eBay.com
FreelanceSwitch job boards
WorldWideBrands.com
Match.com

Books

It’s easier than ever to become a published author these days. If you have a knack for writing (either fiction or non-fiction), there are resources like Lulu.com and the aforementioned Cafepress.com that allow you to self-publish your own work.

Consider the blog-to-book model, or “blook.” Write out a chapter (or part of a chapter) one blog post at a time. It’s a great model considering you’ll get constant feedback from people who are eventually going to purchase your book.

Examples:

Hackoff.com
Getting Real
Stuff White People Like

Information Products

While books can also fall under this category, information products can also come in the form of CDs and DVDs. Many people have made a name and built businesses around information products.

Take your area of expertise and create a product around it. Record an audio program or one of your seminars and package it in a DVD to teach others your skills. You can invite guest-speakers if you feel you don’t have enough expertise yourself.

Examples:

SEOBook.com
Teaching Sells
Authority Blogger

Blogging

Are you passionate about a certain subject and think you could devote the time to write dozens, even hundreds, of articles about it? You might consider blogging as an option.

Many high profile blogs out there pay at least $50 per post, which isn’t bad money for 1-2 hours of your time. You can build your own blog as well, and monetize it through selling advertisements or your own products. Blogging is an excellent method to develop a relationship with your potential customers.

Examples:

FreelanceSwitch
Copyblogger
Problogger
Startup Launchr ;)

==

There you have it, ten general ideas that you can run with and use today. Which business model are you particularly interested in? Let us know in the comments and see a future post about it!

PS. We received an AMAZING response from the previous post from you wonderful StumbleUpon users. If you like this post, do the blog a favor and Stumble it!

Show Some Social Media Love! Digg It | Del.icio.us | Stumble It | Reddit
==

You like this entry? Get updates delivered straight to your email inbox or RSS reader and subscribe to Startup Launchr today!