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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    278

    Legal Binding Contact - Under 18

    Hi,
    I'm under 18 and I am in the process of setting up a Web Hosting Business. I have had 4 years experience in the web hosting industry and have learnt my lessons

    I am now looking into TOS and whether you have to be over 18 to
    legally sign it?

    Thanks,

    Marty

    Please feel free to PM if you have any other business questions/tips.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    940
    It realy depends where you are based, Usualy web hosting companies dont accept customers under 18 years of age as there is very little that can be done eg no collections.

  3. #3
    Why not wait until you are 18? I would look into liability issues with your parents that could, in theory, come up.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Thanks for your replies,

    Ideally I don't want to wait until i'm 18, I think the experience i earn now could be invaluable later on...

    How could i let my clients know that they are signing to a certain individual?

    Thanks once again,

    Marty

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    United Kingdom
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    940
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    Thanks for your replies,

    Ideally I don't want to wait until i'm 18, I think the experience i earn now could be invaluable later on...

    How could i let my clients know that they are signing to a certain individual?

    Thanks once again,

    Marty
    How old are you for starters.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    14

    I have been hosting friends websites (on my own servers) for 2 years and have recently brought a reseller plan to expand.

    Marty

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Maryville Tennessee
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    1,904
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    14

    I have been hosting friends websites (on my own servers) for 2 years and have recently brought a reseller plan to expand.

    Marty
    I would definitely consider setting up the company under one of your parents names, otherwise you will run into legal issues later.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Agreed, until i get a couple of online customers i plan not to register as an LTD... Is this a good idea?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    United Kingdom
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    Agreed, until i get a couple of online customers i plan not to register as an LTD... Is this a good idea?
    Yes good idea

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Thanks for your support,

    Until I hopefully register as an LTD, what could i put at the top of my terms to say its legally binded to Mr xyz?

    Thanks again,

    Marty

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Maryville Tennessee
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    1,904
    Sole Proprietorship, but you could not have that unless the business was registered.

  12. #12
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    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Quote Originally Posted by TBradley View Post
    Sole Proprietorship, but you could not have that unless the business was registered.
    When the time is right i would prefer to register as an LTD as it is more flexible and not as risky... i.e. Limited Liability.

    Thanks,

    Marty

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    I have had 4 years experience in the web hosting industry
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    14 I have been hosting friends websites (on my own servers) for 2 years
    So, what you're saying is you've had 2 years experience, or you've been hosting people since you're 10 years old?

    At 14, you can't sign any contracts (so can't hold others to them), nor can you have a legal Paypal business or merchant account. Can't help but wonder if the providers that you've bought servers from know your age as well. One would imagine they also would be concerned with learning this.

    So, to answer your question: no, you can't enter a contract legally, and are hindered in many ways by your age. Not to say many don't do it, but the bulk are not doing so by legal means. It's your parents that will be responsible if you fail in any way.
    Your one stop shop for decentralization

  14. #14
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    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Oh,

    Really sorry, 2 years, I didn't mean to mislead anyone

    I understand that,

    Thanks,
    Marty

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,314
    Keep you parents updated. They wouldn't want any surprises if you face any issues.
    ~ @PreetamJinka

  16. #16
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    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Quote Originally Posted by Bitcable View Post
    Keep you parents updated. They wouldn't want any surprises if you face any issues.
    Yer, unlike many teens, I do like to keep my parents informed of my Business ventures

    Thanks for your advice,

    Marty

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    820
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    Yer, unlike many teens, I do like to keep my parents informed of my Business ventures

    Thanks for your advice,

    Marty
    I guess contracts can be legally binding in different circumstances. If you were to become a sole trader and your web hosting business was necessary to earn income, then a contract can be legally binding. This is according to the Australian law. It will depend on your country's law regarding "Minors and Contracts".

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Reading, UK
    Posts
    602
    Hi Marty,

    What country are you in? The rules for this are going to be different everywhere, but I'd strongly advice not getting into this industry until you are finished with school etc as if you start to get customers it will quickly get to a point where the time you are spending on your business affects your school work - or the other way round.

    Depending on where you are and the legal age at which you can work for someone, I would suggest contacting a few companies and seeing if they have part time work. That way you will learn, but without the stresses of running your own business while you're still in education and then once you're done you can start looking at setting up on your own

    One other thing is that no matter how old you are, you've got to be professional when running a business and you don't want to end up subject to a thread like this one: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1016555
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Hi Toby,

    I'm in the UK, I would i act in a professional manner, also I have read that thread and taken notes...

    Thanks for your advice,

    Marty
    Last edited by Rapid2214; 01-26-2011 at 01:40 PM.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Reading, UK
    Posts
    602
    Since you're in the UK, there's nothing on the legal side that really stops you, especially if you have your parents involved and happy with what you are doing. That said, you've got probably the two most important years of school left to do, and should probably be focused on your GCSEs rather than building up your company.

    My feeling would be that you should spend the next year and a half / two years planning everything and learning about servers, linux and your chosen control panel software to the extent that you know how to solve most problems that you will come across running your own business. You should also learn some SEO and how to design a nice website. By the time the nice long summer of your GCSE year comes round, you've got loads of knowledge and a great plan to put to put in to action. That way you're putting yourself in a great position to be successful in your new business!

    Just for the record, I've been around/involved in web hosting since I was 16 and personally I feel I messed up somewhat at school due to my exploits into business. I would have been more focused and got much better grades had I waited until I was finished with school.

    When I say messed up, I didn't do badly at school, but I didn't do as well as I could have done, and probably should have done.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    278
    Ok, I already have good knowledge in Linux & Web design.
    I do need to work on SEO though.

    In some ways I agree with you, so far i am doing good in my GCSE's as I think I manage my time well.

    I would probably not try extreamly hard to publise the business as i agree with you, i wouldn't want to many custmers for obvious time/school related issues.

    In a couple of months i might contact some local businesses and keep my business small for the reasons you stated above.

    Thanks for you help,

    Marty

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid2214 View Post
    Ok, I already have good knowledge in Linux & Web design.
    I do need to work on SEO though.

    In some ways I agree with you, so far i am doing good in my GCSE's as I think I manage my time well.

    I would probably not try extreamly hard to publise the business as i agree with you, i wouldn't want to many custmers for obvious time/school related issues.

    In a couple of months i might contact some local businesses and keep my business small for the reasons you stated above.

    Thanks for you help,

    Marty
    I would like to echo those words that Toby H has said, you should really concentrate on your GCSEs and as he and I have done, achieved respectable GCSEs but maybe not as great as we could have done.

    If you make it big, you won't have enough time to concentrate on either your business or your education. While it's great that you can have a big base by the time you're a young adult but you got to put your education first incase this doesn't work out/it's only a part time job. You're still young and your interest might fizzle out. That being said, I'm not your parent or teacher so it's up to you to do what you want to do. You're also not really able to put alot of funds into the business either and stick at it when the going gets tough. Best of luck!
    Othio Hosting - Private-Label cPanel Reseller Hosting
    True 24x7 Support | SSD Storage | cPanel+WHM | R1Soft Backups

  23. #23
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    Dec 2010
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    278
    Thanks for your honesty

    Marty

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    3,816
    Consult a lawyer, but you might be able to just form a LLC/LTD/equivalent and contracts would be against the company instead of any specific person

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    UK
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    1,887
    Quote Originally Posted by quantumphysics View Post
    Consult a lawyer, but you might be able to just form a LLC/LTD/equivalent and contracts would be against the company instead of any specific person
    UK Law requires that you are over-16 to form an LTD company.

    OP: I'd advise against going into it. By all means continue hosting friends/family, and make a bit of spare change in return for doing it, but don't take it too seriously, and don't try to market yourself as something that you're not. You'll struggle to provide quick support responses, especially in the middle of the night, or during the day when you're at school, and if you have an outage at 10pm, your schoolwork will suffer the next day because you've been up all night fixing it.
    Spend some time learning new technologies alongside your school work, get to know the ins and outs of everything that interests you, and make sure to study for your exams, as you'll need them in the future.

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