im looking into starting my own webhosting biz

i have very little startup capital (£20-£40) and i would like to do this as a way to get extra money.

what do i need to do? (ie. setting up)
which resellers should i be looking at?


thanks for your help :)

Do your potential customers a favor (as well as yourself) and spend a month or two reading this forum first.

That's where I would suggest you start.

Hard to answer knowing nothing about you...what are your skills? what is your experience? are others going to be involved with your business? what do you do now? will you have school or job obligations in addition to your hosting?

Originally posted by pdhq64
i have very little startup capital (£20-£40) and i would like to do this as a way to get extra money.


Two problems.

1 - Don't expect to make a profit in the first month if you do everything the right way to start. Billing Software, Merchant Accounts, Bank Accounts, Business Name Registration etc etc.

2 - Don't treat webhosting as a way to get extra cash. Devote yourself to your clients, cash can come later. People depend on you to host their site.

lol, I wouldn't really call that "capital"...

Good point Mekhu-

Are you profficient in administering a server? What are your qualifications? This will let us know where/how to help you!

ok...
im good at webdesign
i run a server on my pc
im still at school
noone else is involved

:)

I don't think someone who knew all that who want to buy hosting from you...They might I maybe...don't think so though...

what do i need to do? (ie. setting up)
-----------------------------------------------
First you need to work out a business plan. Something along the lines that says when you will hire additional support, upgrade servers... and so on. Don't do it by time frame, but rather by the amount of customers. Don't work into your business plan that you will be making a profit after the first month... almost no one does. Now more onto setting up everything up;

1.) Get a reseller account from a reputable source. Don't go for the cheapest, but rather from a company who is willing to help you out. F5Hosting, Spashhost, and Matrix are companies who I have heard good things about. I'm using eMegaWeb.net, and haven't had any serious problems. I'd also recommend you look into them also.

2.) Second you need to look into a way of accepting credit cards through your website. PayPal.Com is a viable option for someone doing small stuff, however they have had a tendency to freeze people's accounts. I'd recommend you look into something like 2Checkout or authorize.net reseller.

That's all I can really clarely explain at the moment.

Originally posted by Myacen


1 - Don't expect to make a profit in the first month if you do everything the right way to start. Billing Software, Merchant Accounts, Bank Accounts, Business Name Registration etc etc.

2 - Don't treat webhosting as a way to get extra cash. Devote yourself to your clients, cash can come later. People depend on you to host their site.

I think this basically sums it up best. With that little bit of money you have, you will find it very hard to manage and grow as you get more clients. Starting a business is serious and will take a LOT of time, energy, and money to get it off the ground. Yes, you could start very simple. Just get a dedicated server and setup paypal or something and take clients.

Ok... but what happens after 50 clients? You don't have a database of your customers, your 3rd party merchant is taking too high of a % of sales, you are losing money... So now that you have this growth you need to buy additional software, get different bank accounts, buy more servers.. it would be like setting up your company a second time.

So like maycen said, I wouldn't think of it as a make some quick cash scheme, or something you can do for an hour or two a night after school I mean, yeah you technically CAN pull it off, but if you are hosting for people across the world and not just friends and family, people's businesses and wellbeing depend on you and your services.

If you really want to just make a small bit of income on the side, I would recomend just getting an affordable reseller account and offer your services to family and friends. But opening up to the whole internet brings in a whole new can of worms, and it isn't something you can just casually go about. So IMO, do a lot of reading here. Spend time researching, seeing what other hosting owners are doing. You will soon find it is a pretty serious deal, and may be more work than you barganed for.

Just my 2 cents. take it or leave it :)

I think even before this all, as already said... Write a Business Plan! know how Business works... Know how taxes work, etc. etc. etc. Get your Vision of your "company" clear...

Oke oke.. i understand that always company's are made to make profit... or at least earn back money or gain power... but i think that's not the face you wanna show to your customers!

2nd... search for a partner... which you can rely on... search for a board of advisors... (can be family and friends too) search for a coach...

this is all apart from the technical side of course... I don't know to much about that... :)

Business plans will keep you from straying away from your goal - write one - and write it well. Consult with your local SBA if you have any problems writing it (you've probably not written one before).

I know from experience that Webhosting takes ALOT of time and its hard to balance it with schooling - but it can be done, regardless if you make other sacrifices.

As for board of directors, etc, you don't need that just yet. Wait until you're pulling in some cash, (more than $1k per month profit), then search for a 'board'. You don't need one if your not public, btw.

I think before you start have a good read of this board. Read the junky stuff and then read the good stuff. Learn from others have gone thru and remember you will go through some tough times, like any business starting out. :)
Happy hosting!

And also - remember to target a niche :)

the best way to get extra money is to get a regular job

I would save up and study the industry - and then enter it after you've saved up and can support yourself for a while - with little income from the web hosting until it prospers...

Christ, not another kid with no experience jumping on the bandwagon.

No capital
No experience
No knowhow
No business sense
= no profit and some very pi$$ed off clients.