Hello everyone,

I'm posting this message just to update some of you guys on this forum about a topic I posted earlier stating I had bought a dedicated server.

Following a lot of your suggestions I decided to sell this server and revert back to being a web hosting reseller. I really had jumped the gun, so to speak, and invested in a dedicated server far too soon. That is why I sat down and thought, for the benefit of my customers, it would be better off if I was a reseller. I would be more capable of funding the upkeep of the company and I would be able to spend more time assisting customers and improving my service, and less time fiddling around with the server.

So, a word of advice to you all. Start small!
I learnt this the hard way. By reading this I hope to save you this hassle.
It's always best to start off with a reseller account.
It's cheaper, it's fully managed, and generally it's reliable.
Only think about investing in your own server when things start to get big.

There is a positive side of your experience, I believe you've learned a lot of things about hosting on a dedi. This knowledge will help you in the future when you will really need a dedicated server. Good luck

I also wish you the best of luck with reselling and hope you're able to upgrade to dedicated again very soon.

Don't forget that there is a middle ground also for you... you don't necessarily have to jump back to the dedicated world but maybe jump into a VPS while continuing to expand. There's any number of VPS companies that provide a fully managed server for a small fraction of what you would spend on a dedicated server.

I'm happy to see that you didn't lose all faith and close shop, but instead went back to where you were good at- customer service etc. When you get some free time, pick up a VPS server for yourself so you can play around and get familiar on things, and then when you're ready you can get a larger VPS and then back into the Dedicated scene down the road.

Good luck.

Thank you guys.
Your supportive comments are great.

I could not agree more.

Grabbing a small VPS Service and having a really good look at the backends of Control panel opertion, and basic system administrative tasks is incredibly valuable.

Doing it in this manner has taught me so many things about firewalls, IP addressing, reverse lookups, DNS Records (specfically TXT records for antispam), protocols, and all sorts of things! These things you dont actually get to play around with on a reseller plan.

There's some really cheap and non-contracted VPS providers out there that will give you a machine of this scale to work with. But treat it as a learning experience - do it when you can afford to (time, money, AND mental effort), and then step forth informed.

And lastly, dont consider what you did a mistake. Consider it an active learning excersise. I certailnly wouldnt consider what you did a mistake.

Hey,

It is always good to see that someone is making the right decisions. I'm sure your business will grow and you will enjoy it!

Yes. I hope so too.
At the moment, I'm struggling to get customers.
However, I understand that people are wary, because I'm a wary customer myself. I'm not keen to sign up to newbies.

Hopefully, though, they'll grow to trust my service in time.
Perseverance is the answer to everything.

A solid business plan and a lot of leg work help a lot too.

Concentrate on the local market first. Get out on the streets. There are lots of people in your neighborhood who need a website. They just don't know it yet.

That can be your base to build on.

That's a good idea.
But where though?
I can't walk up to random people and offer them leaflets.
I would need permission to advertise with leaflets from the council or something surely.

Network, see if there's any local merchant organizations that hold meetings... maybe you can attend? Or maybe even provide free service to a few local institutions in exchange for advertising? Be creative, get your name out

Yup start small and work your way up. I agree with VPS. Here are my suggestions:

Reseller - 24.99
VPS - 40.00 give or take
Dedicated - 150+ I SUGGEST MANAGED!
YOUR OWN SERVERS! THIS IS WHERE THE GOLD IS!

I hope this helps as well.

I think what you did was smart and it sometimes takes a while to build a good client base. I move up as my income from my business can make the payments. I feel if I make double the amount per month then it is safe.

The less out of pocket expense the better. Also remember to provide great support!

I'm not sure where you are located but typically there are publications that are local and are either free to advertise or very low cost.
You can also approach businesses individually.

Many restaurants and retail stores etc. don't realize the benefit of a website or how economical it can be to have one.

You need to do the leg work and generate your own business.

That will give you a base to work on.

As others have suggested, a VPS might be a better choice before you decide that you're fully ready to migrate to a dedicated server.

I do understand what you mean by how time consuming fiddling around with a server can be - especially when you still have a lot to learn. Hopefully, all goes well next time you decide to move to a dedicated server.

Its always better to start small, as you have more clients you can start to expand.