I am thinking of getting into the hosting biz...i have all the details sorted out...and understand the process. I have encouragement coming from some senior people i have talked to, but the only problem is time, i am currently a student, so i have college 5 days a week, plus i am starting a cisco certification course on the weekends, plus there is house work to take care of like leaving my sister to school and getting groceries and **** like that, and on top of that there is college assessments and things like that.

and hosting business requires some time for sure...i mean making sure the processing is smooth, taking care of business in other words...

i dont need any advice whether i should proceed or not cuz i think i am pretty capable of deciding myself, as that is a personal decision. but what i do need to know is some of the experts here who have been in this situation before and what their experience was...

thanks

I'm in the exact situation my friend.

Even down to the CISCO qualification (Have my final in 3 weeks :D)

It's good fun and if you run your business right it can all fit into place. The money is poor to start with but I am sure it will pickup.

I am still new too.

I would advise on this:


Dont set your prices too low. If you are good people will signup
Never take on a customer you can't handle, If you have doubts about any decisions don't! We recently did this with win2k hosting and currently I say to potential clients that it is still in testing and they can have a free account for a period and if its good they can pay.
Act professional and treat customers properly


If you are looking for the 'right' customers my advice would be to direct your advertising towards web developers and the like professionals. They imo are more giving and don't seem to get mad for simple problems.

Most important if you want an easy life- ensure the servers are not good, they are outstanding! That will make your life easier with support.

The important thing is to make sure that you can do it. It is horrible when people go out of biz because of this. Try searching around the board you will find things that automate your hosting such as the following tools:

http://phpmanager.com
http://perldesk.com
http://modernbill.com
http://siteseed.com (NOT FOR THE NEW COMPANY but it is cool)

With thousands of new hosting businesses starting every day, just remember to save about $1000 for some advertising.

Good luck.

Hi there, I am in a slightly similar position, i am in the last yr of 6th form with exams coming up.......i think as long as you are committed you will manage, i can check my mail at college and reply at break or in free periods etc.
I have got mainly customers who do not need a lot of support and therefore it seems to go smoothly.
One point to note is: dont be disheartened or quit because of one problem customer they happen to all of us
LOL

You have no idea how important advertising is. I would say that $1000 a month will put you on the boards. Just make sure you get a good rep.

Despite wanting to start a biz of some kind, i think techar wants to start out as a reseller for a host and begin the learning process from the other side of hosting.

All these factors that have been mentioned are important, but the bottom line is that starting out whether as a reseller or leasing a server wont be cheap in any event, when the seen and hidden costs are accounted for.

If you want any further advice techar, i'll see you on wednesday ok.

Cheers

Support is very important. You'll need someone to handle support for you while you're at school.

Yes my plan is to start slow and low...i am not in this business to be rich or lose money...i want to start out, learn the process...atleast get money for what i have spent...based on this experience i wish to in the future after my studies...invest in a very healthy server...I will prolly get someone to do the technical side...and sit there and reap rewards...concentrate on promotions and marketing more...and the tech person will handle the suppprt...thats the plan...but plans change...so i dont plan ahead of myself...but those are my objectives...u cant get rich by reselling...and have to work very hard to make good profits even if you have all ur equipment...so i will do this for a while and mayb keep the business for a side income kinda thing...

if i start a business...it will be small but i will want to offer a range of services...one of them being hosting...and with adequate initial investment...but selling hosting online...is prolly the best service to sell....so i want to try this for a while next year...then decide where i take my business...

Bets thing you can do is write a business plan out of your ideas and each time you get another thought regarding your plans, add it to a supplemental list of inclusions within your plan proposal.

Your plan may change over time a little or a lot but at the same time, those ideas are there in one place to view instead of being in your head.....

Bets thing you can do is write a business plan out of your ideas and each time you get another thought regarding your plans, add it to a supplemental list of inclusions within your plan proposal.


This is true. I still jot down my thoughts.