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  1. #1

    Questions about PayPal, and other pre-business questions

    Hi,

    For quite a while now I've been researching starting a web hosting business. I'm planning on starting with a reseller account, probably with Innohosting.

    But, before I can get started, I need to figure out what I need to do beforehand. The first thing I can think of is setting up a PayPal account. I already have a Personal account, but obviously I'd rather use a separate Business account for receiving payments. It's required that every PayPal account is linked to a different bank account, so I'd need to set up a new bank account as well. But I don't know if I need a business account at my bank or if a standard account will work, because it's required that my name registered with PayPal matches that on my bank account. When registering for a PayPal account, you enter your business name as well as the business owner name (my name). I don't know which one can be matched to my bank account.

    I'm not 100% sure (I have a contact at my bank I need to set up a meeting with about this), but it might be required by my government that my business name is registered to use it with my bank account as a business account. Can anyone from Canada (specifically, Ontario) confirm this?

    I'm only working part-time 4 days a week, 4 hours a day so I don't have a lot of money to spend on registering a business name, or paying for an expensive business account at my bank. I do want to use a Paypal Business account, though. How do you guys have your Paypal accounts set up? And is there anything beyond that that I need to do before purchasing my reseller plan and domain?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Well, you should give a lot of thought to a business plan, focusing on how you intend to get customers. The details of setup should come second.

    What underserved market can you identify that you can serve profitably?

  3. #3
    I don't really know what specific market I'd be targeting. I was thinking I'd start off with some local advertising as well as online in forums, twitter, and I also have existing customers from a free hosting service I was running, some of who I know well who will gladly spread the word. But, I don't have any specific business plan, nor do I know much about designing one.

  4. #4
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    Paypal is not the only option. If you were to use it, you can choose to accept using a personal account for a start. You can actually use your name as the paypal business name if not mistaken.

    Registering your company as a business would show that you are serious in serving your considers. Do consider it.

    At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself who you want to reach out too. Some may start off targeting at the local market. While others target at the global market.While some others, are more specific.

    Set goals & objectives. Work out a plan.
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  5. #5
    I definitely want to use a Paypal Business account, simply because I'd much rather customers see my business name instead of my own name when making a transaction, as it looks more professional.

    Right now I want to target a global market, not too specific. Really, it just boils down to getting customers wherever possible.

  6. #6
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    Starting off with the global market would be challenging in this saturated market. You need a plan on how you are going to attract this market. What would be your main selling point?
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vertimyst View Post
    I don't really know what specific market I'd be targeting. I was thinking I'd start off with some local advertising as well as online in forums, twitter, and I also have existing customers from a free hosting service I was running, some of who I know well who will gladly spread the word. But, I don't have any specific business plan, nor do I know much about designing one.
    Local can be good. But don't just buy an ad in your newspaper. Print up some brochures, business cards, and paper (yes, paper!) signup forms, and pound the streets of your town, offering to local businesses and organizations your stellar services as their complete end-to-end hosting provider. Offer them domain registration, site design, hosting, and maintenance. Charge accordingly. That can be a plan!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Atarim View Post
    Local can be good. But don't just buy an ad in your newspaper. Print up some brochures, business cards, and paper (yes, paper!) signup forms, and pound the streets of your town, offering to local businesses and organizations your stellar services as their complete end-to-end hosting provider. Offer them domain registration, site design, hosting, and maintenance. Charge accordingly. That can be a plan!
    Yep, that's more or less what I had in mind locally when I said 'local advertising'.

    Quote Originally Posted by jweeb
    Starting off with the global market would be challenging in this saturated market. You need a plan on how you are going to attract this market. What would be your main selling point?
    Friendly support, getting to know customers as well as possible on a one-to-one basis, offering several plans at fairly low prices. Especially in the support area - that's one of the things in hosting that I enjoy the most. But I guess I'm mostly targeting a mix of global (online) and local, just hoping to get customers through various forms of advertising and word of mouth from both markets.

  9. #9
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    If support would be your selling point, I would advice on starting from your neighbourhood/town first. Marketing efforts are different from both offline and online. The way you develop your hosting plans and its prices could also be different. Word-of-Mouth marketing works only best when you start building relationships with people.

    The global market (unless its a local online market) is tougher, as one can use the search engines to compare. I would do this if I have enough staff manpower or the local market is stable.
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  10. #10
    I see. I live in a pretty small town, so I'm not sure how much business I can get out of it.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vertimyst View Post
    I see. I live in a pretty small town, so I'm not sure how much business I can get out of it.
    What is the competition like in your small town? Is there already a "computer guy" that people go to for all of their computer questions? If not, you need to become that local computer person. When a local business has a computer question, make sure your phone is the one that rings. Web hosting could simply be one of your many computer related talents. If you do it right, you could own the local market. Even a small market can lead to good profits if you own the market and you service it properly. Once you have done that locally, you could expand into other small towns near your small town. Good luck with it.
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  12. #12
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    There's nothing wrong giving away website design and impress them while you're at it just to get your name out there. Viral marketing is still powerful these days, especially in this business. Actually, find a business that's owned by women, give them the best service you can and man... she'll give your name out there so fast to everyone she knows. It works for me.... hehehehehehe

    I'm a part timer too and do this for fun most of the time. So when I got nothing to do, I browse craigslist (local) and look for those who wants to have a website done. You'll be surprised what craigslist can bring to your business.

    Reseller hosting is a perfect start, just do your research here to find the right one.

    Good luck my friend
    Last edited by EnggWeb; 03-12-2010 at 01:01 AM. Reason: spelling error
    Thanks,
    EnggaG > Enggweb.com > I sell website, not hosting ... and affordable too

  13. #13
    Because I'd like to do other things as well (web design, for example), not just web hosting, I was thinking of calling my business Vertimyst Solutions, as it allows me to offer a wide range of services. For my hosting branch, though, I was going to have a different name so it would be easily identifiable as a hosting business, but I need to register my business name and it would start to get expensive if I registered more than one. Do you think 'Vertimyst Solutions' is marketable enough? Will it work for hosting?

    One of my concerns is that it's not that easy to spell, so it might not work well for word-of-mouth advertising. I'd prefer to use that as my business name, though.

  14. #14
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    I actually like the name because it is rather unique. It sure beats "super cheap high quality host"!

    I also think you can use just one name, and specify on everything you market with - your site, your business cards, your brochures, etc. - that you offer complete web solutions including design, hosting, and whatever else you want to offer. It's amazing to me how fragmented this industry still is when it tells a new client that it has to a) buy a domain name from a registrar, b) buy hosting from a host, c) buy design from a designer, d) buy SEO from an SEO company, etc. Offer most or all of these to those local businesses, and they will be happy to pay you top dollar.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Atarim View Post
    I actually like the name because it is rather unique. It sure beats "super cheap high quality host"!

    I also think you can use just one name, and specify on everything you market with - your site, your business cards, your brochures, etc. - that you offer complete web solutions including design, hosting, and whatever else you want to offer. It's amazing to me how fragmented this industry still is when it tells a new client that it has to a) buy a domain name from a registrar, b) buy hosting from a host, c) buy design from a designer, d) buy SEO from an SEO company, etc. Offer most or all of these to those local businesses, and they will be happy to pay you top dollar.
    Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. Or, in cases where I don't offer a specific service, I know people who do (friends of mine), so I would offer discounts for those who signed up with one of mine.

  16. #16
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    You can even offer those services too - and subcontract to your friends. The value you add to your clients is that they only have to talk to you, someone who understands the big picture of all of their needs.

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