Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : Business Plan

[ORiN]

I have bought my reseller account recently but I think I need a business plan. I have been reading the tutorials here but I am still unsure of the things that I need to include in the business plan. Thanks in advance.

[boonchuan]

I think just go out and start selling , u will learn more practical than ponder over a business plan.

[ORiN]

Currently, I am have started sponsoring a few websites in exchange of advertising inventory and the revenue is not bad for the moment. It is as if the clients are paying for their web hosting.

[will7]

DO NOT do wat booncuan said. DO NOT DO IT (no offence boonchuan). In the thread "$7428k to spend...", I have given a guide to writing a business plan.

Seriously. You HAVE to write a business plan. It could have been a mistake buying a reseller account so quick, but better late than never!

I found a MAJOR flaw in my plans that could have cost me £Thousands had I not planned ahead in my bus plan. Do you wanna risk that? I sure as hell know I wouldn't.

It took me 2 weeks to write the business plan, not long, and I found many things out in it.

My plan is 11 pages long (I have been told it's pretty short), and details marketing plans, advertising campaigns, income/expenses, customer estimates, break-evens information, target customers, pricing plan, payment, expansion and loads more.

BELIEVE ME, it IS worth writing a business plan. Many a business has failed due to lack of planning, DO NOT be one of these businesses!

[ORiN]

That's exactly why I am writing my business plan. I started my business plan before I bought the reseller account but have been redoing it all along as I can't seem to get it right somehow.

[gghosting]

Here is a business plan how-to, it should help you a lot:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showt...threadid=272345

[ORiN]

Thanks but I have read that already. I am trying to get more practical advice from people who got their own business plans as I believe there's more to it.

[boonchuan]

No offense Sir! Just that I saw too many ppl with lots of biz plans but never take a step towards achieving their goals, biz plans is impt but has to be sustained by actual practical steps. I had work in big corps. All but talks all but papers....so normally a little phobia towards biz plans

[QUOTE]Originally posted by will7
[B]DO NOT do wat booncuan said. DO NOT DO IT (no offence boonchuan). In the thread "$7428k to spend...", I have given a guide to writing a business plan.

[ORiN]

That's quite true too as I am currently on internship with a MNC. There's always talk and papers but I still think it is always good to have the plan to look at so that I feel more motivated in working towards my goal.

[will7]

K boonchuan. Just follow your business plan and, if it is a good business plan, all should go to plan. Good luck!

[thomas.smith]

You do not really need a perfect business plan. There are a thousand factors in this business that you don`t know before you start selling. You need some ideas on how you are going to do things and how much it will cost you etc. Once you have that you will have to make experiences. You will have to waste a few thousand bucks in order to learn how it works. If you are asking me there is no way around that.

[ORiN]

If I need a few thousand bucks to learn then I really need a good business plan. At the moment, I am spending a small amount of money for my reseller account while trying to sponsor a few decent websites for their advertising inventory before I venture out into getting customers for paid hosting.

[thomas.smith]

>If I need a few thousand bucks to learn then I really need a
>good business plan.

What I wanted to say is that there are things you can't plan.

For example if your business plan says: "I will spend 1000 Dollar a month for advertising and gain 30 clients that way" - How do you want to know if 1000 bucks will result in 30 clients. The ROI rate is one of the factors you don't know before you try and there are 1000 other factors. You can't make a plan without experimenting and that involves costs...

What I suggest is:

Make a very basic plan at the beginning...then try and find out the factors. Then when you have the factors make a more detailed business plan.
Of course you must be very careful. If you make a mistake it might break your neck... Its like in that movie named Cube - does anyone know that

[will7]

Thomas, base all plans on break-even. If you don't get that many customers, you are losing money. You can tell this if you know what you're gonna charge. Then, every customer after that is profit.

I planned, using break-even info & estimates, that if I moved onto my own servers (from Ded.), then I wouldn't be making much more (or possibly less) to warrant the move, so that was taken out. You see, I could have lost £Thousands.

Yes, mistakes will most likely occur, but you have to try to prevent MORE of those mistakes happening.

[bizwired]

Hi ORin,

Hope this helps you out, someone (wish I could give them credit but I don't remember) forwarded this to me to help me out. It's the best plan that I've seen that could be translated over to web hosting, helped me out a ton. Very detailed.

http://bplans.com/spv/3301/

Good luck in the future,

Rich