I run a small hosting company and I also have a full time job. It is getting to the point where the hosting company is taking to much time away from my job and my family. It currently can't support my "way of life" so quitting my full time job is not something I can do at this point.

I currently have a guy who handles the boxes but he is getting to the point where he is not available as much as he is needed. I have a guy who has been helping me out here and there fo0r the last year (moreso the in the last month) and really seems to know what he is doing but he is not a "seasoned" linux administrator.

He has approached me with an offer but I am not sure how to handle this. He would like to offer full time support services (all tickets, all server admin duties, etc.) for a small portion of the company. I asked him how much of the company and he left that portion to me. I am very interested in doing this but I am not sure what a "fair" portion of the company would be for his services.

What are your opinions on this?

It depends on what you're willing to give up. Remember, if the company gets bigger, he gets to share in the growth of the company. On the other hand, if he remains an "employee", he would not reap the benefits of business growth in any other form except for if you gave him a raise.

If you're willing to go into being a business partner with him, take time in working out the details. I personally think that any decision to go into a partnership, or distribute any percentage of ownership should not be taken lightly, as they have as much say in the company as you do.

On the other hand, I personally don't see either how things would change for him to be around more if he was a part-owner with you.

You could also go with a rev-share without giving up any ownership stake. If you think the company can grow, but you don't have the time/ability to do it and you think he does, it might not be a bad move.

If he's not a seasoned admin, his value is diminished greatly. Keep him on as paid help. It will cost you less in the long run.

--Tina

I personally think that its not a good idea to give some sort of ownership in the business just for manging the support, But things can be sorted out easily if its a question of support for ex giving some sort of percentage etc.

You can always have a look at server management / support companies out there. It could work lower than having someone hired.

And no need to enter a partnership with someone you do not know.

Fowen,

I have got the same in the past, and i put him on the paycheck.
so you haven't quit your job, (however where is your passion)
and important work with a contract even if you choose to let him be a partner, describe the tasks and what if he go on a holiday, what if you getting a fight about things, what does it cost to end the partnership, who owns the customers, all kind of stuff.
create worst case scenario's so you have cover all kind of troubles for the future, even if you are the best friends for life now, you will see that someday you want to split up, how do you handle it then.

Good luck.

My advice is if you can't commit, you have two choices.

One, sell up and leave the hosting business behind..

Two, Give upto Half the business to this guy, on condition he meets the same ratio in costs.. If you don't do that he can run the company into the ground and you'll be left with a load of debt. If you trust him and give/pay half , you should be able to make a return with little effort.

Also make sure you do anything under a water tight contract that clearly states the duties/responsabilities of both parties.....

My advice is if you can't commit, you have two choices.

One, sell up and leave the hosting business behind..

Two, Give upto Half the business to this guy, on condition he meets the same ratio in costs.. If you don't do that he can run the company into the ground and you'll be left with a load of debt. If you trust him and give/pay half , you should be able to make a return with little effort.

Also make sure you do anything under a water tight contract that clearly states the duties/responsabilities of both parties.....

He has at least three choices. The third being, pay this guy a weekly salary to do his job. The third choice seems the most practical, since he won't be giving up any percentage of the ownership of his company.

--Tina

He has at least three choices. The third being, pay this guy a weekly salary to do his job. The third choice seems the most practical, since he won't be giving up any percentage of the ownership of his company.
--Tina
Yeah which is fine if he has the money to pay someone in the first place, I would imagine if he can't commit the time into hosting because it doesn't pay more then his full-time job, he likely isn't going want to give part of his salary to someone else...

He also had a guy doing stuff already which I assume he paid for services rendered, and has said he's pondered on the % option for the other guy, so one assumes that salery isn't his preferred option.

I run a small hosting company and I also have a full time job. It is getting to the point where the hosting company is taking to much time away from my job and my family. It currently can't support my "way of life" so quitting my full time job is not something I can do at this point.

I currently have a guy who handles the boxes but he is getting to the point where he is not available as much as he is needed. I have a guy who has been helping me out here and there fo0r the
What are your opinions on this?

You would be glad to know that Hostgator started in a similar way too. But when the business grew, he had to make a choice between job or business and thank fully he choose the business. Now you see where he is. By the way do you have a dedicated server? If yes, then I would say that you made a wrong choice there. Your company is very small and you should have started with Reseller Hosting and moved on to Dedicated when you had enough customers to support your day to day expenses and your server. Dedicated server could be expensive for some one starting off. And taking a partner is a very critical issue. You may think it is a good choice now but some years down the line you may regret the day you made such a decision.

You would be glad to know that Hostgator started in a similar way too. But when the business grew, he had to make a choice between job or business and thank fully he choose the business. Now you see where he is.

Which I consider the point.... The guy at HostGater chose to commit to the hosting and for him it paid off....

So as I said earlier if your not going to commit, you might as well get out of the hosting business and let others who are commited run hosting..

There are too many micky mouse outfits in hosting - because everyone thinks they can make a quick buck, money for nothing and the chicks for free.

Well sorry, you don't get anything unless you work for it...

he had to make a choice between job or businessWasn't it between school and business? In any case, Brent was very young back then, and could more easily afford decisions and consequences that people at a different age and with different responsibilities just can't take lightly.

Part of the reason I liked the idea of a "part owner" in the company is because then they have a vested interest on how the company does and it shows when they interact with clients. This is someone I have talked to and interacted with for the last year. Over that time he did a few small php scripts for me and it has just been the last few months I have had him help me out with the management of some of the boxes.

Thank you for all of your advise. I have decided to go ahead and offer him 5% of the company with a monthly agreement for his management/support services.

Which I consider the point.... The guy at HostGater chose to commit to the hosting and for him it paid off....

So as I said earlier if your not going to commit, you might as well get out of the hosting business and let others who are commited run hosting..

There are too many micky mouse outfits in hosting - because everyone thinks they can make a quick buck, money for nothing and the chicks for free.

Well sorry, you don't get anything unless you work for it...
I am assuming you think I have 20 clients and started in the hosting industry a year ago and I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I started over 5 years ago on a reseller plan hosting my own personal sites as well as a few friends and through word of mouth the operation now has 3 dedicated boxes and over 300 clients. Now I realize I am not a big player in the hosting market but I don't think I am anywhere near "Mickey Mouse". I also realize that running a hosting company takes work and instead of "slacking" and not properly supporting my clients I was looking for a way to keep the business going while providing better service to my clients.

Another issue I have is I also do consulting for small businesses. I have one employee/partial partner who works for my largest client in Arizona but the rest is handled by me directly. Between my job (the pay is to good, I can't pass it up), consulting, hosting and my Family I was spread a tad bit to thin which is why I was looking at bringing someone else on to help with the hosting.

It sounds like you're in a difficult position. Too big to be alone, too small to hire full time technical resources.

I think you want to take a chance and hire like you're going to expand, and I think 'fortune favours the bold'. Good luck.

But if you're going to do this, do it right. Hire a very technical person who does know this stuff inside and out.

Otherwise, budget for hiring such a person in the future, because a junior resource is only good 99% of the time. When that 1% comes up you may need to act fast to save your business.

It sounds like you're in a difficult position. Too big to be alone, too small to hire full time technical resources.

I think you want to take a chance and hire like you're going to expand, and I think 'fortune favours the bold'. Good luck.

But if you're going to do this, do it right. Hire a very technical person who does know this stuff inside and out.

Otherwise, budget for hiring such a person in the future, because a junior resource is only good 99% of the time. When that 1% comes up you may need to act fast to save your business.
Very good advise. I think right now I have the best of both worlds. I have decided to give the inexperienced tech a shot and I offered him a very small portion of the company. I also have the experienced admin that is still available if needed but his full time job (managing over 500 cpanel boxes) of course will always take presidence.

I am also talking to my accountant (who just recently quit her full time job and decided to go at it on her own) about possibly handling the billing/customer service problems (for a small monthly fee) since she already does the books for the company anyway.

I think these changes from a "one man shop" to a small dedicated three man team will help the company grow quite a bit. Hopefully down the road these changes will allow me to quit my full time job and focus just on the small business ventures I have started.

Thank you all for your advise!

I run a small hosting company and I also have a full time job. It is getting to the point where the hosting company is taking to much time away from my job and my family. It currently can't support my "way of life" so quitting my full time job is not something I can do at this point.

I currently have a guy who handles the boxes but he is getting to the point where he is not available as much as he is needed. I have a guy who has been helping me out here and there fo0r the last year (moreso the in the last month) and really seems to know what he is doing but he is not a "seasoned" linux administrator.

He has approached me with an offer but I am not sure how to handle this. He would like to offer full time support services (all tickets, all server admin duties, etc.) for a small portion of the company. I asked him how much of the company and he left that portion to me. I am very interested in doing this but I am not sure what a "fair" portion of the company would be for his services.

What are your opinions on this?

It all depends on how fast your company is growing. If you think that in few month your company will expand then giving 'this guy' a large share of your company will not be smart. It all depends and we cannot really answer this question for you, you have to really think whether you are willing to divide your company with a partner.

Equity is cheap now but in the long run that is where you make your money.
Give him a nice salary and bonus. You have a full time job to support yourself so redirecting income to your admin is not going to crush you financially and the admin will be happy with good pay.
This not only allows you to retain control but also puts you in a better position as the equity you hold accrues value.

I think giving him a pay hike was a good idea cause that is what every employee is looking for when he start troubling you for a work that he is doing. Btw its nice to see that you handle so many things at the same time. So all the best what ever you do.