Where to start?

[RRolfe]

Where do you think the BEST and easiest place to start a web host is? Start with reselling? A dedicated server? Colocation?

thats the first half of the question (of course.. the easy half)... the second half is... WHY?

[Rewdog]

Start by learning all you can about it, perhaps help out at a hosting company doing odd jobs just to pick up the know how. Once you feel comfortable with that, you should start reselling. Then upgrade to a dedicated server. Once your team is well manned with the technical know-how and it will be the most cost-effective solution, migrate to colocation.

Why what? Get into the hosting industry?
The only reason that I personally would get into the industry NOW, is if I had an awesome idea for hosting that know one else had done and I was confident it would be successful. There are so many hosting companies that are made up with the same ingredients:
2 People
1 Rackshack Web Server
1 Ensim Liscence
1 Web Site Template
1 Perl Desk Liscence
1 PHPBB Support forum
3 Budget Plans slightly outdoing a leading company in features / or a few cents
If I didn't have an idea that would set me apart from the rest, and a resource of funds or connections to get my idea out there, I wouldn't get into the industry, plain and simple. :)

[RRolfe]

well... getting a job at a local hosting company to gain knowledge isnt going to be hard. I admin one. Thats my day job. However i was wanting to get out on my own and give it a shot.. just wondering where everything thinks a new startup should START. oh yeah.. and the "why" part is why do you think X is a good place to start.

For instance rewdog.. why do you think the reseller plan is a good place to start?

[Rewdog]

Ahh ok :)
I started up with a reseller plan back in 99'. I didn't have much money so that's what I could afford. Since I wasn't worrying about server problems, I was able to focus on the beginning stages of the company and establishing goals/plans for the future based on the rate of growth I had. Debt totally sucks, so I wouldn't start off dedicated. If you have the money for dedicated already, I'd encourage you to consider investing that money into advertising and to get your name out there.

But if you already know exactly what you want to do, have everything planned out, and have the funds to do it with and market your service, go get a dedicated.

[RRolfe]

yeah.. i am thinking reseller is the place to start... use the funding to get the name going (advertising) and save up for equipment.. then go colo.

[JeremyV]

Spend as much time researching and learning the field before just jumping in. That is the key to success. I spent a good part of a year reading up on hosting, the various aspects of the business from accounting to control panels. I also had a benefit of working consulting for 5 years prior, so I knew all about customer support (the biggest concern in hosting IMHO).

But frankly, anyone and their brother can setup a web hosting outfit, but understanding how it works, what customers want, and how to provide it to them... that is the key to staying in business :) So learn as much as you can before spending any money.

[TheGAME1264]

I'm going to give one additional piece of advice as someone who runs a very similar company, and as weird as it's going to seem at first, there is a logic. The advice: don't try to give your support and energy to everyone. One thing that I've noticed a lot of people doing is trying to please absolutely everyone at any cost, and that's just not financially feasible. Every so often, a complete a$$ will come along who will ask you a thousand questions, get you to change your pricing structure at least four or five times, and then decide to go with someone else.

At this point, the person will take every opportunity to drag your name as a company through the mud. What did you get from it? Maybe a few bucks gross, but by the time you're done trying to do everything the customer asked you to do, you'll end up with a drained wallet and a miserable frame of mind.

You may wish to get around this by selling your services to a niche market of people who will remain loyal to you as long as you do the same. That's what I try to do, and it's worked well for me. I believe from a hosting standpoint, living_media does something of the same; she markets to a specific group of people that, because they aren't know-it-alls, won't question every little thing she ever does. It's a smart, yet conservative business model.

[Robert]

Why can't I be just a regular Internet user who comes online to surf the net, chat with friends, download music, download po.. ahem.. pictures and stuff?

Noo. I have to be a webhosting company. But I love doing what I do and wouldn't give itup for the world.

[Chicken]

Another point, which I didn't see you mention either way, is how much business experience do you have. I mean, general business experience? Aside from the technical aspects of hosting, and the market, advertising, etc., that is specific to the hosting industry, one thing I've seen in my years of discussing things with web hosts is a real lack of business skills and knowledge. Dont take this the wrong way (really), but not everyone with the technical knowledge of how to admin a server is qualified to start and run a compnay (any company). I've seen this point skipped and ignored many times, and the result ain't pretty. You don't have to know everything yet, just be aware that you need to learn it (then you'd be OK). :D

[RRolfe]

Originally posted by Chicken:

Another point, which I didn't see you mention either way, is how much business experience do you have. I mean, general business experience? Aside from the technical aspects of hosting, and the market, advertising, etc., that is specific to the hosting industry, one thing I've seen in my years of discussing things with web hosts is a real lack of business skills and knowledge. Dont take this the wrong way (really), but not everyone with the technical knowledge of how to admin a server is qualified to start and run a compnay (any company). I've seen this point skipped and ignored many times, and the result ain't pretty. You don't have to know everything yet, just be aware that you need to learn it (then you'd be OK). :D


Ladies and Gentlemen.. At this point.. my current fear.

I do NOT know how to run a business... so we shall be learning that..

[interactive]

I'm sure there's a community college in your area. What I would go do is take some classes. Go talk to a counselor they'll help you out. Just a thought.

[RRolfe]

Theres a thought

[interactive]

It's what I'm doing. Taking Business Administration and Business Ethics (it's more of a 16 week seminar that I get credit for).

[RRolfe]

really? Is it teaching you alot?
what are they covering?

[interactive]

Business Ethics is a targetted towards local high school students (such as myself). Alot of local businesses were complaining about the lack of work ethics for labor in general. So the college here teamed up with the local high school and they formed a class (dual credit).

[Robert]

Robert, you're in High School?

[interactive]

Yup. Graduating this summer.

[Robert]

You're a youngster. haha. j/k.

I just graduated (C/O '02). In college now. I'm 19. Been in the hostin biz for umm 5 years? Wow. Time Flys.

[interactive]

Yes I am. I'm not into hosting really much at all. Manage around 10 servers for different clients and such. I'm a software dev'er. Working on getting my control panel finished before summer :D.

[Robert]

Don't forget about SKool! get your edumakation!

[interactive]

That's why I'm going to college. I goto a private school, and am basicly up to as high as they go (taking calculus). I want to stick around and help them get a decent network setup, but don't have the patience to wait years. lol

[MrManager]

When considering how to go about starting a business, I would strongly encourage you to decide how successful you want to be and establish some long term goals.

I am convinced that success if duly paired with the risks one takes. If you are interested in a truly successful business venture (where you are not exclusively dependent on others for your financial well-being such as hardware access and/or wholesale cost structuring), then you will need to decide what sort of risks you are willing to take on. If you decide you can only stomach situations where you feel safe or have a back-up in place to catch your fall, then it's not a real risk - it's just life. Risk can be defined as real threats of total failure -- or total success. Many say they are willing to go for it, but are you so willing to put your house on the line when going for that business loan you say you need? How about making a legal decision that could save or break your business you worked so hard to build? What if they say there's no sure outcome? Now that's risk my friend, and that's where the measure of sucess will be defined. Not words - but where you really lay your cards on the table.

I think it's been said before that success doesn't come overnight and it is especially true for the hosting business. As a general rule, growth invariably comes slowly and steadily. Every successful company who manages to sustain themselves over an extended period of time are either financed by venture capitalists or they know business. If you don't know business, you are doomed before you begin and risk legal action from your ignorance and/or arrogance. But if you do know business and have the patience to stick with it, you'll see your growth. Plan for success and decide what you would like to do be doing in 1/2/3/5 or even 10 years. Modify these goals as needed, but be realistic too. You could say if you fail to make realistic yet aggressive goals, your company will be sure to steer itself to Chapter 11 eventually.

Hope this helps. I know I rambled a little, but do think about what I said. You may not feel the need to follow every piece of advice I gave, but at least you'll be moving in the right direction if you embrace just a little. PM me if you have other questions- I have a lot of background I can share that may be specific to what you're facing.

Cheers,

[I, Brian]

The issue of risk can define a successful break - but also a point of absolute failure. That's the point about a risk.

The issue about taking a risk is about tackling one with good judgement formed from experience and common sense - even intuition. Blind decisions will ruin a business, but calculated risks are a hoary but valuable animal.