New Business Idea - Web Hosting?

Percy1983

I suppose that is the bigger point it is rather crowded.

I guess I am looking at combining both cheap and reliable.

With that I am picking up interest locally, to which its mostly build and then host, I have been charging £80-£120 for a site then £24 hosting (a year) + domain costs and people have been biting my hand off.

I will just let it grow on its own rather than try and push it I guess.

motorguy

Percy1983 wrote: »

I am really only thinking small here to help other small businesses.

I am not expecting (or wanting) thousands of customers and don't want it to become a huge empire or set me up for life.

To be honest I am just looking at distributing server costs over a small group, I gain as my server costs get covered and they gain as they get a better deal than they could on there own.

So not a business then.

motorguy

Percy1983 wrote: »

I suppose that is the bigger point it is rather crowded.

I guess I am looking at combining both cheap and reliable.

With that I am picking up interest locally, to which its mostly build and then host, I have been charging £80-£120 for a site then £24 hosting (a year) + domain costs and people have been biting my hand off.

I will just let it grow on its own rather than try and push it I guess.

They're been biting your hand off because your prices are too cheap to sustain a viable business.

This is a hobby, not a business.

motorguy

Percy1983 wrote: »

I guess I am looking at combining both cheap and reliable.

Why?

If people are prepared to pay for reliability, why be cheap?

Why offer something at £2 per month that other people are charging £5 or £10 a month for?

Percy1983

By definition if it turns a profit it is a business, I am just happy for it to bubble on the side with small profits and little time invested.

The day job pays the bills, my first business supplies significant pocket money and is growing to eventually replace the day job.

I suppose to the question of why offer the same service for £2 that other offer for £5 just goes with how I run my other business, I go for lower margins with higher output.

quinechinoise

Percy1983 wrote: »

By definition if it turns a profit it is a business, I am just happy for it to bubble on the side with small profits and little time invested.

The day job pays the bills, my first business supplies significant pocket money and is growing to eventually replace the day job.

I suppose to the question of why offer the same service for £2 that other offer for £5 just goes with how I run my other business, I go for lower margins with higher output.

That's fair enough, if all you're looking for is "pocket money" and to cover your running costs. However, motorguy's comments are also fair - if this was your main or sole job then it might not be sustainable in the long run. Pocket money doesn't exactly cover the mortgage!

Chai_2

I think the model of doing a cheap wordpress site and hosting works... Having said that if you are only offering £2 per month then ite more lucrative and less hassle to be an affiliate of a hosting company than host your own.

You can leverage their brand and so on. Bluehost do a very healthy affiliate commission and so do hostgator. Maybe u offer a better looking site as added value and can still charge 30-80 per site but it seems like they are getting more ofr their money. Then all you do is use a premium theme instead of the standard ones which arent harder to set up

Chai_2

But.... your idea re simple sites is cool but ppl can be suspicious of how cheap it is.... offer 3 different packages and let ppl choose for themself

motorguy

Percy1983 wrote: »

By definition if it turns a profit it is a business

So presumably then you're paying TAX, have public liability insurance, factor in your expenses, submit tax returns, etc for the business?

Because i would suggest if you were doing that it wouldnt be a viable business.

Also what keeps you in pocket money is not ever going to generate enough wages to replace your wage, based on your current pricing model.

All you're doing is being like thousands of other amateurs on a rush to the bottom on price.

If your product is good, you shouldnt have to practically give it away.