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Thread: Break Even

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
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    612

    Break Even

    How long did it take you to break even?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Philippines
    Posts
    71
    10 weeks.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Waterloo, Ontario
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    1,132
    Depends what business you're in. If you're in gamehosting it can take a long time because you're always buying new dedicated servers and paying more setup fees. If you're a webhost then it shouldn't take you long to break even, maybe about 2 months or so.

  4. #4
    6 weeks to profitibility before taxes.

    It will really depend what your market niche is though. If you are looking for super cheap customers or quality driven business clients you will have different break even time. Also it really depends on what your costs are and what advertising (if any) you are doing.
    Richard
    Multiple Domain Hosting | See our Ad in PC Magazine
    Windows Reseller Hosting @ www.e3servers.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    New York
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    1,063
    Depends if you colocate, rent a dedicated server, or have a inhouse connection, also.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    223
    The break even point isnt no fun..

    how long until you where making enough to pay not only your hosting bills but your bills at home also

    ( Children living in there parents basement using DSL need not respond )

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lake Arrowhead, CA
    Posts
    933
    Wow , I must be doing something wrong. I just hope to break even this year. Even my business plan doesn't show a profit this year. Of course I understand tax breaks and write offs so I have planned for this.

    I have made major investments in office furniture, supplies, employees, offices, ect. But according to my accountant I'm doing just fine. It's all part of owning a business.
    Dale Poncy
    Retired from Zana Web Hosting

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Montana USA
    Posts
    673
    Break-even is elusive. Sure we recouped our colo costs years ago, so that was 'breakeven'. Oh, we need more servers. Oh, we need more bandwidth. Oh, salaries... and additional employees. More furniture and PCs. Office renovation/remodel. Headhunter fees. Increased marketing budget. And so on.

    Expect your expenses to rise by a zillion percent, and hope your revenues follow.
    John Masterson
    Former Hosting Company Owner

  9. #9
    Well, take my statement with a grain of salt--the infrastructure was already in place --office, etc.
    Richard
    Multiple Domain Hosting | See our Ad in PC Magazine
    Windows Reseller Hosting @ www.e3servers.com

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Lake Arrowhead, CA
    Posts
    789
    Originally posted by dapon
    Wow , I must be doing something wrong.
    I doubt it.

    I know that was tounge in cheek, but I think it's important to highlight the difference between the typical new host leasing a single server or reselling, and others (like you) who started with long term business plans from the beginning.

    Sure, you can start with very little investment and still be sucessful, but (IMO) that tends to put way too much of your early success into "fate". Without things like backup hardware and contracts with alternate bandwidth providers, you're more likely to go under the first time you or your DC is hacked as to ever break even.
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    1,487
    We broke even 2 months after we started. But we didn't start off with 10 servers, 5 employees, a $20,000 dollar design, etc etc.

    As already mentioned, it depends on how much you invest as your startup cost and what you purchase and so on.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    uk
    Posts
    110
    5 weeks.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts
    832
    Two weeks... but that was as a low-end reseller, almost a year ago. It's grown steadily since then, to the point that I was just able to purchase what will be my first colocated hosting machine. Awww, isn't that special.

    We're following our business plan, but not quite achieving expected growth - the two are very different.

  14. #14
    6 months. Of course it would have only been 2 months if HostCharge wouldn't have screwed me over.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    1,310
    I've been at it for over two years now but break-even is not in sight. I'm guessing at least another year and a half

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    232
    It took us about 6 months to break even.. but we took the long term approach and purchased 2 dell poweredge servers, so the initial investment was a bit higher. It all depends as everyone said.. if you go rent a dedicated or go colo at some cogent only place... your likely to do 'better' .
    Joseph Marcelletti
    Sprynex

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