Hi everyone

This is my first post. I am really happy to join this community. I am an active member at the DPforums and hope I will be able to help here too.
But for this time, I will need your help !

Some friends and myself are planning on starting a webhosting business. We have been doing some serious researching and thinking on the subject.

I just want to make sur we didn't forget anything. Here are the skills we think are necessary for a serious hosting provider, can you think of anything else ?

- sales
- marketing & advertising
- billing management
- supplier relationship management (server or resseller provider)
- website development
- website maintainance
- server maintainance
- server administration
- server setup
- customer support

Please feel free to make any comments.

You pretty much covered it, those are the basic things needed to get your business off the ground.

You joined a great forum, and here you can find lots of tips and strategies for getting your business booming. Good Luck!

You joined a great forum, and here you can find lots of tips and strategies for getting your business booming. Good Luck!
Have no doubt about that.
Thanks for taking the time to reply !

Yeah, thats pretty much it. I guess you could count receptionists as well, but most probably won't get that far.

Nice list too.

Yeah you got most i can think of, one u could put as a reccommened knowledge base is a really good communications and protocol plans in place, hope it helps

xxen

check out the running a webhost tutorials section within this section. There is a lot of great info in there and many times will help you think of things you may have overlooked.

You covered it all.
You also need plenty of time and patience.

Welcome to WHT!

I think you covered, but remember, there is no point in having those departments if they don't do there job. I have heard of companies having the support department, but never actually providing support or taking 2 days to reply to a ticket.

These days its about the support, not just the hosting quality. Good Luck!

Well, thank you all for your input.
Happy and disapointed I got everything!!!

Now SUPPORT, everybody talks about support as being "highly important", "the most important"... but I personnally haven't contacted my host's support more than 3 times in 2 years! Am I an alien?

Now SUPPORT, everybody talks about support as being "highly important", "the most important"... but I personnally haven't contacted my host's support more than 3 times in 2 years! Am I an alien?

Some customers may be less advanced than yourself and may need help with scripts, setting things up, etc. You need to decide what you are going to support and how.

Also, some people would just rather ask someone than read a knowledgebase or other information that your company may provide. I can tell you from personal experience, quality support has been key. Also, the better hosting you provide, the less support tickets you will likely encounter.

Then it is almost impossible to do rational pricing as some customers would use more support than they pay for and others will pay higher fees for things they don't need. Is there a way to have customers pay for support separately depending on there needs. Should I get rid of those customers asking too many questions and wasting my time.

You missed Accountancy. :)

No I don't think so, I have some very strong background in finance. What do you mean?

I think he meant including accountancy in your list. That is partly covered by billing management, but then you also have to take the cost of operations (server and DC fees, etc.) into consideration, which is a different matter entirely. You should manage, though, if you've got a financial background. ^^

As for the support issue, some hosts provide free support equal to X amount of tickets per month, charging an additional fee for additional support tickets. That can work, though I personally feel that putting a limit on support can be off-putting to some prospective clients. Still, a system like that can be useful in warding off those people who use tech support for anything and everything — and thereby wasting everyone's time. :)

Now SUPPORT, everybody talks about support as being "highly important", "the most important"... but I personnally haven't contacted my host's support more than 3 times in 2 years! Am I an alien?

When I started a hosting company many, many moons ago, support was the thing that made me stop. At the time I could provide the top support that customers should have... You would be surprised at the kinds of questions people can come up with... sometimes even difficult questions that you really have to think about for a second.

With my host I normally contact them every now and again... like before using a new program, I will ask them what they think. Sometimes they say it is ok, or sometimes they suggest something better.

But for the most part, people want their sites to be up... that is the most important thing! If the sites are not up, they want information for how long you might be down... some ways of communication are key... like having another support site that customers can visit that is away from your current site (in another DC).

I think he meant including accountancy in your list.
Ah ok, thought that was the answer to my support related question.
As for the support issue, some hosts provide free support equal to X amount of tickets per month, charging an additional fee for additional support tickets. That can work, though I personally feel that putting a limit on support can be off-putting to some prospective clients. Still, a system like that can be useful in warding off those people who use tech support for anything and everything — and thereby wasting everyone's time.
Exactly what I was thinking, putting a limit without stating it. There shouldn't be one, but some people are really annoying.
But for the most part, people want their sites to be up... that is the most important thing! If the sites are not up, they want information for how long you might be down... some ways of communication are key... like having another support site that customers can visit that is away from your current site (in another DC).
I do agree, and yes, support tickets when a server is down are normal.

Exactly what I was thinking, putting a limit without stating it. There shouldn't be one, but some people are really annoying.

Actually, I'd state the ticket limit up front if I were you. People can really be a pain if they bump up against a restriction that they weren't informed about, and they'd in the right, too, especially if they're buying services from you. Unstated terms can open you up to legal dispute, and that's a whole other can of worms you don't want opened. Not unless you're a big, amoral, corporate entity that doesn't mind steamrolling over its clients. ^^

Yes absolutely, could have chosen my words better. It is because I want to make things clear for my customers that I am considering different alternatives, deceiving customers is not a good idea for a serious business.
I am thinking of offering "basic support" and "premium support" for customers to choose from. Basic would have sth like max 5 tickets a months while premium would have no limits and a shorter response time. Do you think this is something realistic?
The fact is, I don't mind giving any kind of support as long as people pay for it!

I personally try to stay away from companies that do not treat me like a premium customer. Having to pay extra quality support when it comes to hosting is a bad thing IMHO.

Yes absolutely, could have chosen my words better. It is because I want to make things clear for my customers that I am considering different alternatives, deceiving customers is not a good idea for a serious business.
I am thinking of offering "basic support" and "premium support" for customers to choose from. Basic would have sth like max 5 tickets a months while premium would have no limits and a shorter response time. Do you think this is something realistic?
The fact is, I don't mind giving any kind of support as long as people pay for it!

Sounds like a nightmare on your end and their end... you would have to keep track of this... what do you do if a customer puts in 6 tickets, but they are legit tickets? Not answer them? lol... right...

Most customers will forget they are basic customers, then simply dump your service when you bring up they can only have five tickets. My guess is when customers are new they ask the most questions... and goes down.

I don't think it is a good idea.

That's why I say it is a real problem, need to come up with a briliant solution or just hope I won't attract painful customers.

You will attract painful customers, get over it.

Make sure you write a good business plan, if anything to help keep your goals in check. Along the way of writing my business plan I developed many new marketing ideas, branding, advertising, etc. It's hard to keep track of all your goals and ambitions once you start to gain more business. Review your business plan once a month and that should help out in the long run.

Other then that, make sure you have proper accounting set in place for sales & record keeping purposes.

Think always about backup solutions... What happens if a datacenter closes or is getting purchased like Alabanza by Navisite (make a search on this forum about Navisite)...

You must always be one step forward... A bit like "nostradamus", always anticipate...

Good lucka and welcome... That s a wonderful business...

You will attract painful customers, get over it.
You mean if I segment my support in basic and premium?
Well Yes, a business plan and a strategy are a must. I also think that listening to the market, my community, the news and stuff like that are part of the business.

You will attract painful customers, get over it.

Price your plans so that you're not attracting the bottomfeeders, and that won't be so much of a concern. It's the hosts that are competing on price that get the most needy customers.

As far as support, I think limiting customers to a certain number of tickets is a horrible idea. Just have a clearly defined list of what you support (server is down, email stopped working, etc.). If a customer asks for help in an area that you don't support, just politely explain to them again what you do support. Some customers will cost you more to support than you're bringing in, but if you're running the company properly, you won't hear much from the other customers, so it's the average that is important.

Price your plans so that you're not attracting the bottomfeeders, and that won't be so much of a concern. It's the hosts that are competing on price that get the most needy customers.

Absolutely agree. You just need to provide value through technical expertise and good customer interaction (sales, support...) to justify the princing which is quite hard when you are new to the field. I guess we will run into trouble a few times before we master all aspects of our business. Do you have an idea how this period should be handled?
As far as support, I think limiting customers to a certain number of tickets is a horrible idea.
OK, I won't go that way as you all agree on that.
Just have a clearly defined list of what you support (server is down, email stopped working, etc.). If a customer asks for help in an area that you don't support, just politely explain to them again what you do support.
And probably prepare some ready made answers so you don't have to write the same emails again and again. Tutorials and a FAQ about the most common customer concerns is also an idea I will try and apply.
Some customers will cost you more to support than you're bringing in, but if you're running the company properly, you won't hear much from the other customers, so it's the average that is important.
This is likely to happen, what worries me is my ability to quickly build a customer base so that I get "normal averages". Because if you have 5 customers and 2 needy ones, you are in a 40% ratio which will loose you money. But this approach seems the only realistic one even though it is a bit risky, but I guess I will have to find a way to get rid of "bad customers" too.

How about skills in leading an organization and a business unit. I think the hiring skills is also very important. Hiring the best people that you can afford for the job makes all the differences.

You have to admit, it's almost too rare to find all those skills and attributes in one person or two. Chances are, you need to hire additional key people.

Knowing how to write a good business plan is a good addition to the skill set mentioned here. Getting a loan from the bank is not a bad thing especially when you need it, and having a well written business plan makes it easier for the load to get approved.

Yes, good points vn_darwin, a bit of Human Ressources Managmenet and Leadership are also necessary (let's say management).

I think you have covered more than you need to like website development and website maintenance. You will need that if you intend to start a web design company.

In fact if you really want to start you don't need to know any of those stuff, most of the stuff is just intuitive like Billing, Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Custoemr Relations, etc. And moreover Server setup, maintenance, and administration is usually handled by the Data Center. Technical support too.

You just need to be a good business man. You need business skills more than anything.

I meant developing and maintaining OUR website and also being able to help our customers with such things.
But you'r right, most of the tasks can be outsourced. However from a business point of view, we will loose margin or spend money on every task we don't do ourselves.
The fact is, we don't want to supply business for others. The more integrated we are, the better our margin will be.
Plus, we have most of the necessary skills at a lower price here so it wouldn't be wise to pay services the US price while we can get an equivalent (or even better) quality at a far lower cost.

I meant developing and maintaining OUR website and also being able to help our customers with such things.
But you'r right, most of the tasks can be outsourced. However from a business point of view, we will loose margin or spend money on every task we don't do ourselves.
The fact is, we don't want to supply business for others. The more integrated we are, the better our margin will be.
Plus, we have most of the necessary skills at a lower price here so it wouldn't be wise to pay services the US price while we can get an equivalent (or even better) quality at a far lower cost.

See I'm the opposite way. I outsource any and all design/coding and even a certain percent of my support staff is outsourced (level 1). Outsourcing can be a good thing, especially when you have smaller startup capital than average. That's what I did, and will continue to do, at least for a while. My clients are perfectly happy with the service and support they get, and honestly, if I tried to learn and do everything myself, it would all turn out half-assed. But again, my way may not be the best for you.

One needs to calculate the time is money equivalence here. :/ Though we tend to do everything ourselves, but yes I still haven't finished up my new site.

You need general business skills. You can outsource anything that you can't do or don't want to do. One of the most important business rules is to free up as much time as possible.

Great SEO skills is most important factor, I think.

Great SEO skills is most important factor, I think.
No SEO skills can help your website show up in google's serps. You need an 8 year old domain with a PR6 or 7 to stand a chance! Trust me, SEO is not the way to go when it comes to webhosting and I mean "broad" webhosting because niche markets are possible.

Experience will teach you more skills then you could ever possibly list :)