3 ms·

Does a web hosting company count? Some years ago I was basically running a hosting company off a single T1 and then into a colocation cage. But it was never mak

Does a web hosting company count? Some years ago I was basically running a hosting company off a single T1 and then into a colocation cage. But it was never making me any money, and eventually expenses were adding up. I slowly wound things down to what I had started out doing and am just doing some small scale hosting for a few friends. What could I have done different? I don't have any business sense. I didn't calculate costs vs expenses, I just ran with what I thought was best. I also lacked the technical expertise for the networking side of things. Also what really killed off my dream was the quick rise of bargain basement web hosts like 1&1 and Dreamhost, offering unlimited everything for dirt cheap prices. I could never compete on that scale. I tried to pivot somewhat and offered more "personalized hosting & support" but again, couldn't compete on price. Potential clients would say "Why would I pay you $20/mo for web hosting when I can get unlimited space and a free domain for $1/year?" It was a big learning experience for sure. I learned a lot about business and that it's not always as easy as "just be your own boss."

milankragujevic 10y ago
Given I'm currently paying about $60/mo for a bunch of OpenShift (basically like Heroku, but from RedHat) instances that barely utilise the service at all, I'd totally pay you $20/mo for personalized hosting. Basically meaning I want someone who understands English and doesn't act like a badly programmed chatbot when I need support... Because that's what you get with the cheap hosting providers. I'm sorry you had to close down...
- Mz 10y ago
  You could also contact HN user Thaumaturgy. Webhosting is part of what his company does. He gave me some server space for a time as a favor and has done some support work for me. Far better experience than hanging on the line forever with, say, Yahoo only to be jerked around. http://www.associatedtechs.com/services/#services-hosting http://www.associatedtechs.com/services/#services-hosting https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=thaumaturgy https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=thaumaturgy
- jrnichols 10y ago
  Part of me has thought about starting it up again, even if it's just a decent tax write off. But I'm too far behind on things as far as security knowledge goes. Another thing that really felt like a knife in the back was Google Apps. Trying to get a small office to go with a locally owned web host is difficult when their response is something along the lines of "Well I can just use Google Apps for free. Everyone knows Gmail! It never goes down!" Google's offerings are difficult to compete with. I think people underestimate just how widespread their influence is.
- ddorian43 10y ago
  You should try https://www.webfaction.com/?aid=9281 https://www.webfaction.com/?aid=9281 (affiliate link, pays my bill). Best shared host in the world (custom install + maintained mysql/pg)! I dare anyone to comment on a better host.

milankragujevic 10y ago

Given I'm currently paying about $60/mo for a bunch of OpenShift (basically like Heroku, but from RedHat) instances that barely utilise the service at all, I'd totally pay you $20/mo for personalized hosting. Basically meaning I want someone who understands English and doesn't act like a badly programmed chatbot when I need support... Because that's what you get with the cheap hosting providers. I'm sorry you had to close down...

Mz 10y ago
You could also contact HN user Thaumaturgy. Webhosting is part of what his company does. He gave me some server space for a time as a favor and has done some support work for me. Far better experience than hanging on the line forever with, say, Yahoo only to be jerked around. http://www.associatedtechs.com/services/#services-hosting http://www.associatedtechs.com/services/#services-hosting https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=thaumaturgy https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=thaumaturgy
jrnichols 10y ago
Part of me has thought about starting it up again, even if it's just a decent tax write off. But I'm too far behind on things as far as security knowledge goes. Another thing that really felt like a knife in the back was Google Apps. Trying to get a small office to go with a locally owned web host is difficult when their response is something along the lines of "Well I can just use Google Apps for free. Everyone knows Gmail! It never goes down!" Google's offerings are difficult to compete with. I think people underestimate just how widespread their influence is.
ddorian43 10y ago
You should try https://www.webfaction.com/?aid=9281 https://www.webfaction.com/?aid=9281 (affiliate link, pays my bill). Best shared host in the world (custom install + maintained mysql/pg)! I dare anyone to comment on a better host.