Anyway.. was wondering and hoping someone could give me some tips on what to do to start the company.. should I get a reseller or a VDS/VPS.. or even a dedicated?
OK, this is not a larger headache as many make out to be. Intellie Data was meant to be launched back in September 1st 2003, however we were flooded with pre-opening clients after our dedicated servers etc.
Many of these were resellers, and one of the things they loved were our "virtual dedicated server" packages. Quite simply, you get a dedicated server, splice it into 4 accounts offering 250gb bandwidth to each reseller.
All our servers are fully managed, meaning that the resellers didn't need any extensive server knowledge, and this provided to be a great plus for them as it meant they can focus and get started reselling packages.
The trick to staying open is that you sell to keep your company running, and money in your own pocket, you don't sell to "beat" the person next to you. Your pricing will come down to your company management etc etc and how you handle your financing.
Example, when we first started we had our first dedicated server, a phone line, a fax line, a 1500 ADSL line, and a few other overheads such as our billing software, monthly merchant account fee, support desk software etc. So the first server's profit really only was enough to cover the costs of all these extras that shape your service.
We then moved on and on, late June 2003 we leased out what is the eq of 4 hallways of space in a DC, and had our own optics installed to our own independant switches etc. Now all the profit that we are making off the 72 dedicated servers we lease goes straight back into fees and floorspace rent.
So basically, you only price at what you can afford. No point undercutting the guy next to you by $5, because in return you need to save that elsewhere. That may mean you cut back on support staff, the extra fax line ? etc etc.
And the most important thing is to keep your company honest, there is no point in lieing to your customers to get the quick buck, as come next month they won't be giving you anything. Be honest with them and they will generally do the right thing by you.
Lastly, do not tolerate service abusers. They will whinge once you terminate their accounts, but they are used to it happening. You will get people who just hop on for one month and bring a server to its kness, usually a porn topsite or something of that nature with a heap of other background scripts they use. Offer them a virtual dedicated server or something of that nature, if they decline then politely advise them they have 24 hours to move services.
No point loosing 50 clients over one.
Regards,
