Hi, I'm new in the forums... I plan to start a new web design/hosting company in my city, targeting local businesses mainly.

I would like some advice from people in the forums with some experience on this:

- How to start (so far I already registered the company and got a domain, I will most likely resell rather than buy equipment)

- Things to have in mind when dealing with customers

- Marketing tips

- Best ways to do transactions

- Pitfalls to avoid

- Anything else from your experience you think could be useful to a newbie in the business...

Thanks in advance!

Originally posted by plink
Hi, I'm new in the forums... I plan to start a new web design/hosting company in my city, targeting local businesses mainly.

I would like some advice from people in the forums with some experience on this:

- How to start (so far I already registered the company and got a domain, I will most likely resell rather than buy equipment)

- Things to have in mind when dealing with customers

- Marketing tips

- Best ways to do transactions

- Pitfalls to avoid

- Anything else from your experience you think could be useful to a newbie in the business...

Thanks in advance!

Do some searches on this same topic. They have alot of results and this is almost a daily topic.. I HIGHLY suggest reselling first as sometimes it can take a while to get things rolling.. Best of luck

Hey plink,
There is a lot of things to think about when you are starting your own business whether that business is a sole proprietorship or a corporation.

First of all if you are looking to do local work i would contact your Better Business Bureau and see if you could put on a presentation for some of the area's business community. I feel that this would be a really great opportunity to get your foot in the door with the local businesses.

Get yourself a CPA... you're going to need them. When you are starting a company your CPA is more important then the lawyer who sets up the company.

Write a business plan and stick with that plan. Carefully plan out balance sheets that cover from the worst case scenario (no customers) to a realistic scenario to the best case scenario. Use that business plan to go out and seek investors if more capital is required before you start. Personally before I start a business up I want to be able to cover the first six months of expenses as if I didn't have any customers for that entire time.

When you are dealing with customers always treat their business like it is your business. Take a genuine interest in the success of their company and it is hard to go wrong. You are trying to make loyal customers out of them, not satisfied customers. A satisfied customer will go anywhere if the price is right because they feel no attachment to your company. The key is to make a memorable experience for the customer everytime you deal with them. My personal suggestion is that once you do business with a customer check back with them regularly and see how their business is going. Ask them if there is anything that you can do to help their business run better, offer suggestions and insight. This is just one of millions of ways that you can build memorable experiences for your clients and turn them into loyal customers of your company.

As far as transactions go if you are going to be doing business strictly locally, you can get away with checks. When you do move to online payment though I suggest 2checkout.com

I can't stress the "creating a memorable experience" thing enough. That is truly what can make your business prosper.

I agree with Greg above. When marketing your business to prospects, you want them to realize that what they are really buying is you! You need to make them understand that web hosting is not a commodity type business and that the real advantage that you bring to the table is what you personally can do for their business.

Since you are marketing locally, I might suggest using photo business cards. Perhaps a picture of yourself overlayed on top of some powerful server. It's been proven that people have difficulty throwing away a photo of someone they have met. Photo business cards are not too expensive if you look on the web and on ebay.

Just be persisitent. Another marketing rule is that many people won't buy from you unless you've made contact three times on average. Some say that they want to get to know you... I think it's so that they can make sure that you're going to stay in business. ;)


Best of luck with your new venture,

Keith

You people are cool.
I have been quietly doing alot of reading up here.

In fact I learn alot from you people. Personally, I am newbie to these web exposure.

I am just learning and picking up things here. From what I have been reading, I realise that you people are cool and have the business mind.

One thing I find in common in all of you here (which is very good) is that, you all talk about After Sales Customer Service.

This point is the key to success surely.

I will be doing reselling too after my Military Training of 3 months. So currently I will just be reading up your posting and learn more from you people.

Thanks Alot for the Knowledge.

Regards,