I am pretty new to all this, but a friend and I are considering starting up a small reselling operation (really to test the waters and see if we want to do this full time) and I was wondering if anyone out there would be gracious enough to give me the skinny on reselling/a synopsis on how they started out/etc.

It just seems so simple when looking from the outside in and I am really curious if it is really all that easy. Setting up the customer's accounts, coordinating to use credit card services, customer supprt, etc....to me it seems like a lot of work and I am wondering if it really pays off or not.

Thanks for any info anyone provides.

If you are thinking of doing this "full time" you would be better off having your own dedicated server(s)..... by that time it WILL be hard work ;)

just remember,
running any type of business/small business correctly is never easy.....

For 18 years, I owned a spring water bottling plant. It drove me crazy when people would say
"Wow, you own the spring, you own the plant, just pour the water in the bottle, cap it, and it's all profit!" They had no idea of all that was involved in running that business.

When looking at any business from the outside, it looks like less work than it is. The time you have to invest in customer service, maintaining accounts, promoting, etc as a host will likely be your biggest investment.

Take a good solid week or two and read, read, read posts here at WHT. You'll learn alot about what's involved. That's what I did...

I like the example, vito! I'll never look at bottled water the same again :)

I've found much the same as the others.. It's good to see you're not going into it blind thinking it will all be easy. If you want to do it properly - there can be a lot of work in it, but having said that it can also be incredibly satisfying!

There's a healthy degree of automation that can be added into a hosting business, due to the technical nature of it all, but the one thing you can't shortcut of course is customer service. Let alone the whole administrative side of it and the hair-pulling at 2am when the server goes down can't be easily automated either ;)

I guess I'd say that if you enjoy the internet and all that goes with it - and you've got the time to put make a real go of it; give it a shot and have fun! Have a look around for some of Dixiesys' comments - from what I understand he gives great service, but he still finds time to go out and fly kites. That's the best business model :D

Hi Snikle-

First, if you want a good reputation, you have to work hard at it. However, you will find, after a while, that most of the situations and issues you run into are repetitive. For instance, ask the webhosts here how many times a week they give support for questions like, "I lost my password, can you reset it?" or, "What's ftp?", or "I uploaded my site, why can't I see it?"

I enjoy it very much.

Also, IMHO, I think you should go the reseller route instead of a dedicated server, to begin with. There are two reasons for this. First, a dedicated server many times requires a 6 to 12 month contract. Once you take the plunge, you're stuck. Secondly, server admin is not something you want to jump right into, when you are new to it.

Good luck to you!
-Lamar

Thank you all so much. I am going to take the plunge soon, going to do a little more research and learning before I jump in, but yes I had planned on going with a small reseller plan, learning the ropes, and then perhaps upgrading depending on how I enjoy do it and if all is going well.

thanks for the imput!

In my opinion if you wake up with it on your mind and it follows you in your sleep,
go for it,.... as a reseller that is. I have been setting up sites helping others out for years
now, all this on a voluntary basis, and loving it. There will be many times you will
wonder what you got yourself into but still, the gratitude you get when they can't
thank you enough is a great feeling. Like already said here the questions you will
have to answer, passwords lost, how to do this ..how to do that..... Question you
think how easy !, I thought everyone knew that !
Now I too have taken the next step and I too have a lot to learn. This time I am the
newbie with the questions and I am still researching everything there is to know
about it, before I even think of selling anything.
I think it is a sort of obsession. If you like it you will do well in the long run.
But then I have no life, just me and my computer!
rinnando