We're coming up towards the end of our first month.

And i'm wondering how much success a company should be having during that first month?

How many clients is the normal?

I know this isnt the most helpful of answers, but it is truthful.....
It all depends on how much marketing you are doing / how good your packages are etc etc If you are not marketing you will nto get many customers

$0 adv. 0 customers.

what were your sales figures for the first month, typhoon ?
how many clients, $$ profit ??

:D

I think this is the part I say.. How about no... :D

I want to judge us by others expectations before I say anything :)

not many people in here will tell you there number of clients they have:)!

Not asking for their first months customer numbers.

Just a range like 1-5, 1-10, 10-20 etc

If I dont' bad remember, I think that we got 15-20 customers in the first month, but I'm not sure now.

ill tell you , i have 9 customers , ive been doing this for about a month and 2 weeks . I havent put much time into it , or even effort , let alone money on advertising . When doing this , i never thought to myself that i wanted to be a huge hosting company , or that i would quit my day job to persue a role in this business . I just setup a business plan and follow it . Make sure you know what you want out of your business , and where you see your business in 2 months , 1 year , etc . After i got everything setup , My first plan was to make sure my business covered its own costs . If you can do this , figure you're on the right track . I prefer not to give out my business plan , because its personal , and i think everyone needs to make there own . Anyways , it doesnt matter , even if you had one customer , thats better then none , and figure someone besides yourself was interested in what you could offer . After calculating my hours and the cost of my hosting etc. I came out on top 37 dollars , not to bad for about 2 hours of my time this month . I know this figure probably sounds weak , but i dont depend on this for a living . Shoot i spend more time bickering on this forum then i do with my own business . Anyways , good luck typhoon on your business venture

case

Yes, you need a bussines plan, I lost money in the first 3 month, then I covered to cost, but I had to get a new server after 5 month, so, I started to lost money again :)
Luckily that circle has finished.:D

First time I did it,
Once customer the first month on an annual plan was it.
Even with good marketing, there are factors at work that make quality traffic difficult if you are offering services that everyone else does. I have an odd business model. I offer app design with hosting as a sideline. I found that I get more high end users more consistantly that way. I'm reselling hosting right now, and doing a lot better than I would have as a host without "value added services.

First month you should of secured around 40 customers +...

If not your doing something wrong or you have not advertised enough.

Kind regards

Originally posted by Choppy
First month you should of secured around 40 customers +...

If not your doing something wrong or you have not advertised enough.

Kind regards

Wow impressive. :) I started out reselling then moved onto my own servers. The first 6 months were pretty slow.

Still looking for that great advertising idea you must have, care to share. :)

Zach

Originally posted by Choppy
First month you should of secured around 40 customers +...

If not your doing something wrong or you have not advertised enough.

Kind regards :eek: :confused:

I don't agree with the advertisment part. It is important to advertise, but it's not enough. What will make your customers happy and word of mouth start is your good service during the first months, and then to maintain this service later.

I am not sure being a web host has to be profitable before 3-6 months. If you build a good customer base in the first months, you will inevitably get more, because they recommend you to other potential customers.

Originally posted by Choppy
First month you should of secured around 40 customers +...

If not your doing something wrong or you have not advertised enough.

Kind regards

In the first month, you should grow at an appropriate rate, a rate that you are happy with. I don't think a hard limit should be defined, everyone will have different objectives in their business plan.

If you sign up too many customers, as was the case with a certain host on this board a few months back - they found they couldn't cope with the influx so abrupty went out of business. Check back in the special offers forum if you wonder which host I mean...

Matt

Originally posted by Wismie
What will make your customers happy and word of mouth start is your good service during the first months, and then to maintain this service later.


Well said. Word of mouth is the biggest asset a decent host can have

when i first started out i went for local businesses, i think i picked up around 12-15 customers in my first month all from my local area, it did take me about three months to start making any money, though.

like someone previously said, adding lots of customers quickly is not advised, if you prove yourself to be reliable and solid in the hosting stakes, further custom should always follow through recommendations etc. :)

rick

What a great idea.
Must try that.