Ok high again :D im not really new to this biz but im starting another company but before i do i need some first hand experiances from top hosts..

Ok starting up i have the designs etc allready planned and made and i had a host hosting a reseller account but kets just say me and him didnt get on so that came to a stop..

1. Would it be wise to go straight into a hosting biz with a 50/50 partner?

2. Reseller account or Dedicated server (only 3 customers so far on pre-order)

3. offer my contact numbers for extra support i.e my phone or mobile number


if you can think of any more to add to my list please dont hesitate to tell me and if you have a answer to me Q's great :D


Paul.

1. Would it be wise to go straight into a hosting biz with a 50/50 partner

Hmmmm nope.

2. Reseller account or Dedicated server (only 3 customers so far on pre-order)

Reseller

offer my contact numbers for extra support i.e my phone or mobile number


If you can afford it, yes.

Thx for the comment :)

try and get a host that is able to offer you a reseller account with some type of control panel like ensim or whm/cpanel so you can expand into a dedicated server later on and transfering will be very very easy.

Yea

I suggest that if you do decide to go 50/50 with someone make sure you guys get some type of legal documentation showing exactly how everything is setup because even though we don't like to think about it people go get tired of the business and falling outs do happen so it is better to be prepared as I can tell you it is a huge mess if there is no documentation of your business setup.

Unfortunately the world's a complex place. No simple "Yes" "No" answers here.

Q1. It depends a lot on what both parties are briinging to the table :) If there's sufficient value from both sides, why not?

Q2. Frankly no straight answer either. It depends on how aggressively you think you can go or acquire new accounts. For example, if you are certain/confident/and can acquire a few accounts daily, it may make more sense to just go straight to ded instead of going through the trouble of the reseller, and then having to move accounts 1 month later.

If you are not sure, one way is to of course find a host that can provide you the ded too. That way, if it comes to that, they will most likely be happy to help you move your accounts to make it happen.


3. I don't know what's your question regarding the phone.

(1) Partnerships rarely last very long (I'm an accountant - I've seen it over and over).

(2) A Reseller account is an excellent way to get things going without having to worry about managing a server.

(3) I wouldn't give out my cell phone number - people seen to abuse it and then your monthly bill ends up being a real problem ... But people do like to talk to a live human being. So I have my land line forwarded to my cell phone when I'm out of the office.

Best of Luck...

1. Would it be wise to go straight into a hosting biz with a 50/50 partner?

As sprintserver pointed out, having two parties can benefit greatly so if there is someone else who can offer something beneficial then go ahead. However, as OKIHost pointed out, get everything set out on paper before doing anything. Things may be rosy now but this doesn't count for the future. Getting everything set out at the early stage can save a lot of time, money and stress later if anything turns sour.

2. Reseller account or Dedicated server (only 3 customers so far on pre-order)

Definitely a reseller account. Starting up can be costly enough without the added expense of server costs when a reseller account is sufficient. Added to this is the task of running a server when you have your own. I'm sure you'd rather concentrate on getting and keeping customers during your first x months than keeping the server online and running well too?

3. offer my contact numbers for extra support i.e my phone or mobile number

You can do if you want but as long as the support is top notch anyway, I don't think it matters a lot. Phone support has never been offered here but there hasn't been a single complaint or comment on it because customers know they can get timely, effective support via the online helpdesk.

Hope this helps :)

HostNexus had 2 partners from the start and dived straight into a dedicated server (even though I had some linux and general experience). I fronted the tech know-how and my friend/partner fronted 10k to get things rolling. My friend/partner basically did nothing for 6 months as he has no server admin experience and billing was quite easy so I just did it and I hired another tech to help me with support.

I never begrudged my partner's easy life during those 6 months as without him our company would never have been born. Sure, I would snap occasionally due to stress but we got on fine. After 6 months and we had about 4-5 servers so billing started to get busier and he had something to do. Then we wanted to expand and we took on another partner (another best friend) who put in cash and I trained him to do basic TT support. Anyhow, sure there are arguments sometimes but as long as everyone does their share things should be okay. However, there is only one thing that makes a partnership successful and that is money. When we went through our roughest patch was when we argued the most but now the company is flying and makes money, everyone seems happier. Billing is covered, basic support is covered, some server admin is covered which leaves me more time in development and interacting with members on our forum etc.

Life's good. :)

Thank you very much for that :)

4 servers and 3 staff... wow.

Not now. More like 10 servers. We've been going longer than 6 months. ;)

Originally posted by NexDog
Not now. More like 10 servers. We've been going longer than 6 months. ;)
hehe :D

15 servers. 2 team members + an Aussie Bob [whatever he's worth :eek3:]

Things are goin great and they're only gettin better - doin alright, gettin good grades, future's so bright, gotta wear shades. :cool:

httpme seems to be an unstoppable steam train at the moment. Good on ya. :)

Originally posted by NexDog
httpme seems to be an unstoppable steam train at the moment. Good on ya. :)
Early days yet. ;)

I cant steal the limelight from HTTPme but we have managed to put 4 new servers online in under a month :)

No limelight here. Just making a living. Good work with the 4 servers in a month. :)

We brought 8 serevrs online last month. :p

Na, I'm cheating - in a way, true but...well Bob knows what I mean. :D

Originally posted by NexDog
We brought 8 serevrs online last month. :p

Na, I'm cheating - in a way, true but...well Bob knows what I mean. :D
You da man, Laurance. :D