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  1. #1

    good time or not?

    I am currently 17, and wanted to start reselling, I am still in high school someone mentioned before that I should probably wait until im 18 to start reselling, then again someone said you should start and get a headstart. Not exactly sure what to do here, I was thinking maybe starting up in the summer since im out of school and seeing how it goes? Would that be a good route? And should I wait until I am out of high school?
    Last edited by hopesfall; 04-30-2008 at 07:55 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Check what the law says where you live. You might be required to be 18 to start a business (depending on its form). Alternatively, not that I really suggest it, you can have your parents form the company, with you actually doing the job.

    If you're not very serious about this and putting in what's necessary to make it work, don't start it. People will trust and rely on your service, some probably for their livelihood.

    You could always work for a hosting company, and get some experience in the business. It would likely be quite a bit more profitable if you've only the vacation at your disposal. Businesses don't grow instantly.

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    I would recommend you work for a hosting company for a couple of years so you get the experience and hang of things. Also you can use your free time to chill out and do things people your age do because once time is gone you cannot reverse it. After a couple of years if you still like the hang of things in the hosting industry go for it and start a hosting company and build things out from there.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Thats good advice, at 17 you realy shouldn't take on the responsabilities of running a business yourself.

    During the summer, don't limit yourself to the hosting business, consider anything that can give you experience of 'Doing Business'

    Goodluck and try to enjoy being 17, it's a pretty good age to be
    _____________________________________________________________
    - There are many types of Marmalade -

  5. #5
    Interesting.. wonder myself if i had started on my 16th today i would probably have thousands of customers oOo
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  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Teoman View Post
    Interesting.. wonder myself if i had started on my 16th today i would probably have thousands of customers oOo
    I was thinking along the same lines, isn't it better to get a head start on things so later on you get the best possible things?

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    I would PM Anky who founded Cernax.com around your age.

    I'll advise him of this thread and see if he has any words of wisdom

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teoman View Post
    Interesting.. wonder myself if i had started on my 16th today i would probably have thousands of customers oOo
    I would think 9 out of 10 starting young have the opportunity to loose thousands of clients.

    You don't want to end up like Liam or Mike or any of those other young plonkers.

    What will hapen to your business when you do some further education/uni ?
    will you be walking away from your business ?

    When your 40[old !] will you have skills you can transfer to the 'new technology' of that era, or will you just me a guy that knows an awfull lot about 'old hosting' like you see at the museum, or in old movies.

    Don't get me wrong, I wish you well in whatever way you tackle life, but I would recommend to any youngster to get as broad a based skill/experience as possible while they can.
    To some thats going to Uni, others going to work, others climbing Mt. Everest or traveling, whatever rocks your boat.

    ps I'm the wrong side of 50 and still learning life.
    _____________________________________________________________
    - There are many types of Marmalade -

  9. #9
    Look at it this way you can always start a business anytime - but you cannot turn back time. As you grow older you will have a lot of responsibilities that will automatically add on to your life and most likely you will not have time to enjoy life which is why I strongly recommend you enjoy life now while you can and once you are in your mid 20's look into starting a business - that too a hosting business if there is a market then since it is an over-saturated industry as is. But at the end of the day whatever rocks your boat as Brian mentioned. Good luck!

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    MA
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    I have mixed views, and think you should take the advice of each and everyone here. Once considering all of them, comparing to your own life and goals, you can then make your decision and run with it.

    You're young, younger people can and should be enjoying life "while they can" and not so worried about work, business, etc.

    But on the flip side, you still have a future to plan for. What's your next step after high school?

    If you make an honest attempt at building a business, whether hosting or something else, you are going to learn a lot. Business is about more than setting up a reseller account and following what everyone else is doing. Business is networking, growth, loss, hardship, success, and much more all rolled into one.

    Odds are good that you're not going to be a huge success. Sorry to be negative, but it's true. On that note, so what if you do fail? Don't burn any bridges, don't hurt anyone in the process, and even if you fail at creating a huge empire, you've still learned along the way and hopefully came out ahead with street smarts because of it.

    If you do go ahead, treat it for what it is, a business. Unless you're only hosting friend's sites that they could care less about, you need to value every site that you host and realize that others are counting on you and your company to be there. They don't care that it's 3am on a school night

    Best of luck.

  11. #11
    In my terms of view my on the biz. Is totally based on the experience. I have started back @ 2001 by selling semi dedicated game servers. This brought me to come up with selling web hosting. I was a newbie but i was learning. Though i had good policies of marketing in the begging. Which gave me new ideas on how to gain more customers. The social enviorment gave me the opportunity to gain lots of decent customers. Then i started to see that nothing seems easy to take control by my self. So i have recruited partners to work etc.

    In my learning this process i have learned many things. Its not totally about age. Its totally about marketing and technical issues. Without marketing you can't grow you can't be stronger in this market. Following the technology is the best thing. The better hardware you get or the better data center you find you will rank much more better. Age is not a property in getting ranked good. Only the experience is important.

    Usually the companies only handle the problems of the customers related the work. But i talked discussed with my customers about their websites "what to do as an idea" helping them. This gave me new societies of friends rather then only clients.
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  12. #12
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teoman View Post

    Usually the companies only handle the problems of the customers related the work. But i talked discussed with my customers about their websites "what to do as an idea" helping them. This gave me new societies of friends rather then only clients.
    As a BOF, may I suggest being friendly with clients is good, but don't trust them as friends, they are clients first & last, but having a friendly relationship with them is indeed worthwhile.
    _____________________________________________________________
    - There are many types of Marmalade -

  13. #13
    That's correct that's why we have to be careful on our acts. This is a good way to grown your society.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    If you don't plan to get a summer job, I say go for it, you'll have tons of free time. I remember the days where I used to take my summers off, if only I would of done more with that time.

    If the law says you have to be 18, then just don't call it a business. Just have the setup to offer the service, and offer it, but don't really treat it like a business. Do it more like "hey I can host your site for nn/mo" type deal. Should be ok. Then when you turn 18 register it as a business. Then once you start making over 30k/year you'll have to charge GST but if you plan things out you can stay slightly below that to not have to worry about all that paper work.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Red Squirrel View Post
    If you don't plan to get a summer job, I say go for it, you'll have tons of free time. I remember the days where I used to take my summers off, if only I would of done more with that time.

    If the law says you have to be 18, then just don't call it a business. Just have the setup to offer the service, and offer it, but don't really treat it like a business. Do it more like "hey I can host your site for nn/mo" type deal. Should be ok. Then when you turn 18 register it as a business. Then once you start making over 30k/year you'll have to charge GST but if you plan things out you can stay slightly below that to not have to worry about all that paper work.
    In that case, how would I advertise my offers?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    I would just start with friends and what not, or maybe even here. If you have an existing website for something else you could always have an ad there as well. When you register a business its normally registered for your municipality, but hosting is international, so does not really matter. I'd do more research first mind you, but I'm sure theres ways you can legally get away with it.

  17. #17
    Here's some advice from someone else who's 17. Form a partnership with your parents... as an LLC... then outsource technical support to a company that is based in the US... then advertise and promote your business

    Do not get discouraged. If you really want to start a business. I don't see why you shouldn't. I co-founded mine with my mom 2 years ago when I was 15.

    John

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