This is for people interested in starting a cPanel or Linux web hosting company.
The Website:
$0-$200
Image and Presentation is key in creating a successful website in this business. This is the front line, the first thing a user sees when looking at your host. Since you are new to hosting, this is all you have to get customers at this point in time. People will tell you that this and that is best for advertising. They are talking shit. You do not have this yet. The main point you want to focus on in this point in time is your website. It needs to be attractive, original and try getting some animations or gimmicks that people will find qwerky, it can get you a customer. Another thing is functionality, if I like the look of your website but don't know where to go to buy hosting from you then I will most likely go to the next company on my list. I recommend getting a custom made template from someone online with billing pages included. This will get you a good base and you can always change later on, but for now this is all you need.
Billing Management:
$0-$30
Good Billing Management software is needed to take care of all your account creations and payments. Billing Management software is great and is doing more than what it used to when I first started out. Good software can also take care of tickets/support for you too!
The Server Hardware:
$200-$600
If you want a nice, easy and unstressful start, you need to buy your own server. Not a Reseller, not a VPS, not anything else other than a server. When you have a server for yourself, you have all the control, you manage addons, changes etc. You also have the knowledge of when your servers are up and down, because you are the one that has them, not those pesky datacenters. Don't get me wrong, Datacenters are great but they do not give you the satisfaction of having your own server, nor do they have the same amount of control. Clients do not like to be moved, if you are building a nice client base and decide to upgrade, problems do happen with transferring websites and databases. You could lose some customers in the process. Always keep this in mind when upgrading. Last thing, always get raid10 protection, as this reduces the chance of full data loss in the case of something going wrong. People invest a lot of money in keeping this data safe, do not lose it for them!
Server Administrators:
$50-$100+
Whether you are into DIY or not, you still need admins to have discussions with. They are always going to know more than you and are going to do a nice job. They are going to secure your server and perform an errands that you need done e.g Bring ti back up if it goes down, hardware failing etc. I recommend going for the moderately priced admins, as they do the same job as the more expensive ones and get it done faster as most of them have an incentive to work hard for their cash. If you are buying from a datacenter, I recommend you not get the managed servers, as when you want to install an addon you get ol' indian Bal on the phone and he says "No Sorry sir, we do not support that addon" and it goes on like this for hours. It is not worth the effort, go with external companies.
Server Support:
$50-$100+
No matter how easy things are to set up, there is always one Joe that comes along and bugs you over everything. I know myself as I am one of these people. Let them relax and provide them with all the support they need. Don't try be a one man band, it is only going to stress yourself out and lose some customers.
Final Words of Wisdom:
My Final words. Potatoes gonna Potate, what do you do?
As you slowly progress with your business you will get my saying more. One day you will thank me for saying this.
Thank you for taking the time to read this thread. If you get halfway and decide it sounds like to much work, feel free to buy from my friends company, tizzytazzy.com (Use Promo code "taco" for 10% lifetime discount.)
EDIT: VOUCHER NO LONGER AVAILIBLE AT TIZZYTAZZY.COM
If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Thanks
~Headphones
