I know this will probably sound clueless to many of you, but I'm at a point where I'm wondering if perhaps it isn't time to upgrade to the next level. Only - I'm not sure what that level should be.

For the last 2 years, I've been a hosting reseller. Which has worked out great...eh, well, as great as it is possible to be a reseller. Anyhoo, my previous host allowed me to setup subreseller accounts and that was actually one of my biggest moneymakers. Then that host sold their company to someone else who now states that I can't do that.

I currently have a little over 60 domains that are under my reseller plan and about 10 of those are sub-resellers. I provide 99% of the technical support to my clients with the exception of problems that I'm simply not able to identify/clear up because I don't have root access or experience at that level.

I have been running everything on cPanel/whm using Modernbill for my billing. I am currently using 20 GB/200GB space/bandwidth and my company is profiting a little over $600 monthly with expenditures around $100 monthly for server fees etc. Not a lot, but enough that I want it to continue to grow.

Anyhoo - where should I go next? I don't mind using outsourced support (I don't currently offer 24/7 support to my clients either). I also don't mind outsourced admin etc. Or, maybe the question is, SHOULD I go? When do you know when it's time to move from reseller to whatever comes next?

Also, what can I expect as far as support etc when I do move. What about startup expenses etc to change from one to the other. Any advice is greatly appreciated -

If you have the revenue coming in, I would recommend upgrading to a dedicated server. It isn't going to cost you anything more out of pocket, plus give you room to grow.

Then you can also offer reseller accounts again, like you said, it was your biggest money maker.

I've just signed up for a VPS plan through Fused Network (they were running a special - and I'll try anything for a month). What is the major difference in a VPS and a dedicated server as far as moving from a reseller environment? Especially expense/support-wise?

I appreciate your time and responses,

What is the major difference in a VPS and a dedicated server as far as moving from a reseller environment? Especially expense/support-wise?

In a nut shell but as thorough as possible:

VDS/VPS - A portion of the server resources is devoted to your account. The more you pay the bigger your portion of resources. Think of it as a pie that has been un-equally divided up for the most part. Now also the other thing to remember with VDS/VPS many hosts will be running these on dual or sometimes even quad xeon servers thus there is plenty of resources to go around. Just also remember in some rare cases your VPS/VDS may be affected by another VPS customer on the host machine.

Dedicated server(s) come in two forms:

Unmanaged - You get a good rate with a nice amount of transfer normally and are given root access to the server. The datacenter is not responsible for managing the server as it is "self managed" otherwise known as unmanaged. Pretty much leaves you with a few options available: managing the system yourself completely or bringing in an admin to assist you with your kernel/software upgrades as well as securing the system.

Managed - You pay a bit more for the monthly fee (usually around $200-$400 approximately depends upon what server specification and how much management time is put into it pretty much) and the datacenter or the host you choose handles doing operating system upgrades/updates and securing the server for you. Now the main thing to remember here is that many companies offer different levels of server management best thing to do with this is always read the management definitions so you are aware of what is covered with your plan and what is not (should give you a bearing upon how much you need and what you can handle on your own).

What it really boils down to is do you want to be a piece of the pie or do you want to be the pie? That and also what your budget is, remember you can always upgrade further one the need arises that warrants doing so.

Hope this elaboration has assisted in giving you a bit more understanding of the aspects of levels of services. Definitely owe you some congrats on chosing to come seek guidance on WHT first before doing as so many have and diving off the deep end. I wish you the best in all your endeavors.

-Justin

Hi,

I really think you should upgrade now to a Dedicated Server. I think this will be best for your business. You can offer reseller accounts and even offer good packages coz Dedi have large hard disk (80GB up normally) and bandwidth (1000GB Average). You have large space for your future expansion.

I would like to suggest to get a Managed Server. You still don't have experience in setting up and managing a server and with the extra bucks, you will not worry anymore and you can concentrate on other aspects of your business, like marketing, etc.

Good luck and more power.

Regards,
Charles

With $600 coming go dedicated surely, that will give you room to expand and total control over your servers and not all monitored by your webhost, with that price you could get a high end managed server too!

Originally posted by Naz.A
With $600 coming go dedicated surely, that will give you room to expand and total control over your servers and not all monitored by your webhost, with that price you could get a high end managed server too!

Yes, but I *like* having income - I don't want to spend the whole $600 back into the business :) This (in addition to the other 2k or so from design) pays for my house. I definitely don't want to grow faster than I need to - it would be mismanagement of resources. *grins* I would prefer to keep my expenses low but still get a great deal - it's the woman in me :)

Justin - thank you for the explanation - it does help me. I have always been careful in business and prefer to do research (market and otherwise) before taking an uncalled for risk. I'm always impressed by the wisdom offered freely here by those far more experienced than I. With the exception of the person asking $50 to answer questions already answered by others I've never been disappointed with the knowledge that I find here from people like you.

Charles, I have gone to check out your company and saved the URL. I am very interested in learning more about your services and will probably visit the site several times over the next few days. I greatly appreciate excellent customer service and that's what catches my eye at your site - your promise of excellent services.

I took advantage of a sale last night to get a small (10G) VPS plan. I don't plan to move my company to it just yet but want to use it to get a feel for what that 'next level' is. I don't believe it's managed though so I probably will not stay there. I realize that I don't have the time to provide that service for myself and maintain the other aspects of my company and quite frankly I know where the majority of my income comes from :)

Thank you all and do feel free to keep the advice coming!

Best wishes,

Dannielle,

Thanks for dropping by. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,
Charles

I strongly advise you against moving this many customers to a VPS - your clients will notice a sharp performance drop at once and that's a good reason to become uncontent. I'd recommend you to invest $2-300/month into a high quality managed dedicated server with a reputable company, that way you'd "lose" 1/3-1/2 of your monthly revenue right now, but it should be offset through the fact that you can take on a large number of new customers without worry and still have higher performance for your clients than ever before. One big advantage of a dedicated is that you can offer custom software for your clients, being even more of a special host. I've offered Fantastico for my clients long before it became an established everyday thing on shared accounts. I've some time ago purchased the full version of the SohoLaunch site builder (which is BTW greatly underestimated, it's a lot more powerful than it looks at first), something you can't do at all except when you've got your own dedicated server.

At any rate, don't go from reseller to VPS! There are people who say that's the sensible next step before taking a dedicated, but the sad truth is that a VPS is most times MUCH slower than a shared environment (unless on a crappy host's overcrowded server). If you don't want to invest into a dedicated, you best remain on a reseller account and/or set up a second one at a different company for more independence.

Go dedicated... its the best move you can make... then you have full control... if you need someone to help you with server issues google is your best friend... and im sure theres people here who would be willing to help as well. You can also find tons of deals here. Try doing a host quote and get an idea of what you could get... I dont think you will be dissapointed.

I found a deal that I thought was great for a VPS - but it turned out to be a huge scam. I think I'll leave deals alone for now :( You can search for FNetwork's easter special if interested.

I believe I would continue to use reseller accounts for a while if I were you.

You don't seem ready to make any sacrifices yet (lose part of the profit to get a good dedicated server that will last you for a while). Luckily, at some point, a dedicated server will be a better choice even from an economical point of view. :)

I ended up going with VPS from resellerpeak.com because their service is excellent. I am also keeping my reseller account (also with them). I haven't experienced any slowdowns whatsoever there and have begun setting up new reseller accounts there. I will continue to watch pings, server stats, etc of course. I really appreciate all of your advice :) I think this was the most economical / practical solution for me. I'm keeping the reseller account for now because I want to learn more about the new control that I have before subjecting my clients to my inexperience. I have thus far put one reseller there (she was actually waiting for me to re-instate my previous offer) so I'm just taking things slowly as I learn.

Originally posted by chayton6
. . . Anyhoo - where should I go next? I don't mind using outsourced support (I don't currently offer 24/7 support to my clients either). I also don't mind outsourced admin etc. Or, maybe the question is, SHOULD I go? When do you know when it's time to move from reseller to whatever comes next?
Well, you have the revenue to move to the next level, which is your own server etc. You have $600/mth now in revenue, and if you took the jump to your own server, you'd use most of that, when you consider sysadmin/server costs etc.

So you might be running profitably now, but for your business to truly move forward, you'll need to move to your own ded server. Then 18mths down the track you realise you have 27 servers, and doors open everywhere. :)