1,000 Clients in Web Hosting
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GETTING & MANAGING YOUR FIRST 1,000 CLIENTS IN WEB HOSTING FEATURING: Web Host Manager (WHM)/cPanel WHM Complete Solution (WHMCS) Brought To You By: www.hostgator.com ii – Book brought to you by HostGator.com Getting & Managing Your First 1,000 Clients in Web Hosting Abrahim Ikasud Copyright © 2009 Ichthys Media LLC Published by: Ichthys Media LLC 39380 Civic Center Dr #307 Fremont, CA 94538 Distributed by: HostGator.Com LLC 11251 Northwest Freeway, Suite 400 Houston, TX 77092 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 First Printing July 2009 Warning and Disclaimer This book is designed to provide guide and information to start and manage your own web hosting business. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information is provided on an “as is” basis. The author and Ichthys Media LLC shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the application and software that may accompany it. The opinions expressed in this book belong to the author and not necessarily those of Ichthys Media LLC. Book brought to you by HostGator.com - iii Trademark Acknowledgements All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Ichthys Media LLC cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark of service mark. Corporate Sales / Resellers Ichthys Media LLC offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information please go to http://webhostingbusinessbook.com/resellers iv – Book brought to you by HostGator.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR The author has over 12 years experience in starting, growing, managing, and selling his own web hosting businesses. The author started his first web hosting company at the age of 21 and has successfully grown the business into a multimillion dollar web hosting company. Together with his wife, the author manages to grow his first company from a literally a one man show to a staff of over 50 people with offices both in his home country and in the United States where he currently resides. Under his management the company grew from utilizing a single reseller account to owning over 130 servers which are being collocated in a data center residing in the heart of Silicon Valley. He then sold his first web hosting company through a well known merger & acquisition deal in late 2007. Today the author is currently running his second web hosting company and has successfully acquired a substantial amount of market share in today’s highly competitive web hosting market. The author currently resides in the Silicon Valley area, California with his wife and three children. Book brought to you by HostGator.com - v DEDICATIONS To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for saving my life and my family. To my wife Siao We for having such a passion for God, thank you for hooking me up with The Lord. You’re the best thing that ever happened in my life. To my three children, Ashley, Darryl, and Jeremy, you’re the apple of God’s eye, the lights and salts of this world. May God’s fire will always burn you with an everlasting passion to do His work. To my late father, my mom, and my brother Mario, thank you for loving me the way you do, only God can return the love you have given me. vi – Book brought to you by HostGator.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, thank you for my teammates – past and present – on Host Department LLC, PT. Global Hosting Management, and Ichthys Media LLC: Chai Siao We, Antonius Mario Tanzil, Chai Siau Fung, Iskak Agus Rahmat Utomo, Linus J. Erlando, Ifan Artha W., Sudirman Hung, Pius Didimus, Ferry Wahyudi, Christine Djaja ,Muhammad Iswahyudi Adnan, Muhammad Elizar, Bimo Sakti Wijoyo, Ravelino Bongkal, Ridwan Karsadarma, Dipo Firdyansyah, Afifah Shihab, Teddy Kristanto, Andreas Sunarso, Arya Pratama, and Bun Sentoso. I feel privileged to know and work with such talented and resourceful people personally. I wish you all the best. I would also like to thank my former employers and managers who have given me the privilege of working with them: Mr. Sachin Gopalan, Mr. Kristanto Darwin, Mr. Jonathan Morris, and Mr. Martin Entwistle. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to work for your company. Finally, thank you to my wonderful wife who has endlessly given her full support for me to write and publish this book the right way and to put my best effort into this book. I am sure this book will end up helping a lot of people to have their own journey that they will never forget, just like us. Book brought to you by HostGator.com - vii TESTIMONIALS “The Web Hosting Business Book is an invaluable guide and resource for anyone looking to create their own web hosting business and maintain it — from start to finish. Even established Web Hosting companies can learn a great deal from the author’s extensive industry experience.” -Chad Bean, Chief Marketing Officer, HostGator (hostgator.com) “This book is an ideal companion for the newcomer to the business side of web hosting. It’s an easy read & contains lots of good advice and ideas for how to grow your business when getting started. It’s clear the author has a wealth of experience and is able to cover a wide range of topics that face the web hosts of today. The WHMCS chapter in particular has a great step-by-step guide to get you started quickly & easily with WHMCS, and thereby empower you to make your business a successful one.” -Matthew Pugh, CEO WHMCS Ltd (www.whmcs.com) viii – Book brought to you by HostGator.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Getting & Managing Your First 1,000 Clients In Web Hosting ............................................................................................................. i About The Author .......................................................................................................................................................................... iv Dedications ..................................................................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................................... vi Testimonials.................................................................................................................................................................................. vii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................................... xiv I Am On A Mission ................................................................................................................................................................... xiv Intended Audience ....................................................................................................................................................................... xv What Is Covered In This Book ...................................................................................................................................................... xvi Before We Begin .........................................................................................................................................................................xviii Chapter 1 – Getting Started ................................................................................................................................................................ 2 A Good Name For Your Business .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Your Hosting Platform .................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Your Domain Reseller Provider ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Your Client Management And Billing System ................................................................................................................................. 7 Your Payment Gateway .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 When And How To Get A Merchant Account ............................................................................................................................ 8 Your Ssl Reseller Provider ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................................