Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Web Hosting Business...

[PLineage]

Honestly, I'm not seeing new webhosting companies going anywhere. I was thinking on opening a server for some webhosting but when I saw the offers forum I realized there is too much crappy companies that it's not even worth investing on a new one. Even thought you're going to make a good one. With all this crappy companies, the chance to get a SERIOUS customer is 1/1000. Unless you're a recognized company with a lot of advertising and stuff... I'm kind of worried. Where is all this going? I just see more and more ridiculous plans. "$0.50 Monthly For Fantastico, cPanel, RVSkin, 100000GB of Space, 1000000GB of Bandwidth, and more!" I mean. What's up? Am I the only one seeing things like this?

Maybe my post was useless. But I felt like posting my opinion. I wanted to open a good and stable business with some good income I'm having. I do have a lot of experience on hosting business but I noticed it's not worth it anymore.

[Ariel74]

If you want to be the next host offering "cheap" hosting, you're right - you are wasting your time. Find a niche and it's a good business.

[Chachi]

If you can't beat them - join them...

[Swizi]

Heh, I spose I'm one of those very few not overselling.

You know, I couldn't care less about people who go for those ridiculous offers, it's their own fault for not researching into it. Maybe some time soon, (I doubt) all the kiddie hosts that offer 1 cent hosting will finally realise that they can't do what they're doing, and they will all quit and hosting will be quality, once more.

Go ahead and start a company, offer realistic pricing, you'll attract educated people needing web hosting, do a bit of advertising here and there, you'll get along fine. Unless you plan to be big, then good luck

[edu4vision]

Yeah, it depends on how you look your brand and your company. Do you want to make money with the mass market or special group of people.

We are not overselling too, but we do fine. Just maybe you have to invest in a few things that the big&small guys are not offering,, Stay medium..

[NS-Hosting]

Even though there are a lot of different web hosting companies there is also a lot of people wanting hosting. More and more people want a website everyday.

[advantagecom]

Hosting = rough business

But, if you have integrity, technical skills, good people skills, and know how to imbue that into the staff you hire through training, you stand a good chance of building a solid business.

Don't get lured into the trap of thinking you can lower prices and make it up on volume. It's a farce. There is some very interesting math involved that has been well documented by experts on properly pricing products and services.

Don't forget that good people will not work for a pittance with no benefits. To attract and keep quality staff, you will need to pay them well and train them well. Your prices have to be able to support those salaries and taxes.

[ldcdc]

I was thinking on opening a server for some webhosting but when I saw the offers forum I realized there is too much crappy companies that it's not even worth investing on a new one.

Now that's one hilarious sentence!

[2Macs Jim]

I'll be the first one to say I understand someone wanting to save a buck. However, in reality, that only goes for certain things. If you want quality hosting, people have to understand they need to pay for it.
I would like to think the industry is changing, although I know better. But I honesty feel people are getting tired of buying a plan from someone with a million GB's for .50 cents or something rediculous like that and realizing pretty fast nothing works and they have no support. Technology is getting better every day, but it's a simple fact, you can only do so much with a server. I think it really comes down to ligitimate companies that offer quality products, service and support or something else.
Granted the average person has no idea what goes in to running a hosting company, nor should they, but I think more and more people are realizing you get what you pay for. At least I hope so.

[crazyfish]

Some people don't realize that you need to spend more then the cost of a cup of coffee on a months worth of service.

I find that when you deal with a small business they understand it much more then people that don't own a business. They understand the cost of having staff/building/phone etc.

[ByteMaster]

I agree with Ariel. Also, you do not have to jump into the same pool as those that you find to be "crappy". Build something you can be proud of. And whatever you do - make certain you provide support. That is the key to keeping your clients long term.

[WHC - Travis]

Yeah I was once a young grasshopper like you, ever cautious about being in the business. One thing I did was I made a really good forum, and the people liked the forum so much they bought hosting to support the running of the forum. Most of my customers now are referrals or due to happy customers. If you do a good job at what you do, are honest and nice to your customers, they will, in turn, generate more customers. But I suppose that's true for any business.

[Trophimus]

There are a TON of hosts out there that are one-man-shops looking to make a quick buck. They find a reseller host that allows over-selling, signs up and sells that 10000000GB of Disk Space and 200000000GB of Bandwidth. A lot of them woke up one morning and said "I think I'm gonna open a hosting company!". Thats where the main problem starts...

Like any business (local or online), web hosting requires a well thought out, and organized business operations and marketing plan. You can almost sell ANY type of web hosting (Have it be 10MB of Space or 100000000MB of Space) with a good marketing and advertising plan.

What you need to do, is not become another one of those hosting companies that offer more than they have! Make your business something that will set you far apart from other web hosting companies:
- Develop a REALLY good business and marketing plan. Figure out what it is you will do to market. Word-of-Mouth and Local Advertising seems to work best since the online market is way to over saturated for web hosting.
- Invest a pretty good amount of money into your hardware and servers. Make sure that you are a getting your moneys worth. Don't just get a good deal at Bobs Datacenter... Go with a reliable company and offer a more reliable service to YOUR clients.
- Dedicate some of YOUR own time into your company. As the old saying goes "If you want something done right the first time, do it yourself" and about 80% of the time thats right. Manage your company yourself finical and staff wise (but do hire another support rep or so to lower the actual work load on you). Just do as much as you can yourself.
- RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. There is no way that you can know everything about the hosting industry. It took me a few years to actually find out what it was I wanted to do with my company. This shouldn't be a week or month decision.

If you plan everything out right, it will actually be a good decision in the end. And it may even turn out to be a good (maybe even a GREAT) thing to get into!

[djsnowman]

Originally Posted by crazyfish

Some people don't realize that you need to spend more then the cost of a cup of coffee on a months worth of service.

WERD ^^^^^

[Swizi]

Off topic -

Originally Posted by djsnowman

WERD ^^^^^

Don't forget kids, the higher your post count - the bigger your penis is!

Just had to say it.

[/offtopic]

What you need to do, is not become another one of those hosting companies that offer more than they have!

Overselling, right? Not a good idea for a newbie.

I wanted to open a good and stable business with some good income I'm having.

From what he says, I think he disagrees on overselling, so that's not really good.

But other than that, you should really read over techpresence's post, it's some really good reading, and advice. I couldn't agree more with what he said.