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  1. #1

    Lightbulb Age Limit to Running A WebHosting Biz ?

    Hi there, i run my own little webhosting site, and i have been providing hosting for around 4 months now. I havent had a problem so far with customers or anything, but its getting harder to find a client. My Prob is, im worried i could get sue'd or something because im not past 18, and im running my own biz. Should i be paying tax, and any other legal things like that ?
    Also, if you want to criticise me for my age (14), please dont bother, because after all it is the service and support that counts!
    Thankyou - matt

  2. #2
    Well as long as you present yourself professionally to your customers I don't think there is a problem with it. However, I would consider getting a business license (go to your local Courthouse for that).

    If this is just a hobby, like reselling for someone, don't bother, but if you're doing this as a real business, then I would suggest getting a business license. Yes, you will have to pay taxes, but you have to give the Courthouse a projected income for the year, and then you pay taxes based off of your projected income and what you really made (the difference I believe).

    At least that's how it is where I am in Virginia.

  3. #3
    RAdon: no im not doing this as a hobby, im trying to run it as a business, and will things be the same for me in the uk, as in virginia ?

    Matt

  4. #4
    Well I know nothing about UK business laws. I'm sure that you have some sort of department of business, or business licensing office, or something along those lines at your local Courthouse, or something....Again, I'm not familiar with how the UK system work, but start with the Courthouse

  5. #5
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    Without a doubt you will have to be paying tax. As for a registered business, you could probably get away without doing that.

    If you are serious about it, get your parents to register the business name, and make sure you pay your taxes!

    Governments dont seem to like tax evaders

  6. #6
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    You dont need to register as a business, however you should be registered as self employed with the Inland Revenue and state that you are trading as "company name" however you have to be earning over your tax allowance which should be about £4500 before you have to pay tax anyway.

  7. #7
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    for a kid, man your 'bizhost' package really 'superb' - 4gig bw and 450mb for 99.99 pounds per year, thats like i think 300$ per year, am i correct? u can get your own didicated server for that amount.

  8. #8
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    NumLock £99.99 is like $140 not $300

  9. #9
    Thanx Tazd9t9, i'll get onto them tomorrow.

    Numlock when u say
    "for a kid, man your 'bizhost' package really 'superb' - 4gig bw and 450mb for 99.99 pounds per year, thats like i think 300$ per year, am i correct? u can get your own didicated server for that amount."

    what did you mean. I know you can get a dedicated server for $99 a month, but i doubt you can get them for $300 a year. If i am wrong plz tell me where i can get them from.

    Matt

  10. #10
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    He's saying they are pretty expensive, although it really isn't for all that space you give.
    Ronny Fang
    Linux Problems Solved. | Built for the Hosting Industry
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    ( AcuNett, Est. 15 Years, RateLobby 5 Stars )

  11. #11
    Well im bound to say this, but when you thik about it, it isnt that expensive, because that £99 goes towards the personal IP address, and the amount of webspace. Also i try to blanace the webspace with bandwidth, and were not like those donhost resellers who for £25.99 a year offer you 10 gig webspace, and 1 gig bandwidth.


    Matt

  12. #12
    I think you may find that at 14 you are too young, in uk law, to legally enter into contracts either with suppliers or customers

    so technically you can't enter into any contracts without parental consent and you would legally have to disclose this to anyone who enters into a contract with you or whom you wish to enter into a contract with

    I think you may find that you cannot also use legal remidies to recover debt - probably again through your parents.

    the biggest rub maybe risking your parents assets if you went belly up at any stage, as you are trading as a sole trader any debts may be recoverable from your parents assets, house car etc. as your parents would be standing as guarantors

    I would check it out if I was you.

  13. #13
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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the UK there is no minimum age to run a business. You can be any age to become a director of a company providing you understand the legal obligations this requires. I believe in Scotland it is over 16, but England and Wales, any age is fine.

    You could then get limited liability, and nobody could touch your or your parents assets unless they were associated with the business in hand (if things went belly up that is).

    You may want to check companies-house.co.uk for any advise.
    Jo Stonehouse - Kualowww.kualo.com
    Shared Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Cloud VPS & Dedicated Servers
    UK: 0800 138 3235 ❘ USA: 1-800-995-8256

  14. #14
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    Your right There is no age limit on becomming a director in the UK and the age in Scotland is 16.

    You can also buy Ltd. companys in a box now for around £100 very easy to setup, just change the shareholder(s) names and company conact detials, oppoint a director and a company secutary and your rolling. All this can be done through companys house
    dot5hosting.com
    chris@dot5hosting.com
    "We look after our customers, or someone else will"

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Originally posted by sonixhost
    Well im bound to say this, but when you thik about it, it isnt that expensive, because that £99 goes towards the personal IP address, and the amount of webspace. Also i try to blanace the webspace with bandwidth, and were not like those donhost resellers who for £25.99 a year offer you 10 gig webspace, and 1 gig bandwidth.Matt
    Excellent! I wish more hosts thought like you, no matter what their age is.

    Your liability or your parents liability is a good issue to get to the bottom of -- do the work to understand what the real issues are and take any action you need to in order to protect yourself.

    I think your general sense of how to conduct a business is remarkable for your age and I encourage you to pursue your business with all vigor. It really is amazing what one can do when motivated and talented. Age has less to do with the end result than ability.

    Cheers
    Mike

  16. #16
    Your right There is no age limit on becomming a director in the UK
    This is both correct and misleading, in fact the companies act does not state a minimum legal age for a uk company director, however it does state that '..the person must be able to consent to their appointment'

    As becoming a company director is in itself entering into a contract with the company then it would present problems.

    Also liability and protection provided by a UK company is only present if the company acts within the law etc etc plus you need at least 2 directors

    I would just say get legal advice

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    Originally posted by bbi-linux
    Also liability and protection provided by a UK company is only present if the company acts within the law etc etc plus you need at least 2 directors.
    For a private limited company, you only need one director which is usually yourself and also a secretary who can be anyone, like a family member or a friend.

    Alan
    Alan Ho
    Former Systems Administrator

  18. #18
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    My thoughts

    First of let me express my admiration for you to be so ambitious despite your age.

    Now, my opinion:

    If I want to host a website, lets assume that this website is important to me, I want it to be in "good hands".
    That implies of course that the person/entety that will supply me with this service has to be a lagally registered business. And that is totally unnegotiatable and a must.

    I want to be 100% sure that my webhost has invested in his business and is doing this seriously and "has something to loose". If he damages my business I want to be able to sue f.e.

    You being 14, an age where your life changes every day, you are not STABLE. Next month you can be transferred to another shool, your mother can take away your PC cause she feels that you spend too much time in front of it etc etc.

    I am not getting into the legal/age thing cause everyone here knows what limitations you have when you are <18.

    I am and always was of the opinon that EVERY WEBHOST must have a Certificate with any CA (VeriSign/GlobalSign/GeoTrust/eTrust and many more) where the webhost must proof that he has DOA (Doing Business As) or any other LEGAL and REGISTERED form of COMPANY/BUSINESS.

    As of today I cannot understand why people do not demand this from a WebHost as it is the only thing that gives at least SOME basic security about whom you are dealing with...

  19. #19
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    ShareFile, I agree with what you are saying... the Internet today you see a lot of websites popping up claiming to be a company, but they're only a small time trying to get a part of the money market of web hosting , they don't care that much about their customers or their business, as long as they make money. Don't get me wrong, profiting is probably everyone's aim, but without stability, it's hard to do.

    On the other hand, there are lots of businesses out there that are not a registered company or incorporated, and still do very well, they care about their customers and also profit or will profit in the future... those are also the good people.

    Alan
    Alan Ho
    Former Systems Administrator

  20. #20
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    England
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    well i am 13 and think that to have a business now is ok as long as you understand what ur getting ur self in for ive ran 2 and made some money and no problems i didnt register or anything and it is all legal if you have parental permision you can do it! and i no how you feel about being discriminated for your age, somtimes i feel so shy to tell my actuall age because i no of what people say. I say if you enjoy it and have discussed it with your parents just go i however do suggest that you tell all clients of your age before they sign-up as some people dislike using younger people.

    best of look
    liam hall

    P.S i am also english ( so hope that helps )

  21. #21
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    I personally feel that age shouldn't be an object. If you run your business professionally and legally then that shouldn't be a problem.

    I have run my own "business" since I was 14 (I am now 18). It has not always been a registered business because prior to registering my business I invoiced clients as "Shaun Ewing". Here in Australia you do not need to register a business if you use your own name with no added words.

    Last year one of my friends (who happens to be 15) and I decided to get together and register a business. Here in Australia there is no age limit to registering a business, the only condition is that if one or more of the owners are minors then they place the text "Minor" to the right of the respective names. This text is removed once the owner turns 18.

    I have, however, always been lucky enough to have stability. I have always owned my own PC, paid for my own Internet and phone lines which would make it difficult for my mother to exert any influence. As long as I didn't let the business interfere with my schooling then my mum was happy for me to go ahead.

    I will concede that there are potential downfalls when running a business underage, especially an Internet business. The very nature of purchasing products and services generally requires a credit card to pay for services required to render services to your client (especially in Australia where many services are located overseas). There are also downfalls with regards to contracts, etc. As we all know, if you are a minor the contracts are not legally bind both to you and the party you are dealing with.

    At present I no longer live with my mother. The business is run successfully from my home/office when I am not at University. We also have a PABX which allows us to run the telecommunications side of the business professionally. Although the profit we make isn't huge, we still make a profit which is gradually increasing as we expand our services.

    To end, basically if you run your business professionally and legally then go for it. I'm not sure how it goes in the UK, but if you were Australian I'd suggest to register your business and to also register for tax so you charge GST (I believe the UK equivalent is VAT) and remit it to the government so you are not in violation of any laws. If you do this then you shouldn't have a problem. Your age may be a problem sometimes whether it is dealing with clients who are unwilling to hire you because of your age or whether it is purchasing services (I like to call it the "borrow the credit card" syndrome ). But, the best of luck to you.

    Anyway, I'll end what I think is my first post here

    --Shaun

  22. #22
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    To end, basically if you run your business professionally and legally then go for it. I'm not sure how it goes in the UK, but if you were Australian I'd suggest to register your business and to also register for tax so you charge GST (I believe the UK equivalent is VAT) and remit it to the government so you are not in violation of any laws.
    Just to add... VAT registration is only voluntary if your turnover is above £54,000 per year, if not you don't have to register.

    Alan
    Alan Ho
    Former Systems Administrator

  23. #23
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    £51,000 I thought... ?
    Jo Stonehouse - Kualowww.kualo.com
    Shared Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Cloud VPS & Dedicated Servers
    UK: 0800 138 3235 ❘ USA: 1-800-995-8256

  24. #24
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    I think it went up to £54,000 for the 2002 budgets.

    Alan
    Alan Ho
    Former Systems Administrator

  25. #25
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    Originally posted by sonixhost


    Numlock when u say
    "for a kid, man your 'bizhost' package really 'superb' - 4gig bw and 450mb for 99.99 pounds per year, thats like i think 300$ per year, am i correct? u can get your own didicated server for that amount."

    Matt
    oooops so sorry. i need to drink more coffee.

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