No wonder this industry is getting such a bad rap. With ads like this...

http://www.franchisesolutions.com/index.cfm/fa/adpage/job_id/10559/lsource/8

Yea. That's sad.

Aaron

You have to check out ebay some time, those things are all over.

Doesn't sound that much different from what a lot of hosts offering reseller plans say on their own sites. As a few examples, I just visited a few hosts I found through a reseller-related Google search and found these statements:

"An easy way to make to make a potentially large amount of money without a lot of work and virtually no overhead is by reselling web hosting."

"You can easily generate a large amount of profit by simply reselling accounts on our servers."

"Take advantage of today's HUGE web hosting opportunity... we've eliminated the risk to get started, and... it is literally as simple as ‘point-and-click’ to administer your customers."

"you don't even have to be present for your hosting company to work. Once a customer visits your web site, chooses a plan and enters their credit card information, their account is created automatically with no human-intervention needed. It is like having automated business that works 24 hours a day taking and fulfilling orders while you sleep."

"Just think, that could be you in no time at all!"

"If you have ever wanted to work from home, web hosting is one of the most profitable and secure industries to be in!"

"The web hosting wave is breaking so quickly that there aren't enough virtual web hosting companies in existence to handle the incoming tide."

So, it's not really fair to pick on Alabanza; they're by no means alone.

I have even seen an informercial about it...

I was foolish enough to buy the "Internet Toolbox" that Al guy from Home Improvements was selling a few years back.... what a waste of 49.95 that was... :(

if everything easy like it said then nothing intersting :(

"you don't even have to be present for your hosting company to work. Once a customer visits your web site, chooses a plan and enters their credit card information, their account is created automatically with no human-intervention needed. It is like having automated business that works 24 hours a day taking and fulfilling orders while you sleep."

that one just scares me!
If what we do was so easy as they say then everybody would do it and thus there would be no need for us at all!

I mean all these promises of maximum profit with no effort, heh!

If you are foolish to believe you can make money without lifting a finger then make the necessary "small investment" and claim your fortune!:D

I have to admit I work in marketing for one of those hosts using this kind of marketing and well you may not like it but the clients we are attracting are being as much if not more successful than some of our more techical/knowledgeable hosts...why? The people we sign up are ready to invest signifigant money into a business..some were mid level managers etc trying to get out of th rat race...and find something they can do to make a living...they seem to have better business, sales and marketing skills even though they knew zilch about web hosting...they think out of the box...web marketing is just a small portion of what they do. They are more into building value around helping people with website building etc and more into face to face selling than our average host and able to add lots of value...I will say if they are just hosting they usually don't have much luck...but if they put together a whole package and range of services of which hosting is just one they semm to do well...Of course they are working hard and the idea that you can sit on the beach all day and collect money is quite silly...But all in all I see Entreprenuers storming into this market space and doing quite well...

Originally posted by Web1
. . . and the idea that you can sit on the beach all day and collect money is quite silly . . .
I would disagree with that. ;)

good one.

Originally posted by Web1
and the idea that you can sit on the beach all day and collect money is quite silly...

I do that already? :stickout

But then again my backyard is a beach and I have a laptop with a radio card :D

Very scary indeed - not for us as a company, but for the possible customers of these 'companies'. This is nothing more than a 'get-rich-quick' scheme updated for the internet. Kinda reminds me of amway in a way...

Ugh.

-David

Its actually sort of true.

Compared to opening a small store, web hosting is a great deal. For a store you could easily invest 200,000. A full webhosting company needs less than $1,000 for servers, etc.

Sort of.. The way a moped is sort of a motorcycle...

"No technical background needed" - someone who doesn't know how to copy and paste like my in-laws should not be running a hosting company. Period.

-David

The man has a point.

ok, my last though on this but I have seen over the last year many new Hosts with NO technical skills provide great value to Hosting end users...now let me say that they didn't go into business day one either. We give them pretty intensive training and ask them to learn alot before we even let them hit the street. They have every resource they could ever want to be successful....and they are. Why is the Hosting Business any different than any other discipline. Any bright person can learn how to do anything they want. Good luck.

Originally posted by Web1
ok, my last though on this but I have seen over the last year many new Hosts with NO technical skills provide great value to Hosting end users...now let me say that they didn't go into business day one either. We give them pretty intensive training and ask them to learn alot before we even let them hit the street. They have every resource they could ever want to be successful....and they are. Why is the Hosting Business any different than any other discipline. Any bright person can learn how to do anything they want. Good luck.

It is not the fact we don't want to see people venture into this, it is just the fact that it is not the fairy tale business that will get you rich quick with little or no work.

You want to start a hosting or web business, it is not buy it in a box for $49.95 and you are off running.

Yep, I agree..I think we are saying the same thing.

I think the problem is its not said that
you mean no exp required because we will train you.

Is that what you mean?

Originally posted by thedavid
Sort of.. The way a moped is sort of a motorcycle...

"No technical background needed" - someone who doesn't know how to copy and paste like my in-laws should not be running a hosting company. Period.

-David

Or like the lady at UPS who kept calling my Laptop a "Keyboard" (even after the other lady at UPS corrected her, thrice!) and thought that because I knew how to use a "Keyboard" that I could put together a box... that was a hard box to put together.

If one can copy and paste , one can be webhost (reseller). It is not like hosting is brain surgery. All real problems are taken care by the company that provided reseller account, and only thing new host needs is many friends and family who will signup. Webhost should be sales/marketing person and should leave technical stuff to techies.

I agree with Sasha,

You do not need technical experience as long as you have someone who does, ie the company that you buy your reseller plans from.

As long as you can provide full and correct support thru delegation i agree that little technical experience is required.