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Thread: Legal Binding Contact - Under 18
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01-25-2011, 03:01 PM #1Web Hosting Guru
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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.
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01-25-2011, 03:13 PM #2Cloud Backup Specialist
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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.
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01-25-2011, 03:15 PM #3Disabled
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Why not wait until you are 18? I would look into liability issues with your parents that could, in theory, come up.
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01-25-2011, 03:46 PM #4Web Hosting Guru
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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
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01-25-2011, 03:48 PM #5Cloud Backup Specialist
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01-25-2011, 03:53 PM #6Web Hosting Guru
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14
I have been hosting friends websites (on my own servers) for 2 years and have recently brought a reseller plan to expand.
Marty
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01-25-2011, 03:56 PM #7Web Hosting Master
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01-25-2011, 03:58 PM #8Web Hosting Guru
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Agreed, until i get a couple of online customers i plan not to register as an LTD... Is this a good idea?
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01-25-2011, 03:59 PM #9Cloud Backup Specialist
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01-25-2011, 04:02 PM #10Web Hosting Guru
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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
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01-25-2011, 04:06 PM #11Web Hosting Master
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Sole Proprietorship, but you could not have that unless the business was registered.
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01-25-2011, 04:08 PM #12Web Hosting Guru
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01-25-2011, 04:37 PM #13
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
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01-25-2011, 04:43 PM #14Web Hosting Guru
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Oh,
Really sorry, 2 years, I didn't mean to mislead anyone
I understand that,
Thanks,
Marty
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01-25-2011, 08:14 PM #15Web Hosting Master
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Keep you parents updated. They wouldn't want any surprises if you face any issues.
~ @PreetamJinka
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01-26-2011, 03:44 AM #16Web Hosting Guru
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01-26-2011, 04:37 AM #17Web Hosting Master
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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".
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01-26-2011, 09:18 AM #18Web Hosting Master
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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=1016555Toby
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01-26-2011, 01:34 PM #19Web Hosting Guru
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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,
MartyLast edited by Rapid2214; 01-26-2011 at 01:40 PM.
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01-26-2011, 01:44 PM #20Web Hosting Master
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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
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01-26-2011, 02:07 PM #21Web Hosting Guru
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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
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01-26-2011, 02:20 PM #22WHT Addict
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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
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01-26-2011, 02:39 PM #23Web Hosting Guru
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Thanks for your honesty
Marty
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01-26-2011, 02:42 PM #24Web Hosting Master
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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
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01-27-2011, 03:55 AM #25Tells All!
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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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