Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 44
  1. #1

    Arrow How much time do you put in?

    Whats the average amount of time you are online working to bring in sales or answering support questions for your host?
    //VPS Blowout going on now! Can you believe it?
    //Installation of any script i.e. Wordpress, theme or plugin(s) included!
    //99.9% Uptime//Live Support//Awesome Deals!
    //CubicHost.org

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    7,325
    In the beginning stages, expect to spend a huge portion of your day working on your company and trying to generate sales, deal with support, etc. if you want to get somewhere.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    /roof/ledge
    Posts
    28,090
    So far, my average day is 6:30 AM to midnight-ish. That's sales, support and various other jobs to run it and keep food on the table. The rest of the day I get to do what I want.
    Your one stop shop for decentralization

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    When we began in 2004 it was 24/7 insanity. We kinda jumped into things head first so we were learning as we went. Maybe something I didn't want to admit at the time but it's okay to do so now As bear mentioned, it was looooongggg days.

    Once I had enough income to hire some help (my family) things really began to improve. I now work 3 shifts a week and the rest of the time I work when I want.

    The key for our company was automation. It's still something I pride myself on. If I notice tickets coming in dealing with the same issue over and over, I fix that issue. When we launched it was manually setting up clients, upgrades downgrades, config changes, etc. 95% of our business is now automated.

    I used to feel "lazy" if I wasn't working 24/7. I now focus on my family and enjoy the 3 shifts I've been able to setup for myself without any guilt.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    1,063
    I agree, automating is important. It makes your life easier and most people looking for hosting want it immediately. It's hard to compete in the buiness when everyone else has an automated system to setup accounts and you don't.

  6. #6
    For my hosting business, maybe 15 minutes a day. It is all automated now.

    For my 30 other websites, 6-8 hours a day drumming up new leads, building search engine rank, finding affiliate programs, etc.
    Download my eBook + Videos: Starting your own successful web hosting company.
    Learn from a web host with 7 years of experience.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Orlando
    Posts
    1,280
    starting out, probably 100 or more hours per week. Now, it varies. On a lazy day, maybe 3 hours, just to keep up on tickets and do the minimum of keeping on top of things. During busy times it can still be much more than a typical 8 hour day, and you have to be ready to deal with issues that come up at a moment's notice.

    Still, I enjoy the freedom to have a lazy day from time to time, as well as the satisfaction that comes from a busy day.
    eVerity.com
    Celebrating 9 years of customer service. Domain names, shared/semi-dedicated/dedicated hosting, SSL certificates, merchant accounts, reseller options, and referral program, since July 2000.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Wadsworths, IL
    Posts
    231
    I wake up around 1PM and go to sleep around 4am. I spend an hour or 2 a day doing other stuff but the majority of my time is spent chatting on forums, answering tickets, getting sales, etc.
    RomesBlog - Dividend Investing, Financial News, Personal Portfolio and More.
    X - Follow me on X.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by bear View Post
    So far, my average day is 6:30 AM to midnight-ish. That's sales, support and various other jobs to run it and keep food on the table. The rest of the day I get to do what I want.
    You mean like getting a HUGE postcount on WHT?
    edgedirector.com
    managed dns global failover and load balance (gslb)
    exactstate.com
    uptime report for webhostingtalk.com

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    /roof/ledge
    Posts
    28,090
    Quote Originally Posted by plumsauce View Post
    You mean like getting a HUGE postcount on WHT?
    Yup, and not one with any value (ask anyone)!
    Your one stop shop for decentralization

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,531
    All of my spare time! and more...
    Well most is automated and other staff cover the tickets.
    But a bit of control freak myself I always have a PDA and check everything all day long...
    BotWars.io - Code the AI of your Battle Bot!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Northallerton
    Posts
    249
    At the moment, from when i wake up normally around 6AM until 10PM ish obviously i do give myself a few hours of breaks!

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by gray929 View Post
    Whats the average amount of time you are online working to bring in sales or answering support questions for your host?
    I started my company from scratch, and at first, loads of time and effort is put in, but after that - it really pays off!

    If you're thinking of starting a company in this sector, i'd go for a reseller package to start with - so much more easier to deal with!

    Now I use auto setup scripts, so I only check my emails at 6.30 AM, 11.00 AM, 12.30 PM, 5.00 PM and 21.00PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Ulyanovsk, Russia
    Posts
    204
    From our experience when we only started the hosting service for the software, there was one person who devoted all his working day to communication with customers and providing support service. With the growth of customers' base new engineers were hired, and there are several people working now, some of them are responsible for the technical part only, the rest work with customers directly.

    Anyway, if you plan to build successful hosting business, you will need to devote all your free time to it, at least first year.
    X-Cart - PHP shopping cart used by tens thousands online merchants worldwide.
    Follow us on Facebook

  15. #15
    When I set my company up, I spent a few months designing the site, setting the setting the server up blah blah blah. but like I said, If you can get a decent auto-script to setup accounts for you - your laughing, as you can do what you want during the day.

    I now only check emails a few times a day. =]

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    205
    I spend a lot of time in my company. Whenever I'm free, I'm usually on live chat, checking emails, etc.

    I use automatic setup however, so that lightens my workload.
    bikster.com - Quality Hosting. Affordable Prices.
    Providing premium quality shared and reseller cPanel/WHM hosting at low prices!
    Reseller cPanel/WHM hosting solutions that you can afford

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    587
    I have found it comforting for my customers to receive help and other stuff from the founder of the company, so myself and my employees (all 4 of them) do this non stop. As I tell my "workers", if they want to continue getting free heath insurance they will keep on working.
    I'm part of the Chicago Breast Cancer 3 Day!
    Because Everyone Deserves a Lifetime.

  18. #18
    At the start of the company i was on from 6am till midnight, and i'm still doing the same hours, getting customers and providing support

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Jax, FL
    Posts
    2,707
    About 7AM to 2:30AM

    Of course, I don't sit in front of the computer that entire time -- Oh how the wonders of a Windows Mobile phone + Microsoft Exchange change your life.
    Daniel | Server Complete, LLC
    INSTANTLY DEPLOYED Bare Metal Servers
    Wholly owned hardware and self operated network (AS19531) in Jacksonville, FL

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    4,618
    In the beginning, be prepared to work 16+ hours per day, 7 days a week. Once you're more established, you might only work 60 hours a week.
    Scott Burns, President
    BQ Internet Corporation
    Remote Rsync and FTP backup solutions
    *** http://www.bqbackup.com/ ***

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Tech Belt
    Posts
    8,160
    I put in about 6 hours a day toward working on things. During the fall and spring I try to schedule my classes around mid day so that I don't have as much to worry about.
    Nothing here right now.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    2,082
    It's been over 6 years now and I am still trying to find the time clock so that I can clock out.

    at least I still have my stapler...

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Greece
    Posts
    2,211
    The last 2 years I work at least 8 hours per day, 7 days per week. When I start back on 2003 I was a one-man show so I was working 16 hours per day. My plan for the next years is to automate things as much as possible and hire more staff so I can work less hours per day and focus on my personal projects.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    966
    Most days I spend around 30-60 minutes dealing with tickets. I spend another hour or two adding new content to the site or making coding/system improvements. Then spend some more time working on various SEO tasks.
    Doyle Lewis
    BuyHTTP Internet Services - In business since 2003
    Business Hosting | nginx, CloudLinux, Varnish cache, and CDP with every business account
    Shared, Reseller, Semi Dedicated, VPS, Cloud, Dedicated - We can grow with you

  25. #25
    Thats alot of hours on sales/support.

    What are peoples experience with offshore support for a monthly price? I mean it can save you alot of time. But are they any good ?

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-28-2008, 12:26 PM
  2. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-09-2007, 10:52 AM
  3. Full Time/Part Time - Chicago Area Service Agent
    By danushman in forum Employment / Job Offers
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-20-2004, 06:03 PM
  4. Animator seeking one-time/part-time/full-time job.
    By Indio in forum Employment / Job Offers
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-02-2002, 05:10 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •