View Full Version : How to set up a Hosting biz
curiouscat
11-07-2002, 15:34
Hi Guys
Me very exicted to know this forum and hosting biz.
Beside getting a dedicated server or VPS what are the other suggested equipment or software needed to setup a webhostting biz.
What are the cost involve?
Care to tell me more.
Anyway you guys are great for putting up such a forum.
firstly you need alot money to spare for some months waiting for customer to sign up and good customer service mostly 24/7.And Good connection,99.9% of downtime.if down must quicky up in 1-2hrs or the customer will complain.
thats what i know from some friends
firstly you need alot money to spare for some months waiting for customer to sign up and good customer service mostly 24/7.And Good connection,99.9% of downtime.if down must quicky up in 1-2hrs or the customer will complain.
thats what i know from some friends
:shock: 99.9% downtime
Better pack our bags and close shop :cry:
I think you mean uptime
Just kidding :)
Basically you can start as a reseller and this way your startup costs and monthly cost is lower and you get support from your host while you are supporting your customers.
Thanks.
Kindest regards,
Choon
DoorKeeper
11-07-2002, 18:12
99.9% of downtime
hahhahahahah ! >cracking up< this is the best ! sharp eyes, choon. i think i will be able to do web hosting now. 0.01% uptime should be achievable for me.
hahahahah ... ha ... >wipes tears from eyes< heeheehee . . >some more tears< . .
curiouscat
11-07-2002, 19:16
right....but I got to find out what are the cost involve before I decide about the services, the uptime or downtime. So can any kind soul help?
DoorKeeper
11-07-2002, 19:40
i don't think u need to get a dedicated server to start off. a reseller account will do. say start off with an entry level one at about us$30. plus some money set aside for phone/fax/internet access bills. all in all probably less than S$100 a month.
Have the necessary administrative talent to run your service offerings. You can't open a mechanic shop if you don't know how to repair cars.
When adgrafx.com was first started, the founder shut himself out to study hosting-related technologies for 6 mths before coming up with a business plan and technical strategy that was so successful.
I agreed, as a web host, we need to upgrade our technical knowledge also. In short if you are staring up, you need 1) $$ 2)technical knowledge in managing Cpanel..etc 3) Customer realtion/marketing
I agreed, as a web host, we need to upgrade our technical knowledge also. In short if you are staring up, you need 1) $$ 2)technical knowledge in managing Cpanel..etc 3) Customer realtion/marketing
Not just for Cpanel... depending on the server configurations and whether is there a CP installed (might be Plesk, H-Sphere or etc...).
Just my thoughts :)
Thanks.
Kindest regards,
Choon
Just a reminder, Webvisions founder Roger Lim started the company with just $1000 and built slowly from that. But that was 1996. I don't really suggest you do the same, however. Find more capital to spend on good equipment and personnel.
Keep your service offerings tight first, allow yourself to focus and get it good. Once comfortable then move on to researching the feasibility of launching new services. Don't anyhow rush when it comes to new services else you'll set yourself up for big time chaos when disaster happens because you never plan ahead.
If you're good at developing CF, just offer CF first then, and slowly gain your reputation at that. Then if you wanna expand to like JSP or ASP.NET development, find others already experienced in those techs to assist you.
Did he start by reselling or by getting a D.S straight away?
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 11:37
I think he started from scratch. Anyway, there are these rumors that he used credit card to pay for his capital, but made so much $$ in the long run that the interest for the cc was nothing to the company then.
hi curiouscat, i suggest you look around for some reseller plans first b4 put in too much money. You need time to pick up all these skills bit by bit, and you wont be able to get enough customer to break even in short run.
Get a reseller plan to test our your business plan, coz you will have more time in marketing and learning rather than maintain the server. 24/7 support is hard for this kind of model, so you may want to offer better priced package to offset this....
Get your own server if you think that your customer base is large and stable enough, then may be time to expand.
PM me if you want some info for good reseller (non sg)
just my .02 cent
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 11:50
Reseller is always a good way to start with. Full flexibility minus the control. For most people, less control is good. :D
Come to think of it, there aren't any large reseller package web host providers in SG? Correct me if I'm wrong. Seems that US has a better foothold when it comes to reseller accounts.
Yup... there are lots of choice if want to base in US. Wondering what will happen if i hold two reseller accounts, one is US one in SG to target different audience ......
anyone done b4??
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 12:27
I was thinking of doing that actually, but not reseller account. Was intending to get a dedicated server in US. About US 99. But demand was too low, so dumped the idea. Intending to setup a US server as a backup server (I have dual local redundancy up, but want to experiment with a server overseas). Budget tight also, so gave up the idea.
I think by starting as a reseller , you will pick up many skills including customer relationship management as well as you can fine tune your business model as you goes along.
It is feasible to get a Dedicated Server only when you had a stable customer base .
Imagine if you get a D.S but don't have enough customer to cover it, thats means you will be loosing hundreds of dollars every month.
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 12:43
Not forgetting dedicated server = need for server management skills. :)
Marcus Lau
13-09-2002, 13:16
Originally posted by chin
I think by starting as a reseller , you will pick up many skills including customer relationship management as well as you can fine tune your business model as you goes along.
It is feasible to get a Dedicated Server only when you had a stable customer base .
Imagine if you get a D.S but don't have enough customer to cover it, thats means you will be loosing hundreds of dollars every month.
I agree with Chin. It very important in any business you do, start from scratch and grow from there. You may consider getting a dedicated server when you have strong customer base. However to how much customer is consider strong and stable, this you have to weigh yourself in terms of profits and other necessary issues.
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 13:25
Any business is a long term investment, plagued with potential problems. There are definately customers in every business, the difference is how many, and how much are they paying.
Webhosting can be considered an easy to do business when it only involved simply providing support for hosting websites on a reseller account.
However, as you move away from reselling to obtaining your own dedicated server, the workload increases as you need to know how to manage the server. You need to be familiar with configuration of the server and so on, something which was done by the main hosting provider previously.
And even further, when you go into co-location only. You'll need to know what kind of hardware you will be getting, how cost-effective the hardware is going to be, the operating system that you want to use on your server. And even more, which co-location centre you are going to host at, what kind of network do they have, their core network topology. When you start doing load balancing, you need to know the advanced configurations, router handing, etc.
Its a never ending process if you ask me. Reselling will only maybe require one person to maintain, but by the time it grows to the state where you're handling your own routers, it'll be a whole big pte ltd consisting of over 50 staff. :)
Marcus Lau
13-09-2002, 13:39
Originally posted by curiouscat
Hi Guys
Me very exicted to know this forum and hosting biz.
Beside getting a dedicated server or VPS what are the other suggested equipment or software needed to setup a webhostting biz.
What are the cost involve?
Care to tell me more.
Anyway you guys are great for putting up such a forum.
Dear Curious Cat,
You may consider emailing some online store that provide web/dedicate server, request for quote on specs, features and necessary software installation.
From there use them as a guidelines and analyse them yourself, then proceed on doing some research on the local cost for substaining your srvers. I believe this will give you a rough estimation on your questions.
Anyway you guys are great for putting up such a forum.
Thanks for your compliments, we really appreciate it and all the best in your research.
Best regards,
Marcus Lau.
Heng Chai , I agree with you.
Doing reseller is like getting start as a franchise where many things is been prepared for you, but when you get a D.S , you are really starting up...you must know how everythings run....
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 13:43
Yep yep.
Okay, I'm guess I'm boring everyone with my long winded analysis. Maybe even brainwashing (discouraging potential webhosters). Going offline. :o
How i wish i could write something like yours..... i only can form short sentences :(
My England even more powderful :)
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 16:15
Originally posted by fred
How i wish i could write something like yours..... i only can form short sentences :(
:)
You will learn in due course my young one, when you start dealing with large clients who demand full 2 page reports per incident. :rolleyes:
eeeeee...... i would rather give him two pages of prgramming code
Heng Chai
13-09-2002, 16:44
Programming? Oh, when u work in a corporate company 2 pages of programming = 4 pages of comments in the code, 8 pages of debugging log, 40 pages of idiot proof documentation. :bangwall:
haha true also.... but so far im alway running the one man show... no comment at all haha
Originally posted by fred
haha true also.... but so far im alway running the one man show... no comment at all haha
Fred .... 1 man show and you are surviving well. That's good. Any chance of providing SGWHT with a glimpse into your work ? Maybe you could place them in the Web Site Show Case forum...
That might increase your exposure and might warranty some new deals being hooked up via SGWHT.
Mmm... remembered that I saw a post requesting a full web hosting site somewhere in the forums.... maybe you can check it out.
Yup i'll, but kind of busy recently, coz dont know why i can see cinemax with my new tv, so..... :D
My partners(designer) is setting up his own company too, so hopefully sooner i can post his new site here, and ill working on my hosting site after update my adult site :p
Heng Chai
16-09-2002, 14:47
Originally posted by fred
My partners(designer) is setting up his own company too, so hopefully sooner i can post his new site here, and ill working on my hosting site after update my adult site :p
Adult site... :D :cool: Free account!
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