Is it really profitable to run a webhosting company? How much do you earn monthly? What are the main things you should do in the first step to attract customers?

It is definetly profitable. Aim to build a good brand with loyal customers who will recommend you to their friends or online community. Don't bother too much with what your competition are doing, there is no guarantee they will be there long. Don't expect much at the start and aim for a slow, steady and managable growth. So idealy you would want to keep a steady job on the side or go to Uni in the meantime. Webhosting is not an overnight success....

Anything can be profitable, but the trick is doing something different than what is already out there. If you are sitting at your desk right now thinking about buying a reseller account, grabbing a template monster template, ordering up a basic copy of _insert billing software here_ and going to start selling webhosting than I really think you should give it some more thought. I won't disclose actual figures as it's just not in my nature, what I will give you instead is some "food for thought".

I tried this analogy a while back and it really didn't work too well, most likely because I carried the post on way too long, so I will try and give you the "lite" version here. Have you ever taken a look and/or used the current razors they have today? They are far from your "basic bic" razor.

Bic Razor: https://www140.boca01-verio.com/buyitb/ws1/Images/stob1000c.jpg
Gillette Mach 3: http://www.pharmacy2u.co.uk/assets/product_images/detail/GilletteM3PowerRazor.jpg
Shhick Intuition: http://store1.yimg.com/I/buyinprivate_1884_30167428

Now when you take a look at those three you can see they're quite a bit different, and I can tell you from experience that the Mach 3's blades cost about as much as a pack of 20 bic razors around here. The fact of the matter is I still purchase the mach 3 for my own shaving and I have even upgraded to the model that vibrates. The reason for this is simple, it shaves better because it was designed to work on me (a male). My girlfriend has a schick intution that she swears by (she used to use a bic razor all the time).

This may seem a bit off the wall, but it is quite comparable to hosting. The moral of the story with the razors is simple: Niche Marketing

Bic has a razor that is made to work with everybody, and does an ok job at it. The other two razors are designed for the different sexes and do a better job for who they are designed for. The same rules must be used in hosting if you plan to make a profit.

I can not stress enough how important it is for you to target a niche and go after it. Understand that having a niche market that you are targeting does not mean you would not sell your services to any other person, it simply means that you are going after that specific market and would be more than happy to have anybody else that wants to jump on board do so. Every web hosting client I have spoken to has fit in a niche some way/some how.

As my post is starting to run long (as normal) I am going to cut it short and answer your question with another question that you should be asking yourself very seriously before getting into the world of hosting:

Who is my target market and what am I doing to make myself the best choice for their hosting needs?

P.S. Small Business Owners is not a good target market. 18-25 year old single males who love anime, the color blue, dogs, speak more than two languages, and have at least 5 piercings would be a good target market ;)

It is profitable but what all the new host (youngins) do not understand is that it takes time to build a brand and a reputation. You can not just jump in the industry with a reseller plan and think by offering everything the big host offer (even though you can't support yyour offer) is going to make you as big as them. You need to find your own nitch and be patient and that is what happensl. With me, I have very few customers as of now and since I have been soo careful about expenses I am still profitable. Not much, but for me breaking even from the start is a good start!

Like everyone has said, it is profitable. It's just a matter of doing it better than everyone else (in all aspects - marketing, price, quality etc.)

If you can do it and willing to dedicate a lot of your time for just pennies at the beginning, then go ahead. The best part is not getting profit, it's when you start spending it...:)

Yes, it is profitable. Will it be profitable off the bat? No. If you are expecting to come in to the industry and within the first few months have a solid client base, then you have misread the industry in general. It takes time, patience, and the will to continue even when everything seems to fail.

There are around 1,000,000 domains that are registered daily, and some of these are used for websites and require hosting. As cscertified had said, you need to find a popular niche market and stick with that. As you build a reputation and develope and understanding of how to run a profitable hosting business, you can then look to expand your business.

Definitely have to pick your own little part of the world to sell to. I was dumb at first. Started 3.5 years ago and my market was the world. I got customers from all around the world, about 5 of them the first year, then I started concentrating on advertising in Canada and got about 30 customers in the next year. I focused even more and learned the hard way that the smaller your market is, the better it works because you can make adjustments to focus on the needs of that market.

A marketing course could have saved me 2 years of self-training. ;)

Okay, everyone has spoken enough about niches, so I'll move onto the other 5 basic things that you must have.

1. Enough Time
2. Enough Money
3. A Passion For WebHosting (to stick to the business even when the going gets tough)
4. An Innovative Mind
5. Enough talent to make it work

If you have the above 5, you have a 99.9% chance of getting success.

Coming to the earnings, it varies from host to host. Budget hosts earn $50 off 25 customers and quality hosts earn $50 off one customer. :) So it depends on what kind of services you offer, what kind of pricing you have, who are your targetted customers, how well you market your services etc.

The very best advice I can give you is not to ask your competition for advice...trust me ;)

The very best advice I can give you is not to ask your competition for advice...trust me ;)

lol, what makes you think that.

Lavanya.

lol, what makes you think that.

Lavanya.

Experience...

Well, not everyone is bad. Infact people here at WHT are quite helpful.

Well, not everyone is bad. Infact people here at WHT are quite helpful.

I didn't say they are bad or unwilling to help... But I don`t know....some people are willing to help but don`t have a glue. Others know how to do it but won`t tell you. Others give advice that may work for them but doesn`t work for you. Then there are many people who simply give you the typical "stay out of my territory" advice.
I've read a lot of wrong advice on WHT. People always say: "Go local, stay small, don`t do budget and stay away from my piece of the cake". Well then why is that the opposite of what all the large and successful companies do ? I am not going to start an argument about it because it would only end in a flame war like it always does (10 guys would jump on me to defend the "stay away from me" concept ;)). I am just stating my opinion because you asked. I am not trying to insult anyone or to say they are bad people or unwilling to help and I know that you can get good advice on some issues but everyone has to find out what works for them...If you want it done right you have to do it yourself.

Wow, all the posts here were really helpful, even glace's post :)

Everyone here said his philosophy, I liked that!

-------------------------------------

Kattouf :

"Don't bother too much with what your competition are doing, there is no guarantee they will be there long"

"Don't expect much at the start and aim for a slow, steady and managable growth"

*******************

justadollarhostin :

"Anything can be profitable, but the trick is doing something different than what is already out there"

"Niche Marketing"

To answer your question, I would say: First of all, how can I decide who is my target? What if my target is not intrested at all in web-hosting industry and having websites on the internet?

*******************

cscertified :

"Not much, but for me breaking even from the start is a good start!"

*******************

stealthdevil :

"If you can do it and willing to dedicate a lot of your time for just pennies at the beginning, then go ahead"

*******************

goodydomains :

"and the will to continue even when everything seems to fail."

*******************

Premier :

"the smaller your market is, the better it works"

*******************

Pie Zine :

"A Passion For WebHosting"

*******************

glace :

"The very best advice I can give you is not to ask your competition for advice"



Thank you all!

You need money to start with. You need to offer a quality service. You need to treat every customer like they are your only - treat them well, be respectful, pop a joke here and there.
Having a good name takes time - be patient.

Budget + time = ???