Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    38

    Want to start a business - what am I missing?

    First off, I want to say how thankful I am for this site. People seem very nice and super helpful. Thank you!

    I've been doing tons of reasearch/planing and now I'm trying to figure out all of my expenses per month. Can someone please review it and give me any suggestions on what I'm missing? Or anything I should change?

    Here are my costs:

    Domain Registration
    Server (for my site)
    Reseller account (hope to upgrade eventually)
    Countrol Panel (free with reseller account, for now)
    Billing Software (ModernBill)
    Support Software (kayako)
    Server Management Services (maybe platinumservermanagement)

    Am I missing anything?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,169
    Erm... You can't use a management company like Platinumservermangement on a reseller account.

    I'm not quite sure what you mean by "server for my site".

    Its fine to host your site on space other then client space; but don't go buying a server for your main domain and a reseller account for your customers.

    If you're worrying about the cost of domain registration; this might not be the business for you. We registered most of our domains for 5 or 10 years (depending on use) right off the bat.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    38
    Thanks for your reply.

    I was referring to server admin services only if I were to upgrade to a dedicated server. Reading back, sorry I was unclear.

    You don't think it's wise to host my business websites on a separate server?

    I'm not "worried" about the domain registration costs at all. Just for personal expense purposes, I'm just trying to list all of the recurring expenses.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    1,205
    How do you plan to get your clients? Factor that into the cost as well unless you have another plan.
    Ankit Gupta - Cernax Hosting
    "We're always second in the industry, the customer comes first."

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    8,535
    SSL Certificate
    Business Registration/Registration Services
    Legal advice/information - such as TOS, AUP, Privacy Policy
    In the future, PDA
    Server Monitoring Costs
    Payment Processor costs

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Goleta, CA
    Posts
    5,566
    mmmm delicious taxes.
    Patron: I'd like my free lunch please.
    Cafe Manager: Free lunch? Did you read the fine print stating it was an April Fool's joke.
    Patron: I read the same way I listen, I ignore the parts I don't agree with. I'm suing you for false advertising.
    Cafe Owner: Is our lawyer still working pro bono?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    1,031
    and MOST important - advertising.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,169
    Yes, you'll find that your largest expenses will be processing fees (if you're using any sort of third party or first party payment system); advertising (unless you've got a local / niche market) and legal advice and documents.

    Wow, I basically reiterated what inogenius said, but its very true. Make sure you've really got a solid terms of service and acceptable use policy, because otherwise spammers and scammers and what have you will be all over your servers.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    47
    Internet access cost too. T1 or leased line?

  10. #10
    A Marketing Budget is important. You need to have a Marketing Plan.
    Eric - DiscountASP.NET : daspblog.com : twitter.com/discountasp
    Cutting Edge Windows Hosting in US and UK
    Best ASP.NET Hosting Service Award Winner 2005-2009: asp.netPRO Magazine

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    667
    Internet access, phones, cell phones, PDA's faxes, computers, office, etc., etc.
    Jim - 2Macs H-Sphere Web Hosting
    Since 2001 - H-Sphere Clustered Shared Linux & Windows Hosting
    Fully Managed Services| Custom Web Designs
    Unconditional, 30 Day Money back Guarantee!

  12. #12
    And maybe accountings by someone professional. Why going to modernbill ? To offer instant registration to your customer ? Did you think about a Fraud "gardian" or something that can get you away from frauds... Frauds are in most of the time the biggest problems you get when starting a business like webhosting.

    What credit/debit card gateway did you choose ?

    Hope you'll doing well!
    BestOfData - http://www.bestofdata.com - Your Online Gateway To Internet!
    DediboxWorld | SMS Gateway
    BestOfData is the ultimest solutions to all your webservices problems!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    38
    excellent info, everyone. Thanks for all of the input!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    814
    You could hire a company like Bobcares for your enduser support. However - if you start with zero clients you might not need them right away. Save the money and sign up with them once you really have the need.

    Also, don't waste money on things you do not need. If you outsource support there is no need for a web-enabled phone if you can check for orders from home or work every couple of hours. You can slowly upgrade as your income grows.

    Christoph
    Web Hosting Resource Kit - Web Hosting Reviews & Hosting Tutorials

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