Business launch: get your online company off the ground.

• Author: Preusz, Jared
• Position: Entrepreneur Edge

Though numerous e-businesses are launched each day, starting a successful online company is no easy task. With competing companies vying for the same customers, making the right moves at the right time throughout the startup process is vital.

Ryan Caldwell, CEO of EnticeLabs, an innovative staffing company, knows starting a new e-business can be a struggle. "It's important to find an industry where consumers are already buying," says Caldwell. "A lot of e-businesses try to go after this great idea and say that no one is really spending money on this yet, but they think it is a problem. The best kinds of e-businesses are where people are already spending money in a general area that you're solving. This can dramatically increase the adoption rate of the business."

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Finding an innovative idea that works is the foundation for a prosperous online business, Caldwell says. This involves a complex process of research, assembling a team of solid workers and marketing your business online with the latest technology tools.

Discover Your Business' Value

Your idea will not sell in the competitive marketplace without adequate research. To make an e-business work, you must have a thorough understanding of the market and your competition. Search online for other companies out there with a similar idea and make sure your idea is unique enough that it will attract customers. Several companies and organizations, like Grow Utah Ventures, offer entrepreneur workshops and networking events that can assist you through the business research process. Caldwell says in this early stage of an e-business, it is also critical to target a very specific group of people.

Build Your Team

No e-business will survive without a team of skilled and talented employees. John Richards, managing director of the Rollins Center for eBusiness, advises new Internet companies to bring in three to four experts to make the company work. "It's very hard to find someone who can do everything all in one package," says Richards. He also suggests founders put as much money as possible into the business, even if that means cutting their salaries.

Finding capital for a new Web company can also be a challenge. Richards says you should first create a detailed business plan before pitching it to venture capital firms. He also...