DC_Sara — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 00:14:39 +0000

We started back in 2002 and we have been doing okay, even with the big competition! We strive to be top notch at support and I think that puts us on a different page from the get-go.

We researched and built a solid business plan for about 6 months before we took the plunge. You have to be able to commit to it, you can't change your mind 6 months down the road. Well, technically you can, but you have to think about all the people that you are hosting.

Good luck!

openmind — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 12:27:30 +0000

teammatt3 wrote: In the first place, not to put you down or anything, why would you want to start a hosting business? There is so much competition, I bet close to 30% of all forum members here run a hosting site. What are you going to offer that will make you stand out? Try to go for something original, maybe host a whole bunch of templates and remotely hosted scripts, and provide free consulting or something like that. Just my 2 cents…

Couldn't agree more. The competition is fierce but if you make yourself unique and stand out from the crowd you can/will make money. Just because there are people doing something already that is no reason not to try and compete.

Rackshack (now ev1servers) only entered the industry a few years ago and were told at the time not too bother as there wasn't enough room for another dedicated hosting company... They are now the worlds largest...

Take a look at The Web Hosting Talk Forum and browse around for do's and dont's, good hosts and bad, take your time and never be afraid to ask what you think may be a stupid question!

teammatt3 — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 03:31:58 +0000

-That's too bad, as for the control panel issue, I think most of the members here would say cpanel, I think it is the most widespread panel out there, most people feel comfortable around it.
-Some precautions you should take...
Don't rent low end servers, the worst thing a host can do is set you up with a server with a P1 with 64megs of ram
Make sure you rent from a company that has a good rep (valueweb, servermatrix etc)
Offer great support to your customers, if you provide a 1800 number that makes them feel you're more reliable, and supportive

zhongqiang — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 02:44:09 +0000

oh.. yep.. but its my boss's plan to start up that dept. so all i could do is to try to make the best out of whatever resources i had..

teammatt3 — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 02:26:38 +0000

In the first place, not to put you down or anything, why would you want to start a hosting business? There is so much competition, I bet close to 30% of all forum members here run a hosting site. What are you going to offer that will make you stand out? Try to go for something original, maybe host a whole bunch of templates and remotely hosted scripts, and provide free consulting or something like that. Just my 2 cents…