swimmermom3 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 My son, who is 12, wants to start a web hosting business. This has been on his radar for some time. His cowardly, technologically unsavvy mother (me) keeps putting him off by finding other projects for him. Where is the best place to learn about the legal and financial implications concerning this enterprise? This has been on his to-do list for over a year and he has spent countless hours researching. I, on the other hand, do not have countless hours for researching. I want to support his endeavor, but feel like I am in over my head. A mentor, perhaps? How do I find one? Any suggestions that you have would be welcome. I know I keep coming back here with the boy and his computer issues but the whole thing doesn't seem to be going away. Tomorrow, the state swimming championships start and while I am trying to work out logistics he is hounding me about business taxes. He'll probably finish a race and pop out of the pool and tell me, "Mom, I thought of a good business name.":tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 :lurk5: Why can't I have a child with a normal hobby? Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachaheart Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 My younger brother does web hosting and is a web programmer for a local community college. He was about your son's age when he started getting into computers. If you want, I can pm you his email address. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Looks like there are a lot of articles about this, have you sat down and read some of them with him? http://www.webhostingresourcekit.com/264.html (according to this article, such a venture would have start-up costs of around $50K) http://www.topwebhosts.org/become-webhost.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 My younger brother does web hosting and is a web programmer for a local community college. He was about your son's age when he started getting into computers. If you want, I can pm you his email address. I would really appreciate that. Looks like there are a lot of articles about this, have you sat down and read some of them with him? http://www.webhostingresourcekit.com/264.html (according to this article, such a venture would have start-up costs of around $50K) http://www.topwebhosts.org/become-webhost.php He's talking about starting with a reseller account. I am really trying to sit on my hands to keep from throwing them up in the air and saying, "You are too young and your parents are too ignorant." Truthfully Mrs. Mungo, I read some of this stuff and my head spins. I try to keep pace with him but Geometry and Algebra II which are still my top relearning priorities keep getting in the way. The more I think about it, the more I think he/we need a mentor. Maybe from the local CC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 We've spoke briefly before about web hosting. :) As you know, I've been a webhost for over 8 years now. Definitely look into the legal issues involved with this especially with his age. How will he accept payments? How will he bill his clients? Probably would have to be in your name since he's only 12. That means you may be liable as well. I would be more concerned about those type questions. I'm sure he can handle the "job" - its the behind-the-scenes to think about. How do the clients reach him when there is a problem with their site (phone, beeper, etc. - you have to be available 24/7 unless you have techs)? When I first started, I spent easily 15 to 18 hour days at times handling various issues or emergencies. For example, one of my servers was hacked last night. This server had almost 50 clients/sites on it. So all day long I have been wiping the hard drive clean, reinstalling the operating system and software and now I'm restoring clients' accounts. I literally have been in front of my computer for over 12 hours now. I'm certainly not trying to be discouraging and I apologize if it comes over that way. I just wasn't sure if you and he had thought of these type scenarios. If I can answer any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. I wish my son showed as much interest in something (anything would be nice). :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanda7 Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 There is so much cheap web hosting out there that it doesn't really make sense unless he has some potential clients (friends?) lined up or he personally owns multiple domains. My husband has a computer business and a reseller account. The only clients he has are the ones for whom we do web design work. Typically, the two businesses go together (web design and hosting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachaheart Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Swimmermom3, I tried to pm you, but you have exceeded your quota. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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