I was just curious what lead you to become a web host?

For me i was a member of a gaming site for a number of years and gradually took an interest in website development. Eventually i started my own gaming network, offering free hosting to people with the same gaming interests as me. Over time i realized i could make a living doing this and so i started a paid web hosting site.

Moved to a more appropriate forum.

A love of all things computers!

I was a reseller for a long time, thought I was on top of the world hosting myself and a few important clients until that hosting provider started screwing up and in a big way. So without knowing anything about linux or how to set one up for that matter I got my own server and been doing it myself ever since. Learned a lot from the forums, web sites and reading a 5" inch linux book, made some mistakes myself learning along the way. Now I have over a 100 clients and looking to get another server. That was a year or so ago.

I love it.

Thanks,
Rolly

Well, I'm really new and just getting into things. One of my good friends owns a couple web hosting sites and he makes great money and he really enjoys it. So, I hope to learn as much as I can from this site and from my friend and then start making money.

I'd hosted my own domains since 1996, but had avoided hosting others' web sites professionally because I didn't think that I had the knowledge or abilities to adequately handle the task. Eventually, some friends of mine wanted their fan site developed and came to me to install blogging software and design a template. I found a web host who seemed to offer a decent set of features, and didn't look bargain-basement but wasn't a bank-breaker. (The host that I was using at the time was not impressing me - and I wouldn't put people on there straight out of Geocities, anyway. The support did not cater to people who didn't want to do a lot of research on their own.) The original plan was to get their software set up, make them a template, and go on my merry. I wasn't getting paid for this, but they'd sponsored me in the charity Blogathon for a certain amount - so they got a web site template, and help moving off of Geocities.

On the web host's support forums, the host quite openly stated that they were a reseller - and stated who they resold for. I thought this was a bit different from what I'd seen other hosts do, but didn't really pay it much thought...until I tried to get some answers in the support forum. Some people got answers to questions, while others seemed to be left on their own - and not just poorly-constructed questions or newbie issues, either. It didn't take me long to think, "Geez, *I* could do better than this!!!"

So I did.

That was six years ago.

I found an excellent support team, solid network maintenance skills, and two support techs in particular who are the kind of geek-tech I aspire to be. I'm going to start offering reseller accounts in the next month. I've had a wild ride, but it's been strangely fun.

For me i setup my first website around 1998 and just loved making sites and by time went on i got into php around 2002 i started my hosting company as just a reseller and have just continued to grow over the years.

We got started because we simply love the business and love helping out our customers!

Hosting business is really attractive because it's recurring sale.

So are many other businesses, like your cable bill or your gym membership. I sure hope that behind recurring sales, there is some level of passion for the hosting industry, or the clients?

I like shiny things, thats what got me into geeky things. Then I was like I want a website, so I got me one of those many moons ago. Then I had crappy service and went I can make this better. So at first just friends and the normal signed up, then I went marketing crazy a little bit and random people that I had no idea who they were came around, the company grew and we hired more on. Then I was like, maybe I need another site thats for those who know exactly what they need and make it at a discounted price.

Now I have two hosting companies (one managed, one not) and I stay pretty busy most times, but I still love giving good service for my clients as I have been down the nasty road before and being a client to a company that cant even answer a simple question - well we dont like those kinds of people.