Well after (thoroughly enjoying) reading the threads on "teen hosting" I ask you this.

How would I go about it?

I am a teen myself and this hosting business really interests me!

How much money would I need to get me going?

Where do I start?

Any tips?

Cheers,

Tim

P.S. this is not specific to teen hosters, I need as much help as I can get.

Are you able to dedicated yourself all day to your business?

Originally posted by Blackman
Well after (thoroughly enjoying) reading the threads on "teen hosting" I ask you this.
How would I go about it?
I am a teen myself and this hosting business really interests me!
How much money would I need to get me going?
Where do I start?
Any tips?


Find some place to host. I would suggest you start with reselling. MCHost, SplashHost, and Voxtreme are all good. Then you will need to find some way to bill customers, like 2checkout or Revecom. You'll need a name, website, logo and domain. Finally buy advertising, get customers, respond to requests here at WHT, and post special offers here. I've probably left something out.

As for money, you'd probably need about $30/month for the host. For 2checkout/revecom, there's a $50 setup fee, but no monthly fees. You'll need about $10/year for the domain, and if you can't make a good website, anywhere from $50-200 to buy a template off this board. For advertising, if you just stick around here, you'll probably eventually get customers, but it'll be faster if you advertise elsewhere. You'll need a lot for this, ask around and find places where people have had good experiences.

You'll need to support your customers. Since you are a teen, I assume you have school and maybe a job. Customers don't want to wait for a response. My advice to another teen host was, if you really want to do this, check for and answer support questions before school, during school (if possible - at lunch perhaps?), first thing when you get home, and before you go to bed. Of course, if you have other opportunities, check then. Fast response times are always good. Even this often may not be enough. Customers don't want to wait two days for a response to their question. And if something's not working, you'll have to fix it.

Even though you're a reseller, you'll still need to know something about hosting. Your host will answer questions for you, but you're the first in line to answer your customers questions. It's much faster if you know the answer, instead of having to wait for your host to tell you.

But do you REALLY want to do this? You'll need to commit your time to answering sales and support questions, and getting everything you need up and running. You'll need to commit money to this. You can't do it for free. For more on this, go here (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35392). That might also help with some of your other questions.

And check your PM box for the IPKAVB Guide to being a teen host.

Are you able to dedicated yourself all day to your business?


Yes. I spend most of my time updated and adding content to my website, obviously it would have to go if I do decide to take this up.


You'll need to support your customers. Since you are a teen, I assume you have school and maybe a job. Customers don't want to wait for a response. My advice to another teen host was, if you really want to do this, check for and answer support questions before school, during school (if possible - at lunch perhaps?), first thing when you get home, and before you go to bed. Of course, if you have other opportunities, check then. Fast response times are always good. Even this often may not be enough. Customers don't want to wait two days for a response to their question. And if something's not working, you'll have to fix it.


This is a very important issue, how much power do I have with reseller accounts?

How long, on average would it take for me to break even, I would go right out my way to get customers. I would like to know this, not because for the money (though its nice to have it) but I need to keep my business going which means I would need to be earning.

I am just finishing my GCSEs (UK exams) so I'll be starting this in the summers hols most likely.

Thank you very much for the feedback,

Tim Blackman

It very much depends on what you are doing next september - At the moment I am managing to juggle AS / A level's and a part time job at a bank but I manage to fit it in. Although I have people to share the workload with and were only a small reseller!

I currently run it all off an MCHost reseller package and a 2checkout account ;) works a treat!

acidHL,

You have made me really interested in this idea by saying that.

I know a few people who would be willing to help me out on this.

Thanks again for everyone's help and I still am interested in people's opinions.

Tim

Originally posted by Blackman
This is a very important issue, how much power do I have with reseller accounts?

If your host uses CPanel/WHM (very common), you can access the cpanel of every resold account, to view/change MySQL databases, view their files, edit their email accounts, etc. If you can do it with your control panel, you can do it with theirs. You can view your client's bandwidth usage, suspend their accounts, terminate their accounts, up/downgrade their accounts, do DNS stuff. You have a lot of power, although not as much as the server adminstrator.

Originally posted by Blackman
Any tips?


No. Customers do not generally tip you.

If you need to ask this then i dont think its for you, but thats just my opinion.

>You'll need to support your customers. Since you are a teen, I assume you have school and maybe a job.

Actually, don't bother about support. If you lose one customer, there always be another fool who will sign up to your service. It seems that 90% of all hosters are teenagers like you, who don't know anything about webhosting. ;)

Customer.

Originally posted by qqqwww
>You'll need to support your customers. Since you are a teen, I assume you have school and maybe a job.

Actually, don't bother about support. If you lose one customer, there always be another fool who will sign up to your service. It seems that 90% of all hosters are teenagers like you, who don't know anything about webhosting. ;)

Customer.

My GOD I hope you're not serious. That ;) better apply to the whole host.

Originally posted by qqqwww
Actually, don't bother about support. If you lose one customer, there always be another fool who will sign up to your service. It seems that 90% of all hosters are teenagers like you, who don't know anything about webhosting. ;)

One unsatisfied will scream louder than 1000 satisfied customers.

Blackman,

When I was fifteen, I sat down in my kitchen with a family friend, who was a lawyer, and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of starting a company. At the time, I was vaguely aware that I would be making a large time commitment, but I had no idea what was involved.

To give you a brief summary: not all teenagers are cut out to be entrepreneurs. You have to be responsible, honest, extremely persistent, intelligent, flexible, hard-working, and energetic. Spend at least a few minutes thinking about whether or not you possess all of these qualities; how you would react to an angry customer, or an incompetent department of taxation.

You can win customers and press just based on the fact that you are a teenager with a business, but you should always strive to project as professional of an image as possible. When I was doing consulting jobs on a regular basis, I invested in denim shirts embroidered with my logo, along with professional business cards--not the laser printer ones that you can buy at CompUSA. Small details like this are very important. They also require some funding. I managed to start out at a local bank with a "free business checking plan" with $3,397.00.

So, if you're really serious about it, I would recommend finding a small amount of capital (maybe from your friends or family), incorporating to protect yourself, opening a corporate bank account, and as far as web hosting goes, signing up as a reseller for an existing company. You can always expand to your own server later. Just don't make the mistake that many entrepreneurs of all ages do by being unrealistic. Contrary to popular belief, the sky is not the limit.

Good luck! Feel free to e-mail me at info@thinkcomputer.com with any questions.

Kiwi wrote:

>One unsatisfied will scream louder than 1000 satisfied customers.

Fortunately enough, I am very satisfied with my current hosters. (Fortunately enough, they are not teenagers).:D :D :D

My advice to you if you really want into the hosting business is to be prepared to work LONG hours and be attached to your email INBOX!!!

If you want to get ahead in this industry, make sure that you don't do what a lot of other hosts do and take advantage of your customers. If you read some of the posts around here, you will see a lot of dissapointed customers and because of places like this, they can take them out on the public and that just puts a bad name on your company.

This is a fast paced and exciting business to be in, just remember that you will need to commit as much time as possible to this and be prepared to stay up late helping customers.

Originally posted by qqqwww
Fortunately enough, I am very satisfied with my current hosters. (Fortunately enough, they are not teenagers).:D :D :D [/B]

What you may not realize is that some of the biggest companies on the net are run by teenagers (e.g. webhosting.com) and they have lots of loyal customers.

I think it is the perception that people like you create that people will not host with "young run companies" that scares a lot of good talent off. I realize that some teenagers are not responsible enough to run a business but don't put anyone down for giving it a try.

There are more people under the age of 25 that know what hosting is than people over that age.

If you need to ask this then i dont think its for you, but thats just my opinion.


If you can back that up then I will believe you. Someone has to start somewhere, why not start off young.

As for support, although contarary to qqqwww suggestion I am going to provide the best customer support I can offer, even if that means cutting my social life, sleep and money. I will also be aquiring support from friends.

I realise that many of you believe that this maybe an unwise move in the hosting business I still would like to have a bash.

Special thanks to:
hostnut
thinkcomp
appletreats

You have supplied me with valuable information.

Best Regards,

Tim

As for support, although contarary to qqqwww suggestion I am going to provide the best customer support I can offer, even if that means cutting my social life, sleep and money. I will also be aquiring support from friends.

If you are going to take this approach to your business, you will do just fine........

All the best to you, you obviously have the right attitude and that is 50% of the puzzle in this business.......

PM me if you need any help or have questions.

- HostNutt

I wish you best of luck in your endeavors.

I do not feel like racking my brain for more tips for you right now, I think there has been enough posted so far to give you a bit to think about.

There are a lot of other things you need to know however.
I would be more than happy to chat with you via email or AIM. I also have ICQ, MSN and yahoo IM if needed.

I would be more than happy to help you get your business off the ground, share my past experiences and research with you, and offer you whatever I can. I may even want to partner with you to help you out even more. Send me an email, PM or grab one of my IM contacts from my profile and lets talk.

Originally posted by HostNutt


What you may not realize is that some of the biggest companies on the net are run by teenagers (e.g. webhosting.com) and they have lots of loyal customers.

I think it is the perception that people like you create that people will not host with "young run companies" that scares a lot of good talent off. I realize that some teenagers are not responsible enough to run a business but don't put anyone down for giving it a try.

There are more people under the age of 25 that know what hosting is than people over that age.

ummm, just asking, but isnt webhosting.com run by sbc ameritech?

yup...http://www.webhosting.com/pages/aboutus_flash.shtml

One thing that I think is an oversight by most teenage hosters is, a couple years down the road, do you really wanna be involved with hosting. I mean, as I go off to college and do other things, I'm going to have to deal with possibly selling my business, scaling it back, or selling my managing share. Although some people enjoy it, I definititely don't want my primary income to be based on hosting, but to each his own.

Hi MadSkilage,

You mentioned you wouldn't want your primary income dependent on hosting.

Would you (or anyone else feeling the same way) share why? What's the downside of doing it longterm?


Thanks!

Louis

About the going off to college or wherever....

There are always ways to keep the business going... Find somebody that can take over the work you do. Hire a manager, or pass the business onto a friend. This way you will be able to keep a bit of money coming in, and you will have very little or no work to do. The downside would be finding somebody you can trust that can do a good job....

Originally posted by stlouislouis
Hi MadSkilage,

You mentioned you wouldn't want your primary income dependent on hosting.

Would you (or anyone else feeling the same way) share why? What's the downside of doing it longterm?


Thanks!

Louis

Right now, I'm happy with the amount of money that I'm making for the amount of work that I'm putting in. In order to move to a level that would profitable enough for my liking, the amount of time needed to be expended would grow exponentially.

Hosting requires constant attention, and in my opinion, too much worry/work for too little return. Course thats just my opinion, so don't let it discourage anyone. I know that many are many hosting companies that are very successful, but I just don't think its what I want to do for the rest of my life (or even the beginning of my professional career).

Maybe I'll become an astronaut instead ;)

Maybe I'll become an astronaut instead


You wouldn't have guessed but thats what I would like to be.

First I'd become a military aircraft pilot and hopefully move on to NASA.

I can only dream.... :(

For those wondering about running a business in college, it is not impossible. I'm running my business while also attending classes at Harvard--which doesn't support entrepreneurship at all--and it's doing just fine. Of course, you also have to develop a solid infrastructure for your business if want it to be self-sufficient.

After coming to college, I realized that my business is what allowed me to remain sane during high school, so I definitely wouldn't stop working on it now.

You seem to have contradicted yourself in that post.

Originally posted by Blackman
You seem to have contradicted yourself in that post.

You lost me... where is the contradiction?

Don't forget that this isn't just a plan to make money, it's a business. You'll need to start keeping accurate ledgers and paying taxes. If you're going to be a sole proprietor, I'm not even sure what the laws are regarding minors, but you'll be paying 15% self employment tax, and probably around 24% federal tax, plus 6% for state tax (average?). That means 45% of your profit will be paid out in taxes. How fun. And as a teen, you probably won't be able to claim any dependants, since your parents are claiming you.

If you incorporate, then you only have those taxes on money that is paid to you. The money that you reinvest in the company will be at a much lower rate.

You'll probably want to buy books on running your own business, get all the free pamphlets from the state and federal government about taxes for small businesses, and hire an accountant.

The providing of the web hosting is the fun part.

Originally posted by bitserve
If you incorporate, then you only have those taxes on money that is paid to you. The money that you reinvest in the company will be at a much lower rate.


That depends on the way you are taxed and the entity that you form. If you form an LLC and you are taxed as a partnership, you are taxed on your share of the profits regardless of whether or not you reinvest them in the company. To bad they don't teach you that kind of stuff in school :(

I don't know how much you know, but PLEASE don't start a web hosting business if you know nothing about how to run a server. I see too many people starting web hosting companies that rely only on control panels and don't even know what telnet is. While you may be able to survive without knowing anything about Linux as a reseller, I still don't recommend it.

Originally posted by ToastyX
I don't know how much you know, but PLEASE don't start a web hosting business if you know nothing about how to run a server. I see too many people starting web hosting companies that rely only on control panels and don't even know what telnet is. While you may be able to survive without knowing anything about Linux as a reseller, I still don't recommend it.

But having people like that is what makes hosting so interesting ;)

webhosting.com was started by a guy that was I think 20 at the time when he bought the domain name. If you have a subscription to the now defuct Web Hosting Magazine, he was featured in one of last years issues.

I will dig through them to find which one, but if I remember correctly, he dropped out of college to start the company against his parents will and SBC bought 50% of the company a while back from him for $50 million or so. Think about it, he still owns 50% of the company and has enough money to live happily for the rest of his life......

Don't hold me to that, but I believe that is correct......

Heres what it looked like in 97

http://web.archive.org/web/19970415232731/http://webhosting.com/

if i were u (im only 17) i would just become a standard reseller (I resell thru www.hostnexus.com), the way i have it setup...i dont need to outlay any cash, i just buy the package and a reallt discounted price when the customer wants it, then ad my markup and sell it to them.

:D

Originally posted by MadSkilage
That depends on the way you are taxed and the entity that you form. If you form an LLC and you are taxed as a partnership, you are taxed on your share of the profits regardless of whether or not you reinvest them in the company. To bad they don't teach you that kind of stuff in school :(

When I say incorporate, I mean form a corporation. I am not referring to an LLC or an s-corporation. I was also referring to the US tax laws, if that makes a difference for you.

For those wondering about running a business in college, it is not impossible

Sorry I miss read that. :( :D

Originally posted by bitserve

When I say incorporate, I mean form a corporation. I am not referring to an LLC or an s-corporation. I was also referring to the US tax laws, if that makes a difference for you.

Didn't mean to pick a bone w/ you because you are absolutely right. I just wanted a place to insert one of the many grievances I have w/ the IRS ;)

Originally posted by MadSkilage


Didn't mean to pick a bone w/ you because you are absolutely right. I just wanted a place to insert one of the many grievances I have w/ the IRS ;)

lol... good 'ol tax man!

I am lucky, I don't make enough money to pay taxes yet, lol.
I guess it would be nicer if I did though... mind you they take so much away... Balancing money seems much more economical...

Hi there, I am currently finishing my A2's (A levels) iI have 2 reseller accounts with different companies and i use worldpay for billing.

You have to realise that it IS hard work , you need to be comitted to it and you need to be there to support your customers.

Another important point is .... dont forget marketing costs, keep enough money for advertising your customers wont just appear from nowhere .

Godd luck :-)

If your parents own an unincorporated business, do "consulting" or "web page building" for them. Then charge them $200/hour.

I believe that as a minor, the first $4550 you make is not taxed. (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/biz/soho/20020227a.asp?keyword=) (look under income splitting).

Your parents get a $4550 deduction, and you get $4550 tax free.

But since that is business income, don't you have to pay self-employment taxes on it?

Why would you (the child) pay the self employment tax? You are employed by your parents.

If you are the parent, you do not have to withhold any payroll taxes, or income taxes:

If you hire your children, you are relieved from withholding income taxes and paying payroll taxes, including Social Security, until the child turns 18. Also, you need not pay federal unemployment taxes until the child turns 21. If

There's all sorts of useful stuff in that article

Regards,

Gotcha (missed the link the first time around).

Now if only my parents had a business....(although I highly doubt they would fork out 4k even if they did :( )

This years standard deduction is $4,700. So as as a minor you can get up to $4,700 tax free.

Another trick is to put an extra $3,000 into a child's Roth IRA account:

The child will pay only 15% when the money goes into the Roth IRA account, and NOTHING when it's withdrawn.

If you put it in a regular IRA account, you don't pay any tax immediately, BUT, when you withdraw the money, (even with capital gains) it's taxed as income :( .

So if you put $1000 now, in 10 years when your kid is all grown up, and has to withdraw the money for a house, he's hit with a 35%-39.6% tax on an investment that probably increased 3 fold.

Paying more taxes on more money is not fun.

Even if the money is withdrawn for college, he'll probably be in the lowest tax bracket, it'll be a 15% tax on a greater sum of money than what you started with.

15% on $4500 (50% increase) vs 15% on $3000

Those are the two main circumstances in which you can withdraw money from any IRA penalty-free, and from a ROTH IRA tax-free: higher education and first-time house.

Regards,

Originally posted by Kiwi
Are you able to dedicated yourself all day to your business?

What were your intentions with this post?

You certainly don't think that every single one of your clients, or even half, devote all their day to their business--do you?

I bought my first business when I was 16, unlucky for me it had to be closed when I was 20, this cost me about $750,000, two strokes and a couple of nervous breakdowns and an alchohol problem, I still get ex customers wanting to come back to me 16 years later, why? because I worked with them to the best I could. Age is not a barrier only your own mental and phsical abilities, if you give it your best shot and tell people the truth they will normally work with you and not against you. GO FOR IT AND GOOD LUCK.

Regards

cynic

I bought my first business when I was 16, unlucky for me it had to be closed when I was 20, this cost me about $750,000

Nasty...geez that inspires confidence, just proves that u shouldnt over commit yourself too much;)

Fun question here ...

I work at home while watching tv and writing reviews for shows and continue my "education" in learning more about Linux. I know a fair amount to get my butt out of a situation when needed. If there's a question that I cannot answer, I will take it up with a friend who knows it.

I'm not just going to sit there dumb when a question is posed by a customer. I will go out there and try to learn a fair amount of it.

I graduated last year with two BS degrees (non-related to computers) and haven't been able to find work. Having this web business is the only way I can be making any money for myself to spend.

I guess I could be one of these "Teen Hosters", but I do have a business plan. Myrmid has been around for over 1 year and has a good following. 100 hosted sites, 2 big ones (yep, I'm the guy who does 8-Bit Theater), and I'm starting an rant/entertainment portal next month (once I get postnuke to work and get the time to write out HTML).

You just need to be really motivated. Have enough free time to devote and THINK AHEAD. I don't stress this enough. Try to predict your problems before they happen. Ask people around you how they are running their business and take that into account.

I host a lot of teenagers. That's probably because that's where I advertise. You may look into advertising for a certain age group.

I don't know what else to say. Hope this helps. You can always PM/IM or email me if you want

jt

Aaron Greenspan (thinkcomp),

I just wanted to say something regarding your comment on suggesting that he should become incorporated. This is what I have learned on this issue. If it is just him, he doesn't have any employees, then it wouldn't do him any good, as if he was to be sued, then they can just come after his personal belongings anyways, as it is just him. Now, if he did have employees, then they can only sue the "corporation" and not including his personally belongings.

Curtis

Originally posted by Curtis Stevens
If it is just him, he doesn't have any employees, then it wouldn't do him any good, as if he was to be sued, then they can just come after his personal belongings anyways, as it is just him. Now, if he did have employees, then they can only sue the "corporation" and not including his personally belongings.

Curtis

That's the main reason many individuals incorporate, to give themselves legal protection. If you don't mess things up (do something to void your corporate status), the company is a separtate entity and lawsuits usually can't touch you.

Originally posted by Blackman
even if that means cutting my social life, sleep and money. I will also be aquiring support from friends.

Believe me, you wont have a social life :D Been a host, got the tshirt ;)

Originally posted by Nicholas Brown


Believe me, you wont have a social life :D Been a host, got the tshirt ;)

yup it was me that drank the beer,
check yer pms tim.
this business sucks up your time , as much as your prepared to give. and the amount u give will reflect in your business. if its not learning, then its putting it in practice, dealing with customers or teaching new staff.

Curtis,

Although other posts have already addressed the issue of incorporation, I will attempt (in vain, I am sure) to set the record straight. Regardless of its number of employees, a corporation is a separate legal entity from its owner. Minors in the United States, defined as persons under the age of 18, cannot be statutory agents (legally responsible parties), and therefore their parents or guardians are held responsible for their actions. It was in my best interest to incorporate Think Computer when I began doing a substantial amount of work for other companies. I don't see why a web hosting company should be any different, especially given that the hosting industry is prone to dispute, as evidenced by messages on this bulletin board.