I am interested in starting my own web hosting company. I was told that i could get authorize.net for cheap if i incorporated my business, which would be a LLC. from the looks of the google searches i have done it looks like LLC costs a good chunk of money, at least over the internet. i am on a very limited budget. i'm obviously going to have to start with a reseller plan. the most important things to me are, managed and stable, [essential functions->]cpanel/fantastico & WHM auto pilot package together. and the right amount of space and bandwidth to justify the potential of profit. i see some of my greatest struggles as low income potential web host as 1) advertising. 2) prioritization 3) finding out what my cheapest and best options are seeing as my budget is low. I assume i have to register my company at the courthouse. i assume i can't claim it LLC right then and there. Then i would have to get my reseller permit. then i'd have to find out how cheap authorize.net truely is for corporations. i know that i want my web presence to be seamless and automated from domain registration and integration with the whmautopilot checkout process including domain and setup with personal monitoring to screen for fraud. creating a selling point web presence is another issue for instance how much should one spend on an entire site development incorporating the tools that i need. i had spoken to a hostgator.com sales rep and he seemed very nice and they are having a sale with all the 3 essential functions i am looking for minus authorize.net though to me 7GB does not seem like alot of space to start off with granted i wont use it up all at once and i'm locked into the special price or the deal ends. This is obviously going to be a long time investment that will hopefully produce some money but if its going to cost me $99 just to LLC my company in Texas so i can get a cheaper authorize.net thats just uhm -- expensive. i am low income. i'm desperate. the only other thing i would like is something like php live for live interaction for things like sales and such but for free and equally good. i've checked out fantastico before and i wasn't too impressed with the 2 that i saw. i also dont know what the optimal free open source trouble ticket system for me would be. i assume WHMauto doesn't include that. i'd be willing to spend a small bit of money on a helpdesk that was as good as it was worth. oh and another thing. i need a domain registrar that does not provide hosting that will seamlessly integrate with whmautopilot for a one stop for all things solution --- and i dont care if i dont make a profit from the domain names. i simply dont want to spend $100 every 10 domain names and not profit from it. especially not profit much.

this is a bunch of information to digest and discuss so if anyone is willing to help a needy soul get on his feet again please be so kind as to offer your best advice.

thank you

Wow, please use some line breakes next time.

Here is my advice from one poor fool to the next:

1.) If you want to llc right away for a cheaper authorize.net account, then that fine. But you should take into account, that there are plenty of payment processors out there that do not require you to llc, that charge ~$10/mo + discount rate and transaction fee.

2.) Goes with numbor 1, Paypal is an excellent way to start out, you no longer have to register to pay through paypal, so everybody can use it.

3.) Advertsing is harder on a small budget, but no undoable. Forums which generally allow free advertising are good. You just have to get creative, if you can come up with a gimick that grabs peoples attention, then you would do well for yourself.

4.) Hostgator is great, but a little on the pricy side. Don't get me wrong, I would use them, but you should also research some other companies, and see if you can get good service for a little cheaper(don't look for real cheap).

5.) Live chat, you can try out crafty syntax, while still rough around the edges, its a nice free live chat. I tried helpcenterlive.com's before also, but I did not like that so much.

6.) You should be able to find a free or inexpensive helpdesk.



Good luck in your ventures, and remember when you fall down, to get right back up.

-Craig

thank you Craig.

may i ask what payment processors only charge $10 a month that work seamlessly with whmautopilot ?

paypal is good just so long as they can use credit cards without signing up.

i dont believe i am allowed to ask for a different host with what i am looking for as far as the 3 essentials by the forum rules.

i will consider craftysyntax for a live help chat. though i am open to other suggestions.

thanks bunches !

i called paypal and found out that while you dont have to register to make the first credit card payment you do have to register with them for subsequent payments or they are forced to use another credit card in order to fight fraud.

Not sure about all states, but to get my business to become a LLC the cost was around $40.00. Not expensive at all, and paper work to fill out was located on my states web page.

I also went to the irs.gov website and received a EIN as well

hi

Well, i took Mr. Craig's advice and went ahead and requested a reseller ID from the city of Austin. It's nuts there. They are aggressive. They pretty much inhibit me from doing business because they insist i break the law to prove i'm doing business (no permit until i show receipts -- i have none ! -- thats against the law !) It's because i've setup business before but was not able to get up and running due to uncontrollable issues and they think i'm up to no good, i had to explain exactly why i made no sales, and i had to tell them how can they expect me to do business without a texas sales ID if i could not sign up with a payment processor for one. Everytime i have dealt with the city of Austin i get really mean non-understanding people. They finally realized the circumstances of my situation and said they'd send me an application and it would be approved. It's just very frustrating to have to explain yourself when you have every legal right to *TRY*. Plus they wanted me to break the law as a show of proof. idiots abound even in our government.

anyway, for payment processor i will use paypal as one of my options. i'm interested in other payment processors that integrate with WHMAUTOPILOT. I do intend on screening my sales. it will at least help automate repetive tasks like setting up accounts.. etc.

i'm using Ubuntu as a primary operating system and will need to learn how to use openoffice spreadsheet to keep track of my sales and backup frequently. i dont know if openoffice's spreadsheet is anything like microsoft excels, if it is, i'm in luck, because then my father can help me. i was able to register my hosting domain name as well. i'm quite pleased and will most likely stay up reading on the boards. Going to call my bank to setup a business account now in between writing this message researching.

I do ask that anyone that has read my posts at the top of this thread regarding recommendations and suggestions to please help an aspiring yet poor web host get somewhere in time.

thank you all.

Why did you try and get a reseller ID from your city? That doesn't make an issue for online "reselling" of hosting - You also don't need a sales tax ID or EIN, either - You can simply signup for a payment processor with just your SSN.

I highly suggest rethinking your business plans - I don't understand why so many people try starting webhosting companies with very limited knowledge, limited budget, and wanting to cut costs at every corner.

I received an EIN because my bank US Bank told me I needed one to open a business account. So I got one, may I ask why you feel you do not need one?

Originally posted by Joshua
Why did you try and get a reseller ID from your city? That doesn't make an issue for online "reselling" of hosting - You also don't need a sales tax ID or EIN, either - You can simply signup for a payment processor with just your SSN.

I highly suggest rethinking your business plans - I don't understand why so many people try starting webhosting companies with very limited knowledge, limited budget, and wanting to cut costs at every corner.

thats rather obvious. in case i do business in the state of texas i would have to charge taxes on it.

I hope you have a business plan. It will help guide you to how you will run your business.

Originally posted by Joshua
Why did you try and get a reseller ID from your city? That doesn't make an issue for online "reselling" of hosting - You also don't need a sales tax ID or EIN, either - You can simply signup for a payment processor with just your SSN.

I highly suggest rethinking your business plans - I don't understand why so many people try starting webhosting companies with very limited knowledge, limited budget, and wanting to cut costs at every corner.

I guess I just dont understand your comment. The way I see it we both know what we are doing, maybe you should rethink what you think you know?

Originally posted by horacio
i called paypal and found out that while you dont have to register to make the first credit card payment you do have to register with them for subsequent payments or they are forced to use another credit card in order to fight fraud.

Yup. A cheap way to have recurring billing using a CC is 2checkout.com

They charge 49 dollar one time setup fee, then only 5.5% per transaction.

The per transaction % is higher than normal (almost double) but you dont have to wait to be approved into merchant status and such. 2checkout integrates into modernbill. later on, you should think about getting authorize or some other merchant.

Also @ what Joshua is saying: I sorta agree that you may be underestimating how much money it takes to start a business. I dont mean to be discouraging to you, just trying to give you a real perspective. - Maybe you have enough to start, maybe not - I dont know.

Either way, best of luck - if you need any help, us wht'ers are here! ;)

Originally posted by VolkNet
They charge 49 dollar one time setup fee, then only 5.5% per transaction.

Yikes. "Only" 5.5%. I would highly recommend using a real merchant solution, where you'll be paying 2-3%. Sure, you'll need to apply, but it shouldn't take more than a couple weeks.

I would also check with your local bank. I know US bank around me has good prices.

Originally posted by bqinternet
Yikes. "Only" 5.5%. I would highly recommend using a real merchant solution, where you'll be paying 2-3%. Sure, you'll need to apply, but it shouldn't take more than a couple weeks.


I think it's the best idea at first because it has no monthly fee. Whereas a merchant has a minimum amount per month (25) and a monthly charge (20-25). So 50 dollars per month to start could be a waste if you're not making a lot of signups.

:) 5.5% is very high yes - however it's nice that you can pay only when you make a sale - which would be best for those who are on a tight budget. :)

i'm not going into business. i figure with the massive expenditure of money it will take and the daily routine and being bound to the computer all day and without the capital to advertise that i'd be much better off getting a job where i'm insured minimum wage. after all i'd be lucky to get one sign up per hour anyway. think of splitting a server, the cost of authorize.net, or even 2checkout.com, building a custom web presence that doesn't look like every other site out there -- its just not suited for me. spending alot of money on something that i could get equal benefit elsewhere for doing some repetitive task. granted, thats why i wanted to do hosting, because i'm disabled. so it looks like all the luck is against me in trying to pay off my debts and have a little extra something every month.


thank you all for the replies. hopefully they benefited other people.


as far as i'm concerned i'm out of the forums.

thanks people and happy hosting.

i hope something will work out for you. good luck