Hosting business is one of those things that seems so simple, you wonder why everyone isn’t doing it. Starting your own hosting business can be cheap, easy, and safe.
Since every company, and many individuals, need their own websites, providing hosting services can generate significant returns. But why bother starting your own hosting business when your plate is already full and your business is running fine?
Let’s first look at the reasons why you should start a hosting business.
Reasons to start your own hosting business –
- It’s Easy – The web hosting provider is doing most of the legwork. They handle the technical difficulties that scare most people away from the industry and keep services running smoothly. All you have to do is keep your individual clients happy and provide the right hosting solutions for them and their organization.
- Revenue – Aside from the initial setup and registering new clients, you can simply watch your bank account grow. An overhead price that covers your costs and brings in decent cash flow keeps costs and prices straightforward for you and your clients.
- Great Upsell for Digital Firms – If you already have a digital business then adding hosting to your portfolio will make you an even better sell as a complete package. Moreover, you might have existing clients who might be looking for hosting services.
Now, after we have some reasons to start a hosting business, let’s look at how to do it. It’s not too complicated so don’t worry, just a few steps and you will be ready. Read how much beneficial is to have your own hosting.
Steps to start a business –
- Find your Niche – Web hosts are a dime a dozen these days, so you may be wondering if it is even worth it to start a web hosting company. But many industries still have a need for niche web hosts tailored directly for them. Niche markets in web hosting include green energy web hosts, small business hosting, DDOS protected servers, and the list goes on and on. There are too many large hosts who already cater to no specific market, so you aren’t likely to make money trying to sell to all user groups. Instead, start out small and specific.
- Know your competitors – After choosing your niche you will still have some competition in your niche. Next, you want to separate yourself even more from other hosting companies within your niche. Research competitor business models and see what they’re doing that works, and where there’s room for improvement! Analyzing your competitors is the best strategy for discovering ways to outdo them.
- Choose a dedicated server partner – Choosing the right dedicated server partner will be critical to your success. Your clients will not want their content migrated if you pick the wrong data center, and this error can kill a new web host. Don’t look for the cheapest dedicated server provider as this will end in disaster. It can’t be their only positive quality. Instead, find a dedicated provider that offers several features. Features to look for into a dedicated partner should include Great value for the price, 24×7 dedicated support, Fast dedicated server deployment, Must have Hardware like RAID-10 and SSD, and protection from DDoS attacks.
- Create a business model – Over with the technicalities, now let’s look at the business part. You will need to finalize things for the following :
- Branding – This includes your company name, logo, and tagline. Be aware of which domain names are available since you’ll inevitably need to build a company website. Your name should be memorable and easy to find
- Pricing – Hammer out the details of your pricing plans to find that sweet spot between how much the hosting infrastructure costs you, and how much your clients are willing to pay for your services. This can also play into your niche marketing if you’re trying to undercut the cost of your competitors.
- Pricing – Hammer out the details of your pricing plans to find that sweet spot between how much the hosting infrastructure costs you, and how much your clients are willing to pay for your services. This can also play into your niche marketing if you’re trying to undercut the cost of your competitors.
- Website Design – As with all digital industries, your web hosting company’s website is it’s the main storefront, so spare no expense in making it top-notch. The quality of your website can reflect the quality of your services, so make strides to make it the best it can be.
- Customer Support – The most important aspect of any service is its customer support. If the customer support is not good enough you are not going to retain your customers. In the web hosting business, part of your appeal to potential clients is that they don’t need to worry about technical concerns. Even for hardware engineers, these tidbits can get frustrating, so you can imagine the anxiety it causes laypeople. Clients rely on you to keep their websites and services up and running without a hitch.
After setting up your website, you are all set to go and rake in that sweet extra revenue. Drop any questions or queries in the comment box below.