Just a quick question (mainly to those that sell webhosting as a full time job and have been in the business for a few years): Is business becomming more and more difficult for you, too ? I have been in this industry since 2004 and it sold very well in the first year. However, recently it has turned into a disaster. I don't know if it is because people buy blogs rather than web hosting or if some players like Godaddy are just too big or if I am just doing something wrong. My customers are satisfied with the service. I often get compliments on my service. So that can't be the problem.

I am mainly interested in feedback of people who sell web hosting for a living as a full time job and who have been in the industry for years, too.

Happily, I can say that we are continually growing.

One thing to consider is that the hosting industry is incredibly competitive - you have to do something better, cheaper, or just shout louder than your competitors. If you're not doing either of those, you may find yourself squeezed out in the next few years.

You have to really compete against the competition. Look at your competition and find your edge. Its really hard to trust people these days and with the economy being the way it is people are going to be more unwillingly to dish out money. Honestly, its not easy during the first year but it gets easier as the years go by.

Godaddy, Host Gator, Blue Host, and other companies will always be big but thats not the only sites to look at. Look at many other hundreds of hosting companies that do not have Unlimited and Everything to offer. You do not have to offer everything to make it but maybe having a few extras does help.

We continue to grow but it has not been an easy ride.

You have to really compete against the competition. Look at your competition and find your edge. Its really hard to trust people these days and with the economy being the way it is people are going to be more unwillingly to dish out money. Honestly, its not easy during the first year but it gets easier as the years go by.

Godaddy, Host Gator, Blue Host, and other companies will always be big but thats not the only sites to look at. Look at many other hundreds of hosting companies that do not have Unlimited and Everything to offer. You do not have to offer everything to make it but maybe having a few extras does help.

We continue to grow but it has not been an easy ride.

For me it was exactly the opposite. Year one was extremely easy. I was almost shocked how easy it was. But every year after that got worse and worse. Today everyone offers unlimited everything for 6 Dollars. How would you have unique selling points without pricing your service under value ? Six years in this business and the longer I am in the more difficult it gets.

Well, if you're thinking about exiting the industry or have lost the passion somewhat feel free to drop us a line (or post a thread in the 'Related Offers' forum where you can invite offers for your business). :)

My customers are satisfied with the service. I often get compliments on my service. So that can't be the problem.

If it's not the problem, maybe it can be your advantage. Did you try encouraging them to spread the word for you? A referral program might work, where you give them say 1 month of free hosting for each new customer they bring in. Maybe some would be willing to place an affiliate "hosted by" banner at the bottom of their page's sites. That could bring in customers and even help out SEO wise.

Sure,I just feel the great pressure from our competitors.Maybe we should make some innovations,
or it's really hard for small companys just like ours to survive and even make more and more
profit year by year.But I still believe that things will be better since our guys are all devoted.

For me it was exactly the opposite. Year one was extremely easy. I was almost shocked how easy it was. But every year after that got worse and worse. Today everyone offers unlimited everything for 6 Dollars. How would you have unique selling points without pricing your service under value ? Six years in this business and the longer I am in the more difficult it gets.

Honestly, I can think of a few...but I don't want to give away my secret :). You have to be unique..think of a niche.

You cannot be stagnant you need to be innovative. If nothing has changed in 2004 then you're going to over time lose your market. The market you were appealing to before may be twiddling or non existent now. The fact you have happy customers now won't mean much to people if you're offering hosting that reflects the market 5 years ago.

If your offerings reflect todays market maybe you're just not shouting loud enough to be heard. If you're not getting enough sign ups from word of mouth then maybe advertising is necessary.

I'd never want to be complacent and happy with where you're at. To me it's the first sign you're going to be losing market share and shrinking. Unless you have 100% market share you should not be happy and should be looking at ways to grow.

I'd never want to be complacent and happy with where you're at. To me it's the first sign you're going to be losing market share and shrinking. Unless you have 100% market share you should not be happy and should be looking at ways to grow.

Hi Tony,
This is off topic, but I have a quick question for you; Do you do your own illustrations for hawkhost and froghost? Those look amazing! :agree:

Update : I checked your blog here (http://blog.froghost.com/2009/12/17/lets-catchup/) - it looks like you outsourced it. Still looks great though!

You have to work in proper internet marketing. Moreover, your marketing won't work if you are offering the same as hundred other do. You have to be innovative in each of your hosting practice to gain success all the time.

Hi Tony,
This is off topic, but I have a quick question for you; Do you do your own illustrations for hawkhost and froghost? Those look amazing! :agree:

We use a freelance artist who does our drawings. They also did our twitter backgrounds and such.