If you're a web hosting startup, who has started your business within the past year (or so), post why you decided to get into web hosting, and some of the challenges you faced. I'd like to profile some of you guys in an upcoming article.


JP

After several unhappy shared hosting accounts, I decided, if things need to get done, I need to do them myself. Being as money wasn't tight, I ordered a dedicated server to host my site. After six months of teaching myself on that server, I decided to start selling the rest of the unused space to help pay for the server. I ordered a nicer server that what I had, added cpanel, contact some designers to put together a site for me, got some support software and began hosting to friends and family.

So here I sit a year later, with a small handfull of customers, and preparing my first attempt at advertising.

I have been doing webhosting work for about 3 years now, just recently I went from reselling cPanel accounts to purchasing my own dedicated server and simply selling shared accounts. I decided to get in to webhosting initially when I was younger and wanted to pay for my car insurance. After I began reselling, and noticed how little work I had to do to make some extra money every month I decided to put forth a little more effort and try to make my company bigger, purchased my own dedicated server and since then have realized that it takes much more work to manage your own server than resell. Along the line I have learned alot of usefull things such as the BASH command line and how to install and configure some of the most common webserver software. Running my own business with my own server, not reselling, does take much more effort, but in the future I plan on purchasing more servers, hiring more staff, and providing different services.

Robert Bonestell
Plex6.com

This is my second time around, first time I started with a $100 server from managed.com, I lasted 6 months till selling since I could'nt handle the server bill. Now I found a local server to optamize, learn more about it and I am trying to offer my services to more local then global so that if they have problems we can talk in person, not to mention better speeds since the server is localted a few miles from most local clients.

Wow, looking back on it now it's kind of wierd. I started this little company in high school and now its grown to a self-supporting registered entity. Interesting to look back in the past and see how things have progressed. It's a competitive industy but if you keep up with the flow it's a fun and interesting way to make a living.

I just realized what you meant, Nexeo, after I looked at the date of the original post. :)

Congrats on the growth of your business. That's one of the great things about business - you can start off as a tiny enterprise and years down the road, you can look back and realize just what an incredible journey it has been.

Our business started the same way. My wife and I were employees #1 and #2 and we handled everything during those early days. A lot has changed since then but we still have great memories from the early days. It is fun to remember. :)

web hosting is the most interesting business I have ever known and it is quite risky, thats why I am here

You will face overselling - On the Internet people can 'more or less' say what they want, where they want to 'i.e. on this forum'...

Watch the OVERSELLING!!!

Internet is addictive, why not support it with your knowledge? provide Hosting!