Starting Your Own Hosting Company Time to starting your own web hosting business? Check out this guide of the basics before you take the leap of faith.
How To Become A Web Host A question that is asked quite frequently. First and foremost we must point out that web hosting is not a get rich quick scheme or an easy business to run. It takes alot of patience, computer and technical knowledge and a solid background in Computer Science to run a successful and solid web hosting company. Some may disagree with this, especially with the innovation of "Control Panels" that makes it easier for anyone to get a pre-built server and start hosting sites. In reality, it's not really that simple. Yes you can lease a dedicated server from a provider and start hosting sites once you are familiar with the control panel BUT a very important point to remember is those control panels still have their limitations. If you do decide to start your own hosting company, here are some basic questions to ask yourself *before* starting a hosting firm.

1. How much time do I have to invest into this company? In this day and age, most clients are expecting 24 hour support. Are you able to be on call 24 hours a day to handle all the technical and sales requests that will be coming in once you start your company? Prompt support is a very key aspect of having a successful hosting business, so this is one of the first questions you should ask yourself before starting your company. Am I able to offer the support my clients will need?

2. Familiarity with the latest software and platforms? Have you done your homework in terms of researching what are the latest software, how they work and the pricing. It is very important to be familiar with the software that needs to be installed on the server (s) that you will be using to host your client's websites. For instance IIS when using Windows 2000 server is something you will need to be very familiar with, if you are going to be hosting sites on a Windows Server. On a good note, Microsoft offers a huge library of information on all their software, but it will take a serious time investment to be familiar with all the options available, security leaks, and you have to be always on the look out for the latest patches. In terms of Linux, this is a bit more complicated. A strong command and knowledge of SSH (Secure Shell Security) is needed. Even if you have a control panel such as Cpanel which offers a program called Web Host Manager, a strong background in Telnet Commands will be needed or you will be lost.


3. Financial Investment Are you willing to spend the money necessary to start making some money? In many cases you will need to make some serious finanacial investment when starting your own hosting firm. Be very weary of the fact that many of the software on the market are not cheap, and the type of servers most of your clients will be expecting their sites to be hosted on, will not be cheap either. Many expect their site to be hosted on Dual Pentium servers that are sturdy and reliable, so some investment will be needed. On the other hand, there is the cheaper way, which is to simply lease a dedicated server that offers a high amount of bandwidth from another hosting firm, and then host your clients sites on that server. It's an easy way to start your own company with little investment, BUT be forewarned that with network outages, server crashes, you will have little or no control unless you can contact your dedicated server provider for a prompt reboot or resolution of the network problem.

4. Hiring of Employees? Will you be hiring any employees to start, or will you be a one man show until the business picks up? If you choose to not hire any employees then obviously your financial investment is less, BUT your time investment into the business has now skyrocketed. No employees will mean you will have to handle all the technical and sales requests along with any other problem that may occur. It is important to weigh this aspect carefully as it could make or break you.

5. Resources/Steps To Start A Hosting Company. A. Registration of Company Name Do a search on the internet for trade name registration in your particular state. This will allow you to register a DBA known as Doing Business As name within your particular state. This option is the easiest way to have an actual business name instead of using your actual real name. If you would like to go straight ahead and become a Corporation instead of just using a DBA then you can use a site such as MyCorporation.com to get started with your own Corporate business. B. Purchasing of Servers/Leasing of Servers If you decided to purchase your own servers, you have a few options. You can get a server custom built by manufacturers or you can even go the option of leasing your server from a company such as Dell or Gateway. They offer a monthly leasing to own plan. If you decide to lease a Dedicated Server , then you can review offerings from companies such as Rackshack.net, Eservers.biz, Rackspace.com, Cyberworldservers.com just to name a few. Each of those companies will allow you to lease a server on their connection, set a specified amount of bandwidth, and allow you to host your client's websites on the server you lease from them. If you're starting small we highly recommend using a Reseller account from either HostGator or GreenGeeks. Both these providers offer Reseller alternatives at a reasonable fee. You can read more about Reseller Hosting in our related articles below or directly on these two providers' websites.
C. Office/Data Center Space With the purchase of servers, you'll need office space or as some say a Data Center to house these servers. You will have to look around for space in your local city for the best location with enough space for growth to house your servers and your connection.
D. Bandwidth Providers If purchasing your own servers direct, you'll need a provider that can run a line to the server through a router to feed the bandwidth. Some companies that offer bandwidth are : Level3.com , Twtelecom.com, Verio.com, and for cheaper bandwidth you can use Cogentco.com. Each of these companies will allow you to have bandwidth in your data center facility. These are just some of the *basic* steps necessary to get started with your own hosting firm. The task

seem daunting, but it can be achieved with hard work and dedication. The web hosting market may seem saturated with new hosting companies forming literally each day, but there is still room techncially for another good company. Once you can offer the support and reliability your customers need then you will grow as a firm mainly through word of mouth. If you treat your customers good, they will refer others to your service. In a nutshell, hosting is not an easy business to start, but it can be a profitable and rewarding one when the necessary steps are taken. We hope that this helps anyone who is trying to get into the hosting biz!

Ok now...

Again...

Very lucrative I guess....

Is Naija ripe enof for that?

Nice piece! But what about someone like me who has no previous experience on web hosting but so much interested in setting up a website or blog? I think u should also elaborate more on how a beginner can host a new website

Nice

Good but how much does it cost in term of money...

What's the range for the start up

Thanks 4 D Info. Bt Where Iz D Capital?

No time to start begging people to host their sites on my servers

na wa o! All these techie stuff can confuse sombori.. Abeg, shey oga Seun fit break down all these techie terms to us so we can be starting our hosting business abi?

Don't quote my Engrish biko..




My 2cents sha...

Develop what the masses needs and make it big.(Something NEW and Unique)

Who get time to dey beg people to come host on your server. There are big players in that Niche already. Well just thinking out Loud.

#Peace

OP, where did you copy this from?

OP, for starters reselling account is the best way to start.. Managing a dedicated server is not easy o.. Infact, you will have a hard time as new entrance into the market while profit becomes abysmally low..
Infact, you fit give up especially here in Nigeria where power is a serious challenge
Or do you have power alternatives OP? Tell us

[size=14pt]Another opportunity that is open to Nigerian youth is web design business. The beauty of this business is that you can work across borders. If you are good and know how to source for jobs, you will be surprised how much you can be making every month. Surprisingly, this business can be earning you dollars while you work from the corner of your house. You can read the details about how you can start web design business from the link below:
http://legitsmallbusiness.com/how-to-start-a-web-design-business/[/size]

Welcome to Leksmedia Concept your home of web design and digital marketing service.

KIndly check www.leksmediaconcept.com for our services or call 08173091370

Seriously OP, I am not understanding