I've got a job as an IT Manager, so I dont really need extra money, but I've always wanted to do something that I can be proud of. So I registered for a reseller account and started to plan what I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that this is going to be hard work.

I have a website to build, but not just a website, a good website, easy to navigate, with lots of FAQ's and help sections.
I have to incorporate support into the site, not only that, but I want additional support for business customers. Normal customers only get 9-5 weekday support, but business customers will get support where I am sent a text message automatically by the website if someone reports a problem out of hours. I want to build this myself, so it'll take time.
I need to work out some prices, and what each package will include.
I need to create email scripts to send to clients when they register/report faults.
I need to work out my target market.
I need to work out how many customers MAX I will limit myself to before I need to uprade to VPS and dedicated server.
I need to work out targets, how much I plan to be turning over by a certain stage, how many customers I aim to have.
I need to work out where my clients are going to come from, and why they are going to chose me.

These are not in any order by the way.

Anyone else have anything I should be adding to my list? I've already got enough clients to cover the cost of my reseller account, so I'm in no hurry to bang a website on the internet, I have time to do this properly.

Will you be able to support your clients all by yourself? What will happen when you go on vacation?

You should have a qualified support tech's number on file in case you need them suddenly, that will save you time searching for a capable tech later.

- Tomer

Good point, that'll need to go in my plan for the future too.

I will be doing the majority of support myself for the time being, until it gets too much, I then I need to work out how much is too much, and plan for that day coming.

I have internet access all day everyday at work, so general support is not a problem, and I'll be relying on text messages outside normal ours to notify me so I can get to a computer quickly.

I've worked in technical support before, and also on 1st line support, so I know what sort of procedures are needed to help reduce the amount of support required in the first instance. If there is enough support information on my website, it should filter out all the basic stuff as the client will be able to use it for their basic queries and help themselves. Of course this will apply mostly to home accounts rather than business accounts as they'll be paying extra and will probably expect the additional support, which is correct as thats why they will be paying more.

Greetings:

Does a business plan (which, at least in theory, should have been done prior to paying anything) fit into the picture?

Thank you.

Yes a business plan was in the picture, but I needed the reseller account whether I was going to try and start up or not, but I was waiting for someone to mention that.

Hi littlened,

Since you will create your own website, maybe you should do some reaserch about how to built and optimize your site to be search engine friendly. From my experience I can tell this is an issue that sould be considered from the begining, so it would save you lots of work in the future ;) .
Also you would want to have:

- a billing system
- domain registration capabilities (Reseller account, Integrated API, WHOIS)
- payment methods (Paypal, 2CO,Worldpay,etc).


Greettings!

jandres4,

Yeh I'll be building the website optimised for search engines. As part of my day job, I've built and look after the company website, its ranks 3rd on our main keyword, and we're a travel agent so you can imagine how tight the market it.

I'm not saying its going to be easy getting good positions on the search engines, but its all about your target market and choosing the correct key phrases. Things like "cheap hosting", well, as you can imagine, it would be near on impossible to get any good position with that keyword. I'll target my audience in my keywords. With all the support/FAQ my site will have, it'll only help towards its positions on the search engines because engines like google love content thats relevant to the sites keywords.

Theres a billing package built into cpanel, but because its free I'm not sure if it will do the job that well. Once I've got my plan together, I can upgrade my account with my host to include billing software.

I've already got paypal setup as I've used it on lots of other occassions.

Thanks for the suggestions thought, I've put them on my list of things to include on my plan.

Hi littlened,

Originally posted by littlened
Theres a billing package built into cpanel, but because its free I'm not sure if it will do the job that well.
I believe you're talking about PhpCOIN right? I think it'll do the job, at least at the beginning.
Also you would like to try e-bills, it is an acceptable opensource script http://sourceforge.net/projects/ebills/

Greettings, and good luck!

thanks for the billing suggestion, I'll take a look now

You need to make sure you plan ahead for taxes, accounting fees, legal fees, bank fees, etc.

Don't overlook the non-hosting aspects of running a hosting business.

--Tina

Originally posted by AH-Tina
Don't overlook the non-hosting aspects of running a hosting business.
That is a very good advice Tina, to overlook those aspects, and let them out of your business projections, could take you out of business even before getting started.
No doubt this should be on your list lttlened...

Greettings!

Yes, running a hosting business next to your job is a lot of work. I did that for a while. Verify that you have technical access to support your clients. Many companies block ports on their firewall to go out. Imagine you need to access WHM and can't because port 2086 is closed. There are ways around it but you need to know them. Your employer could also monitor your web usage. Would you be risking your job by supporting clients from work?

Christoph

Originally posted by TheFish
Yes, running a hosting business next to your job is a lot of work. I did that for a while. Verify that you have technical access to support your clients. Many companies block ports on their firewall to go out. Imagine you need to access WHM and can't because port 2086 is closed. There are ways around it but you need to know them. Your employer could also monitor your web usage. Would you be risking your job by supporting clients from work?

Christoph

I'm the IT manager, I monitor internet useage, I look after the company router etc etc, so I doubt there will be a problem. but a good point worth considering for other people though.

Well make sure you get everything ready before "opening the doors". If you do everything right, backed up with a business plan, you *should* be fine. :)

Good luck!

- Tomer

Originally posted by littlened
I'm the IT manager, I monitor internet useage, I look after the company router etc etc, so I doubt there will be a problem. but a good point worth considering for other people though.

I'd be twice as careful then. If you get audited or apply different rules to you and your users you will sooner or later ask for trouble.

Christoph

Don't forget about the legal stuff. Mistakes in this field can ruin your life. Therefore the legal stuff is priority #1 IMO.

Originally posted by AH-Tina
You need to make sure you plan ahead for taxes, accounting fees, legal fees, bank fees, etc.

Don't overlook the non-hosting aspects of running a hosting business.
Yep, good advise from a veteren hosting war horse. :)

edit - fixed spelling typo. :blush:

Originally posted by littlened
. . . So I registered for a reseller account and started to plan what I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it. The more I think about it, the more I realise that this is going to be hard work . . .
Yep, there's a lot to do. I think of it like a big jigsaw puzzle, where you have to piece it all together. For me, the second time around, it was a lot of fun, and an enjoyable process. There was no pressure, and plenty of $$$ to get exactly what I wanted. I had it all laid out on the office whiteboard and there was circles everywhere, that made up the picture that is the business.

Of course the process is neverending, as the picture is constantly growing and it's alive. So you become the gardener maintaining the tree. Trim some branches here, add some water there, while it's growing. It starts life as the tiny seed, then sprouts forth out from the moist and fertile soil, then on its way to becoming a great tree, where birds gather in the branches, shade is provided underneath, and fruit is gathered for your family. It's all good. :cool:

Many things should be taken into consideration before starting a hosting company, this is true for any type of businesses, not just the Webhosting market. If you thought this was going to be easy then you're in for a ride ;)

Best wishes

This is nothing, wait till you get into the operations side of things and you find yourself working from 12am-5am on a server crash or something, that's when you know you're in for the ride :)

Originally posted by littlened
If there is enough support information on my website, it should filter out all the basic stuff as the client will be able to use it for their basic queries and help themselves.

Don't under-estimate the laziness of clients. You may be suprised at how many will submit tickets as their first line of support, rather than bothering to read your support information.

Responding by pointing to the information you already have out there is tricky - some customers are happy to be directed to the info, others will be offended and expect you to spell it all out for them.

Just another thing to keep in mind ;)