exactly what the title says. Im open for any suggestions... please help me...

It looks like you already started a host. Are you running the site listed in your profile?

no, thats who i work for. I am currently wanting to make my own...

If you work for them, you should already know the answer to your question.

factor in these when starting up your own hosting company.

-time
you can't work for someone else when you are trying to get a hosting company up running.

-unique idea?
how are you different from the other hosting company?

-support
do you have what it takes to support your clients day in and day out?

-market
do you have a market of customers that you are targeting? everyone is targeting the same customers.

-plan
don't be another cheap host. cheap host = overload server, offer big plans = scare away real businesses. cheap host die quickly than a real hosting company with good plans and supports. cheap host are tended for cheap customers, who are very demanding for support. you will lose money if you are too cheap and offer the same support to high paying customers.

you don't want people come here and complain about your sever being slow and etc. other people will simply said "you get what you paid."

what is the name of your web site ? have you started building
yet ? a preview maybe ...

You may want to bring this up with your employeer before doing as they could can you if you actually open a hosting company.

Best Way:
1. Expensive Reseller Plan
2. No business plan
3. PROFIT :)

Even Better Way:
1. Read all the tutorials in this forum and search through posts.
2. Make a business plan.
3. Choose a host based on research and user reviwes.
4. Start advertising and spreading word
5. Superior tech support and service.
6. Profit eventually after all this hard work.

How do I start my own web hosting company?

Take a look at your question. "How do I start my own web hosting company?". Not to be cruel but give my honest opinion, prior to giving you actual advice. Do not start a hosting company when you have no idea where to start.

Most people who start successful companies already have a detailed plan laid out either on paper, or in their mind and know what direction they want their business to lead. The only thing they really need help with is man power, legal issues (registering, trademarks, TOS agreements, etc) and possibly initial startup investments. I personally think you should re-evaluate your question and reword it to "What is web hosting?". Do some research, setup some test boxes at home and master trade, or find someone to hire full time to manage it. You should also speak with different third party vendors to find out what solution will best fit your business. (Payroll, Merchant Accounts, Billing Software, Support Software, Toll free #, web mail scripts, server management scripts, the whole package). Each are I mentioned has tons of different possibilities and it is your job as the owner of the company to find what will best suit your business and customers and what fits within the budget. IT IS A LOT OF WORK. Expect to be working 40-60 hours per week for the first 4-5 months, at least. There is a huge difference between working for a hosting company and answering tickets, and running the business completely.

Now that I got that out of my system I can move on to your actual question.

There are 3 major categories that you need to look at when deciding on what you want to do with your business. These three categories are: 1) What do you have now? 2) What do you need? 3) What will you need?

Let’s look at category 1 to start.

1) What do you have now?
Looking at the question you had I will assume you have nothing except a little bit of hosting experience, maybe some start up capital and a dream

2) What do you need?
A business name. Pick something that users will be able to identify with, something that is short and hits the sweet spot right on the money. Make sure that the name is not previously registered (check local city office for business registrations). Once you have chosen a name, purchase your domain name, register the business, open a business checking account at your local bank and design a logo. You also want to create your web site which brands your logo and helps establish your web presence (don’t use a template monster site). Next create your stationary. You also need to consider the fact that you may need some help running the business. You can place a job opening ad or if you know someone that meets the experience required hire them to assist in running the company. Which brings me to the next part... do you have enough funds. The way I've always looked at things is, I need at least 6 months funding up front.

So if we break down the funding (this is what I would do, I’m sure others have different equations).

Web Design - You can get a complete custom web design synched into your billing system with logos and great work from a freelance for about $1,000-$2,500 (of course this varies).

Front End/Back End Scripts - cpanel/helm/plesk (your choice), helpdesk support software, billing software, Knowledge base, Flash tutorials. I would estimate approximately $100 per month for this.

Server/Hardware - Depending on the specs of your box and the managed services included it could be anywhere from $49-$400/mo. If you are starting off right and want things to be redundant I would get two boxes and cluster them. So estimated costs $500/mo (for 2 dual xeon boxes)

Employees - If its just yourself, you need to make probably $1,800/mo min to support yourself. If you have another person helping you, you can expect to pay them about the same to. So we have a total of $3,600 in employee costs per month.

Registration - You will need to pay setup fees for business registration, credit card processors, phonebook submission, etc. Estimate $500 up front.

Advertising - You choose your poison. I'd go with a $200-400/mo budget.

ADD THEM UP. $4,100 for your first month operation. $3,100 per month per each month after that. (This is for just you working, with bare minimum web site setup fees.)

TOTAL FOR 6 MONTHS =$19,600
** Again this is only what I would do. I’m sure many people will argue with me against this. However, I like to know that my business will be around for at least 6 months, and is built correctly from the beginning and not being constantly changed putting stress on my users and staff.

Now you have everything setup and planned out you need to focus on where you want your business to be. Target specific niches in the market and calculate you expected new sign ups and focus on customer retention. Look at your sign up patterns and predict that what revenue you will have over the next quarter/year. You can then establish a budget for future upgrades and expansion.

Feel free to addon/remove any of my comments here. I know there are a lot of opinionated individuals on this forum :)

PS> Make sure you keep proper documentation of all your expenditures and earnings or you will be reamed by the IRS.

Firstly try to calculate how much money you must spend.
Secondly check your walet
Then look for potential customers, and way how to possess them.
Create good hosting website - dont exeggerate with Flash and scripts.
Minimalise your cost, and buy small reseller with overselling in stable Reseller Provider.

Hope you will success

Redcoat was on the right idea. If you don't know what you need to start a webhosting company, are you sure you're ready to run one?

My advice would be:

Don't stress yourself with trying to COMPETE with what's already offered in the market. Just design and create your own business model and follow along with it. If you know you provide excellent service and support that is all that matters. People will be drawn to you.
Start small, target people near you, friends, local businesses, and get some profit from there. This will also give you enaugh experience and knowledge to start growing.
Right now, I am only hosting 6 websites, I get a crappy income per month, but my customers are happy as hell. This is how I am starting and I am confident that my business will eventually grow.

I would also suggest picking a small, cheap VPS solution and not a reseller account to start. The only chance that you will get to learn how to properly admin a server operating system is when you are just starting. Once you reach 50-100 clients and you have to move them over to a real server, you won't be able to afford mistakes caused by lack of knowledge in administering your operating system. Of course you could pay an admin to do it for you, but if you will be the head of the business you must know how to do it yourself. This would also cut on monthly expenses.

There are plenty of Managed VPS solutions you can get for about the same amount of money that you would pay for a reseller account.

Try a good free reseller to start.

Originally posted by Redcoat
[B]Take a look at your question. "How do I start my own web hosting company?". Not to be cruel but give my honest opinion, prior to giving you actual advice. Do not start a hosting company when you have no idea where to start.



Well I actually started without much of an idea on where to start. I didn't even know about this forum when i started. But now, i think i know a lot by just jumping in blind.
Although i'm not giving any recommendations that you should as well, if you are motivated enough, you shouldn't have a problem. Just don't do it for the money. If that's your motivation, then you will fail...

Originally posted by wideman
Try a good free reseller to start.

A "good" free reseller to host payed customers? Not the best idea.

On a different note, I'd suggest starting with a reseller account first, and not a VPS, unless you are already familiar with how Linux and web hosting works. If not, then you should first learn WHM/cPanel on a reseller account and only then Linux (when you try a VPS).

Originally posted by Redcoat
Take a look at your question. "How do I start my own web hosting company?". Not to be cruel but give my honest opinion, prior to giving you actual advice. Do not start a hosting company when you have no idea where to start.

---SNIP----



What Redcoat said...plus if I could add my $.02, I learned a lot by looking at what some of the "real" businessmen were doing before diving in and trying to do it myself (I'm a techie by schooling).

One of the best places I found was by looking at some of the angel investor sites to see what they looked for in a company before investing. My thoughts were that if I could come up with a business that would meet or beat their requirements (in all honesty - lying to yourself will only be more painful), then I could be fairly confident my company would be successful -- as long as I didn't give up an kept at it.

I met with a couple angels and it was REALLY an eye-opener into the real world of business. One of the best groups nationwide is Tech Coast Angels. If you look around their website, they have a TON of info (including powerpoint presentations, etc.) on how to build a presentation that'll impress them. (Remember that if your business model can impress these guys, it'll probably work!)

Good luck!!! When you're a zillionare, post your story here! :)

1. get a reseller account within budget

2. find a hosts that includes turnkey websites in thier package

3. sell websites on ebay for next to nothing charge a decent price for hosting

Considering your question, I think the most important information to consider is:

>> Plan to take a loss for at least 6 months to 1 year

If you are still interested in this industry, then this forum is the best place to start. In today's world information = money, and this place is a literal diamond mine.

So don't just jump into this business, do a lot of research. Once you've had your fill, take the dive ... but remember, no amount of research can take the place of experience, so don't be suprised if your great, initial ideas, tank.

Good luck.

What is with people reviving these ancient posts lately?

What is with people reviving these ancient posts lately?
Yikes, need to look at the date a bit closer ;)

You want to make ONE MORE hosting Company !!!!!!

As the thread starter has probably found what he needed since he started this thread last September, this thread is now closed.

Lois