Hosting as a full time job

The hosting business is a full-time job for sure. But, this job is not a 8 hour job...It's more like a 24/7 job. You have to be on top of things at all times. That even means losing sleep for it. I remember when I had my host. I made sure everything I said on my site was true. When I said I offered quality service and quality support I meant it. I would sleep 2-4 hours a night and answer any ticket that came in within 5 minutes and do my best to resolve it within a 30 minutes to a hour time frame. I made sure my servers were running at a level that would give every user the feeling they had the whole server to themselves.

I had people helping me but as some of you will agree with me here, I did not trust them 100% to handle things without me. I had my computer running 24/7 and when ever a ticket came in my computer and phone would alert me when the email came in about it.

This business requires a lot time and effort and for those thinking it's a quick rich scheme are sadly mistaken. This business unless you got the capital for it, it will eat through your wallet.

Due to everything I said above my health started to worsen. I became dizzy at times, throwing up, stomach started hurting from the stress, and I saw a doctor about it and he told me to stop whatever I was doing that was causing all of that. That is the reason I left, and If I hadn't I would have died for sure because of it.

But, as many of you will agree again with me...If I could do it again I would lol I love hosting and I love the satisfaction of making my clients happy by providing a service they can count on.
 
handsonhosting said:
Web hosting *IS* a full time job and *SHOULD* be treated as such. Too many people setup a small shop and do things half way. I don't mind people starting out and growing with the intention to maintain a full time job but I think in todays market there's just a lot of competition. The only way a new host would survive these days is to be a Niche Host, and even then your clients are paying you for Full Time services, so you should be providing that too.
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No better ways to say it.

If you run a web hosting company it is a fulltime job. You can not do part time in web hosting.
 
Start of HostGator

Here I will reference the founder of HostGator. He started his web hosting business with a named called Freakhosting. It took all he had to keep his clients online and happy. What actually ended up happening was he failed and had to refund all of his customers because his software was not working properly.

Obviously he learned that it was a full time job and now runs a giant hosting company that provides value for all their clients with few refunds being requested. Goes to show that the hard work and ability to bounce back and take host providing to a new level paid off. I am sure he had to put himself into a mindset that said it was a full time job.
 
I am sure he had to put himself into a mindset that said it was a full time job.
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He dropped out of college to take care of the company. You might think, "I would do that too", because you know how big the company is now, but it was really small back then. He saw the potential though, took the risk and put the many long hours into it.
 
romes said:
The hosting business is a full-time job for sure. But, this job is not a 8 hour job...It's more like a 24/7 job. You have to be on top of things at all times. That even means losing sleep for it. I remember when I had my host. I made sure everything I said on my site was true. When I said I offered quality service and quality support I meant it. I would sleep 2-4 hours a night and answer any ticket that came in within 5 minutes and do my best to resolve it within a 30 minutes to a hour time frame. I made sure my servers were running at a level that would give every user the feeling they had the whole server to themselves.

I had people helping me but as some of you will agree with me here, I did not trust them 100% to handle things without me. I had my computer running 24/7 and when ever a ticket came in my computer and phone would alert me when the email came in about it.

This business requires a lot time and effort and for those thinking it's a quick rich scheme are sadly mistaken. This business unless you got the capital for it, it will eat through your wallet.

Due to everything I said above my health started to worsen. I became dizzy at times, throwing up, stomach started hurting from the stress, and I saw a doctor about it and he told me to stop whatever I was doing that was causing all of that. That is the reason I left, and If I hadn't I would have died for sure because of it.

But, as many of you will agree again with me...If I could do it again I would lol I love hosting and I love the satisfaction of making my clients happy by providing a service they can count on.
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Yes it is a 100% Full time job.
I run my business single handed ( have had staff but never works out) and i am online 8am til 12am GMT 7 days a week, i have an extensive knowledgebase that covers a majority of situations. I have 300 clients and my current working hours work well, but their have been occassions when like most of us where you wonder what sleep is and work 24 hours solid. my record without sleep is 65 hrs
 
It is necessary to locate a web host that provides with a 24/7 technical support. This is the most important feature and it also shows that the web host is genuine. With this feature any issue can be sorted out in the least possible time.
 
easyhostmedia said:
Yes it is a 100% Full time job.
I run my business single handed ( have had staff but never works out) and i am online 8am til 12am GMT 7 days a week, i have an extensive knowledgebase that covers a majority of situations. I have 300 clients and my current working hours work well, but their have been occassions when like most of us where you wonder what sleep is and work 24 hours solid. my record without sleep is 65 hrs
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That doesn't sound like a very healthy environment. You can certainly continue this way, Terry, but any company needs a backup plan in case you get sick - who is going to run the business? Additionally, time off is just as important for the business as being on the job every day - it let's you reflect on the business. Otherwise, you run a risk of simply burning out.
 
Artashes said:
That doesn't sound like a very healthy environment. You can certainly continue this way, Terry, but any company needs a backup plan in case you get sick - who is going to run the business? Additionally, time off is just as important for the business as being on the job every day - it let's you reflect on the business. Otherwise, you run a risk of simply burning out.
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well the staff i had were these so called new deal trainees. the first 1 i had she was great, a quick learner good with my clients, but then i had one client who i terminated due to non payment, who decided to call 1 days had hurl abuse at her, which as she was 17 she broke down in tears and decided not to return. , even though i tried everything to get her to return, even offered her a perm job. the next one decided to abuse clients.
i have always been a short sleeper, i can sleep for 4 hours and be refreshed.
i do have time away from computer as i also run a toy stall most weekends, but my mobile has the WHMCS mobile version, so clients can still contact me.
 
James-A said:
It is necessary to locate a web host that provides with a 24/7 technical support. This is the most important feature and it also shows that the web host is genuine. With this feature any issue can be sorted out in the least possible time.
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i answer all support requesting within 15 minutes and most sorted within 1 hr

during the night tickets are auto replied to and as soon as i turn on my computer in the morning i personally reply and get the probelm sorted inthin 1 hr most of the time
 
When it becomes your full time job, you know you have made it, just a little bit of the way.

Why? I was working on farms for 11 hours a day hard shifts, to provide for my company, my partner and my pets plus me.
I was working whilst working at work, to maintain the support, plus I had to have others help me out.

Honestly, it is a full time job, but you need a job too whilst you work on your Company, otherwise it will not go good, but remember, do not forget about it.

If you forget about it, then it will get degraded like a RAID array, but the rebuilding process will be longer and harder than expected.
It is a full time job, but only when it can pay your wages that you need.

Since only working for myself, it has been fun, and is sure worth the struggle.
 
Hosting is not a fulltime job it's a fulltime business that needs a solid team to make it work. You can start a hosting business part time as a reseller. Once you have a proven model you can then buy servers and move up the ladder.

Good luck it's a hard business but FUN!!!
 
Running a hosting company is a full time job + extra. If you want to run your own business, don't do it because you want to get rich in a jiffy. Do it because you love it!
 
Web Hosting is just like any other business. It's obviously a full time job. When you add in web design, computer repair, free hosting, free reseller hosting, and a lot of extras- it's just plain fun!
 
My father still seems to think that web hosting is not a real job. Providing web hosting could be full-time or part-time. There are some resellers who run little web hosting companies with tech support provided to them doing it part-time.
 
I have been hosting for almost 12 years now, yes web hosting is a 24/7 business, but does that mean you have to sit at a computer 24/7 starting at a screen? No. It is honestly your availability . Right now I am sitting in my living room watching TV, eating my mac & chesse :D, typing this message while logged into my helpdesk. I will answer tickets, chats, and calls AS they come in.

I have and always will tailor my business around personal service.
 
ljprevo said:
I have been hosting for almost 12 years now, yes web hosting is a 24/7 business, but does that mean you have to sit at a computer 24/7 starting at a screen? No. It is honestly your availability . Right now I am sitting in my living room watching TV, eating my mac & chesse :D, typing this message while logged into my helpdesk. I will answer tickets, chats, and calls AS they come in.

I have and always will tailor my business around personal service.
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Ahh yes, that is the best part isn't it? sitting back, relaxing, AND working :D doesn't get much better.
 
It really is one of the jobs that people seem to overlook all of the time. Everyone thinks that they can start a hosting business until they actually get started with it. Then they usually figure out that they do not have the time or patience to put in to the job.
 
Running a profitable and big hosting company or online service provider is definitely a full time job but one of the reasons why a lot of people feel frustration when they enter the hosting atmosphere is because of their miscalculations. For instance, today almost anyone is able to begin selling shared and dedicated accounts to the buyers by acting as a reseller but is that the ultimate goal to be reached?

Thousands of freelancers from all corners of the globe have tried out becoming an expert in maintaining a hosting firm but many of them have failed, shut down their websites within weeks, months or a few years but why? They have made the wrong decisions, did not think about hosting world competitiveness online which truly makes it one of the toughest internet niches to approach.

Running a hosting company demands dedicating time and spending money at beginning phases in order to succeed in the long term. Your website is going to compete against some monster corporations which serve hundreds of thousands of customers. If you work hard, have money to spend on your advertising plans and get help from gurus, yes you will be having a top paying full time job.
 
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