Hi,

I'm thinking of opening a reseller website, mainly because I work from home and can be available for support directly. My questions are pretty simple. Is it worth it to start this project, with low funds, will the website become to topheavy without a continous line of cash? How do established resellers feel about their sites now, are they happy with the work, and the profits?
When I begin to get a full line of customers, how much is hiring support techs going to cost?
I know these are niave questions, but I'm really interested, I'm almost ready to go forward.
Anything established resellers want to add, please do. Opinions will help me greatly.

Thanks for all your replies in advance.

Steve

Starting with low funds will cause you a lot of headache. I advise you to start with a budget large enough to support you a few months until you can get rolling full steam.

Hi Steve,

Although we are now reseller providers, vs resellers ourselves - I did start out as a reseller originally (as Im sure many did)...

The beautiful thing about being a reseller is costs are low - $30-$60/month will get you a decent sized, full featured reseller package with a reliable provider...

Not exactly sure what you will be selling (specific applications, or just web space) - but, your monthly fees could be pretty much absorbed with 1 or 2 clients (again, depending on what youre selling)...

Before getting into reselling however, make sure you have a solid business plan put together and a target market selected - make sure you have a throrough understanding of your target market and what rates you can charge - then you should be in a good position to understand if this business will work for you.

Also, and I cant stress this enough - If you have done all your homework, and are ready to jump in and give the business a go - before doing anything, make a control panel decision...

This will make your life ALOT easier...

I always recommend H-Sphere to resellers (but, Im biased) - It is simply the best system you can use (in my opinion) - Integrates everything for you so you dont have to worry about adding billing modules, helpdesk modules, etc... (or the associated costs of those items...)

Hope this helps and best of luck with your proposed venture...

Cartika,

Thanks so much for you advice. I was hoping to target small buiness on the East coast of the US to start and then expand. Can I ask you a question, if I start off reseller from reseller, as I am sure many people do, for the low cost, what kind of headaches will I likely run into switching to a dedicated host?

Thanks again
Stephen

Hi Stephen,

Well - there's 2 ways you can approach this - You can either:

1) put off moving to a dedicated server and simply keep getting larger reseller accounts (until you have to move to a dedicated server)

or

2) move to a dedicated as soon as your business generates enough money to pay for one (or shortly there after)

#1 is probably advisable....

As for difficulty in migrating from a reseller package to a dedicated package - it depends on how many accounts you have, which control panel you are running, if you decide to stay with the same control panel or migrate to a different one (which is why I stated make sure you make your control panel decision early above :) )

There is always some work in migrating - whether its from a reseller to dedicated, dedicated to cluster, or simply are moving a dedicated from one Data Center to another...

Trick with any migration is the 3 p's - plan, prepare and pray :) (joking about the pray part )

Andrew

**EDIT - Most reseller providers will offer you an upgrade route to a dedicated server - so, you may not have to switch hosts at all when you grow - Its all about choosing wisely :)

Cartika,

I can't thank you enough, you've been most helpful.

hope to talk to you again.

Stephen

Originally posted by Cartika
Trick with any migration is the 3 p's - plan, prepare and pray :) (joking about the pray part )
Yep, those three P's can help during 'migration time'.

The move from reseller to dedicated is generally pretty straight forward, if you're staying on the same control panel.

I think a lot of reseller hosting providers started out as resellers themselves. I can think of 5 different million dollar companies right now, that started out as resellers.

If you're starting with a low cash flow, then i'd suggest making the most of every dollar, just don't fall into the '$5 for the world' trap - this will harm your business, and your prospects.

Another forum member has a very useful motto; "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things" - think about it :)

Simon

Another forum member has a very useful motto; "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things"I believe that would be Vito... he's such a wise man... :)

Well I would advise you too open up a reseller account if you dont have the funds right now. I suggest not going with the biggest plan in the beginning but the most reliable. Look for a host that can support your questions. Send them a support ticket to check what their response is and response time. Owning a reseller usually means profit because you dont have to worry about server expenses costing you a ton of money. As for support when you start getting alot of customers. Well if your at home and feel like you cant handle it then hire someone to do the support. You could pay them salary or pay per a ticket. Well I hope this helps you out.

Thanks so much for you advice. I was hoping to target small buiness on the East coast of the US to start and then expand. Can I ask you a question, if I start off reseller from reseller, as I am sure many people do, for the low cost, what kind of headaches will I likely run into switching to a dedicated host?


A quick solution for you is to look for WHM/cPanel reseller accounts. In future if you get yourself a dedicated server, you just have to get a cPanel license for the server and transferring your accounts over to your own dedicated server is as easy as ABC :) Don't worry too much on that.

Last but not least, choosing the right reseller provider is important. Don't be greedy by jumping into providers that provide huge resources but a cheap price. Normally you will get what you paid for. Good reseller hosting providers will let you sleep soundly at night while waiting for your client base to grow bigger :)

All the best, pal.