subject: How Anyone Can Start A Web Hosting Business [print this page] How Anyone Can Start A Web Hosting Business
Web hosting is an incredibly profitable business, but it is also one that many people probably would not consider trying to get into because of the technical knowledge that is required to run servers and make sure that they are safe, secure, and do not suffer from any down time which would make your customers websites unavailable to visitors. But what people do not realize is that you don't actually need to do any of this yourself to get into this business.
I mean, if you think about it, it really is pretty obvious. You do not need to be able to make televisions, for example, to own a television shop. And in the same way you do not need to actually be able to provide a web hosting service yourself to customers with all that that entails - you just buy wholesale, sell retail, and the difference between the two is your profit. When you do this it is called 'reseller hosting'.
If you are good at marketing then you can make a success of this. In the same way, if you already have established website, particularly if you have sites that appeal to people who may be thinking about setting up their own website, then you have an excellent chance to make money.
There are two ways that you can go about it. Firstly you can use a service which provides a white label or private label reseller hosting website. That means that all you have to do is to customize the sales website that they give you, and then promote it. The other way is to open a reseller account and to create your own website. For beginners there are even free reseller hosting plans out there so that you do not even have to risk any money - you can get started with your own web site and start making sales for your new business without having spent any money at all yourself!
The one thing that you should be aware of before going into this is that it is a long term game that you will be playing. Many customers will still be with you, paying you on a monthly or yearly basis, 5, 6 or more years after they first sign up. So whereas any other new company may hope to get a good turnover in year 1 or 2 and then moderate growth after that, this kind of company can expect a slow start in year one, but then massive growth for at least 5 years as you contunue to sign up new customers whilst retaining many of your older ones.
