Starting a Web Hosting Company with Master Reseller Hosting

Starting a Web Hosting Company with Master Reseller Hosting
The idea of starting a web hosting company has at least
touched most internet entrepreneurs. This business type
offers potentially high residual margins with most of the
business being fully automated. More than 20,000 domains
are registered each day with millions already online. Each
website on the internet needs web hosting and the growth of
this industry is endless and not slowing.

Starting a web hosting company is similar to beginning any
business. A smart entrepreneur will research and devise a
business plan and budget. This makes sure you have goals
to reach and will be able to afford it. Skipping this step
in business development has been proven to be one of the
number one reasons most small businesses fail.

When researching your expenses you will be compelled to
know that there is a service designed exactly for your web
hosting needs. This service is called master reseller
hosting. This amazing service will allow you to resell web
hosting accounts as well as resell WHM reseller accounts.
Basically, you can support someone setting up a regular
website or you can support someone interested in starting a
web hosting company like yourself. Even better news is the
fact that this can be done at a very reasonable monthly
rate because the servers are generally shared with other
resellers. A managed dedicated server able to support your
needs will run anywhere from $150 - $400 per month. Master
reseller hosting accounts can be purchased at a small
fraction of this.

The hardest people to satisfy are the ones that you provide
a service to. Generally, web hosting cliental are smarter
than the average citizen which makes them far easier to
manage but problems are bound to still arise. The best way
to keep your clients happy is simple to an extent with an
online business. Here are some general guidelines to
follow: - Respond to all communications at acceptable time
periods.

- Treat new and existing customers with professionalism and
respect.

- Ensure the greatest quality possible in all aspects of
business.

Once your website is online and you are ready to start
doing business you will want to look into marketing your
site. When it comes to internet marketing it is important
to be a smart shopper. There are many websites that sell
useless traffic and other sites that make promises they
can't keep nor even intend to. Be smart with your budget
and understand that a business will take time to build.

----------------------------------------------------
Sign up for a WHM master reseller hosting account at
http://www.hosty.net . Article Written and distributed by
Steve Cancel at Secure Link - http://www.slwebmarketing.com
.

10 Simple Ways to Follow Up with Prospects

10 Simple Ways to Follow Up with Prospects
In any business it's important to develop simple follow up
systems to keep on top of your prospects', customer's and
referral sources' minds. If you don't do your follow up;
you are wasting valuable marketing dollars and time you've
already spent on gathering new leads.

I do a lot of networking at chamber events, women's
organizations and biz expos and I generally collect about
25-50 business cards from new contacts on a good week. I
pay an assistant to enter them all into my computer
database for me so I can easily mail merge them when I want
to send out a mailer. I also enter them into my email
database because I usually ask them in person if they want
to receive my free marketing tips and they always say yes.
I follow up right away by email and for the hot prospects I
send a postcard in the mail or a note too. Then they will
continue to receive my emails every other week plus
usually, if I've met them out networking, I see them out
again very soon. Follow up can be done in many ways now:
email, fax, phone, mail or in person right? So, what do
you do after you meet a potential client or even a
potential referral source? Do you pile up those business
cards on your desk until they get so old you have to just
throw them away since they wouldn't be of any use anymore?
Or do you follow up and how?

Follow my 10 simple steps below and you will for sure build
better relationships with those you meet as well as have
more top of mind awareness with them. Here are 10 Simple
Follow Up Procedures you can implement in your business
TODAY! (for service, product or retail):

1. Take immediate action:
Always call or email within 24 hours of meeting someone
telling them it was nice to meet them, asking about their
business and offering a little more info about yours and
what you could do for them or their referrals.

2. Take more than one action:
In addition to doing #1, also slip something in the mail to
them ' an introduction letter and a brochure, a thank you
note (handwritten of course) or a flyer about your special
promotion.

3. Use email wisely:
Add them to your email database (if appropriate and IF you
are heeding correct spam laws in your correspondence) and
make sure they get an email notice within 2 weeks.

4. Keep your ears and eyes out for others:
Drop in the mail or attach by email a document or article
you found that you'd been discussing or something you
recently read that would be of interest or pertinent to
them.

5. Keep your database up to date:
Enter them into your database (in the computer) so when you
send out your next mailer they will be on the list to
receive it. If you don't have a database, you should get
one (ACT, Goldmine, Outlook) or start an Excel spreadsheet
for starters. You can outsource this task.

6. Send more than one mailing:
Send out another piece of mail or email within 2 weeks of
when you sent the first one; this can be more casual, a
postcard, flyer or another follow up letter asking for
referrals in case they don't think they can use your
services right now.

7. Call again:
Call, not necessarily to make the sale, but to further
build that relationship, have coffee, meet for lunch, drop
something off for them, etc. but another in-person meeting
would be good in case they forget what you look like.

8. Make a creative impression:
If you're really trying to get their business and you're
not getting anywhere, drop by a promotional product (s)
with your card and brochure again or send it in the mail.
Make sure your promotional product stands out from your
competition and is unique or memorable.

9. Systematize your follow up:
Make sure you sort your database by Hot, Warm and Cold
leads and then also by either where you met them (i.e.;
Your City's Chamber of Commerce, professional or service
organization, etc.) or some other system (like referral
source vs. prospect) so that when you mail to them
regularly you can mail to small groups at a time with a
unique message. Mail to your database quarterly and email
them monthly at minimum.

10. Plan year-round promotions:
Send out holiday cards not only for December, but maybe for
Easter, the 4th of July or which ever holidays you feel
like and then possibly their birthdays too. There are
companies who send out cards for you, online sources you
can use easily and there are websites that remind you when
someone's birthday is to make this easy. Ask me for info
on these companies by sending me an email to
katrina@ksawamarketing.com!

These tips are for any type of business, retail, service or
product. I am always curious as to how a store is going to
follow up with me. I shop there, I write a check, and they
have my address and phone number ' yet 9 out of 10 times '
absolutely NO follow up marketing! Only do the larger
stores put me on their mailing list and send me mailers
and/or emails (like Linens & Things, Cost Plus and Fashion
Bug); these retailers know just when I come in because I
normally always get another coupon in the mail right after
to come back again. The one that does follow up with me
understands that repeat business is 5-10 times easier to
get than new business.

So, not only do you need to follow up after new people you
meet to GET their business or referrals and build those
relationships, but you also have to cultivate those
relationships over time so they keep you on top of their
minds in case something comes up where they need your
products or services or someone they know does.

----------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2008 K.Sawa Marketing
Katrina Sawa is an Award-Winning Relationship Marketing
Coach who's helped hundreds of small business owners take
dramatic steps in their businesses to get them to the next
level in business, revenues and life. She offers one-on-one
coaching, group coaching and do-it-yourself marketing
planning products. Go online now to get started with her
Free Report and Free Audio at
http://www.jumpstartyourmarketing.com !

Don't let Patience turn into Bitterness

Don't let Patience turn into Bitterness
The subheading to this article could read:

"How the little guy gets squashed by the establishment"

You might say: "So what's new. We know that that happens
all the time." - And you are probably right.

Let's start at the beginning: This morning I was sitting at
the breakfast table reading the newspaper when I ran across
an AP-article about an accountant in a small town bank. The
story said that he is a teacher of accounting now, and that
he uses his own story to teach his students.

Don't you sometimes hope the little guy wins?

Are you sometimes frustrated that the establishment, being
it the city administration or government, a corporation, or
a large organization seems to get away with things you, as
a private person, never would?

Not all battles are the same, and not all of them are worth
fighting. In one of our communities here a single student
wrote a letter to his school demanding that the paintings
and sculptures of a warrior Indian be removed form campus.
He feels they are offensive and portrait Indians as
war-mongering. The school board recently decided to keep
the name "Warrior" but remove all signs of the Indian head
from everywhere, including letter head, athletic gear,
everything. After 80 years of tradition and pride to be a
Warrior, one student's letter is enough to get the whole
community up in arms. In my view it's a huge waste of
energy and time.

I myself am involved in a fight on a smaller scale. As a
former employee of a company that went bankrupt, a group of
my friends and I are still hoping to get some of the
compensation the company owes us. We have been waiting and
fighting for 3 years now.

Then there are the other fights, like the one I read about
in the paper, of the teacher named Dave Welch. In that case
I really hope the little guy wins. Here is what happened.
During times of massive corporate scandals at Enron,
WorldCom, Tyco, etc. Mr Welch refused to sign the financial
statement of the bank he was working for. As the accountant
he has to attest with his signature that all the numbers
are correct. He suspected that things weren't all clean,
and so he didn't sign.

The federal government, in the form of the US Congress, had
passed a law to protect whistle blowers, like Mr. Welch,
from repression in case they found or suspected something
was wrong. The article I read in the paper this morning
speaks about the fact that the protection as originally
intended doesn't really seem to exist. Of a total of 1091
cases, the little guys only got a favorable ruling 17
times; that's less than 2% - some protection, if you ask me.

As you can imagine, after being fired from his bank for not
signing the financial statements, Mr. Welch didn't find
work in his little town. Even when he applied further away
the fact that he was a whistleblower has been seen as a
risk for employers. He had to sell his farm, lost all his
savings, and now is a teacher instead of an accountant. He
did the right thing under the law. He spoke up when he
suspected wrong doing, but nobody is willing to enforce
this law. The courts have ordered the bank 4 times so far
to pay Mr. Welch his back pay and rehire him, at least
temporary, or give him a severance package.

Each time the bank refused and appealed the decisions. This
case is probably dragging on for years to come.

Does that mean I advocate to keep your mouths shut and
overlook blatant mistakes or fraudulent behaviors? No, not
at all. What I think anybody in this kind of a situation
needs to be aware is this: Don't expect any help because
the laws passed in the last 8 years are predominantly in
favor of business. Even in cases where they appear to
protect the employee, they get interpreted by government
administrators in ways that avoid consequences.

If we are lucky, we might get better government after the
next presidential elections. Even if that happens, it will
take years to correct the many problems that have come from
an overly pro-business atmosphere.

I am a business and leadership coach and consultant. I
depend on clients form this niche. Still, I believe we need
to recognize our core values and apply the rules and laws
equally for all. A bank can increase it's legal budge from
$100.000 per year to $400.000 per year to fight a little
guy like Mr. Welch. Good leadership and working with a good
coach and consultant would mean to find a way to solve the
issue, review the data, admit wrong ding, if that is
warranted, and safe the legal fees. With the legal fees the
bank spend the last 5 years they could have helped a lot of
their customers and create new larger profits.

I believe there is a great lesson to be learned from this
story: When you know you are right and you are patient
enough to look, you will find others who agree and will
take a chance on you. Here is how the story ends:

Mr. Welch applied for a job as a teacher at Franklin
University in Ohio. The article reads: "At the end of the
interview Mr. Welch was shown into the office of Paul Otto,
the schools president at the time.

Mr. Otto is a blunt-spoken long-ago Marine who sits on two
corporate boards. He'd heard about Mr. Welch. The case, Mr.
Otto said, reminded him of an article he'd written a few
months before the interview, on the need to challenge
corporate authority.

He invited Mr. Welch to take a seat across a coffee table
in a desk-less office. "Let me ask you," Mr. Otto said,
"did you refuse to certify the banks financial statements
or did you sign them and then blow the whistle?"

"I refused to sign," Mr. Welch said, unsure which was the
right answer. It was good enough for Mr. Otto, whose
article preaches this message:

"The greatest failures resulting from unchallenged
authority have occurred when people reporting directly to
the CEO lacked the courage to challenge their boss."

Mr. Welch got the job."

As mentioned at the beginning, he could have gotten
frustrated and bitter with the justice system, the labor
department, the community that expelled him, although he
didn't do anything wrong.

Good thing he didn't. He is still patiently hoping that the
intent of the law will ultimately give him the back-pay the
courts have ordered the bank to pay several times by now.
More importantly, he is using his story to encourage other
future accountants to be vigilant and stand up for what is
right.

Having strong confidence, the willingness to stand up for
what is right, and be firm in your convictions isn't just a
lesson for a little guy, an employee or a lower level
manager, but for executives and leaders among all of us.
And just because things might not go our way immediately
doesn't mean we should give up. I hope very few people have
to give up their farm, their job, their community, and
their friends, to fight for what is right.

Mr. Welch's story inspires me to keep going and not turning
bitter. I hope anybody being involved in similar situations
will see that being strong, full of positive energy and
patience is the source of the power it takes to persevere.

----------------------------------------------------
Axel Meierhoefer is an experienced performance coach,
author, educator, consultant, and the founder of Axel
Meierhoefer Consulting LLC (AMC LLC). His motto is" Helping
others help themselves achieve success". If you like to get
on his VIP E-mail list to receive more articles, or if you
like to receive his FREE special report, go to
http://www.meierhoefer.net/special or email
AM@Meierhoefer.net

Yikes! I Just Landed a Television Interview. Now What?

Yikes! I Just Landed a Television Interview. Now What?
Television interviews are, by far, the trickiest of all
press encounters but they can also be the most rewarding in
terms of your public relations efforts. Welcome the
opportunity to appear on TV, and be prepared. By
remembering a few rules and practicing, anyone can look
and sound big on the little screen.

Generally there are three types of television interviews.

Recorded: Your interview will be aired in its entirety or
will be cut up into smaller sound bites for part of a
larger story. Recording ' and editing later -- enables the
reporter to ask the same question over again if he stumbles
over his words. You can do the same with your answer. The
best thing to remember here is that if you start an answer
and flub it after a couple of words, simply stop and start
over. If they are just going to use a sound bite, the
reporter is not likely to air your mistake.

Live in studio: You are being interviewed in a setting in
which you are with other people in the room and can
interact with them as if it were just a normal
conversation. This is probably the most comfortable of the
three formats.

Live on location: You are alone in a studio facing nothing
but a camera because you are in a remote location, away
from the main studio where the interviewer is located. You
can hear, but not see the interviewer. Look straight into
the camera the entire time (but don't glare), just as
though it were an interviewer. If you look away, you'll
seem distracted and aloof. Keep looking at the camera until
the technician in the studio says you are off the air.

With some exceptions, there is little room for asking
in-depth questions that require in-depth answers. So how do
you get your story right? Make sure the reporter is well
briefed on the subject. TV reporters often have to cover a
wide range of topics. The better informed they are, the
better questions they will ask and the better the interview
will go. You don't want a reporter asking, "So, what does
your business do?" Better to get a question like, "After 20
years in the business, what trends do you see for the next
year or so?" Schedule a background phone call before the
interview, if possible, to cover all of the basic
information with the reporter.

Here are some rules to remember when doing a television
interview:

· Before you do a broadcast interview, make sure you
have all of the details. Who is doing the interview? Will
it be a panel interview on a particular topic or will your
executive have the camera and/or mic to himself? Know the
show format and the names of other guests who will be on
before you.

· Memorize your message points. Don't look at your
notes. Repeat messages two or three times naturally during
the conversation so the interviewer can choose the best
versions of sound bites.

· Sit slightly forward in an upright, non-swivel
chair with arms.

· Men: Wear dark suits with off-white or blue
shirts. Avoid "busy" ties. Sit on the bottom of your suit
jacket so the shoulders do not ride up. · Men: Don't
refuse makeup. A little powder on the forehead will keep
you from looking like a lighthouse. Bring an electric
shaver to erase your five o'clock shadow. Wear socks that
go up to your calf so your ankles don't show.

· Women: Avoid large, shiny, dangling, or otherwise
distracting jewelry. Avoid "busy" clothing patterns. Colors
are fine.

· Be visual. Do the interview at your place of
business, if appropriate. Even better, if you have a
factory floor, a control room, or some other kind of high
visual, use that as the backdrop. · Bring a
prop—your product or some other object to illustrate
your point.

· Talk directly to the interviewer. The camera and
microphone will find you. Maintain eye contact.

· Gesture with your hands where appropriate.

· Be personable and open. Smile when appropriate.

Television interviews generally are as much about style as
substance, so HOW you look is important. More than 90% of
communication is nonverbal, so the way you carry yourself,
the way you dress, your gestures, and your facial
expressions are critically important. Unless you are a bank
loan officer or a DMV clerk, the human face is capable of
about 10,000 distinct expressions. There's an old adage
that television adds 10 pounds to anyone's appearance. I
think it really depends on how many jelly doughnuts you eat
in the green room before the broadcast. Maybe the camera
does give you a slightly wider appearance, but how you look
depends more on your posture, your face, your gestures, and
the way in which you dress.

Hit your messages, remember your appearance, be engaged in
the interview and you'll be great! Good luck.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert Deigh is the author of the new PR book,"How Come No
One Knows About Us?"(WBusinessBooks). For a free full
chapter, "16 Ways to Come Up With Story Ideas That Will
Attract Press," contact rdeigh1@aol.com
http://www.rdccommunication.com

Plan Workplace Changes

Plan Workplace Changes
Whether it's a companywide or department change, you still
have to motivate your team to understand, participate and
accept the required changes. In order to motivate your
staff, you need to plan...plan...plan. What do you need
to plan?

-Understand what needs to change. Describe in detail the
issues and include your key staff as part of the process.
It may be helpful to use a mind-mapping tool that can help
you break out all the potential issues. Check out
www.mindjet.com for a simple solution to mapping out a
problem or a solution.

-What are the objectives of the change? Need to be
specific here...create a list of outcomes or values you
want to implement during the change. Whether you are
changing a brand image or introducing a new product, you
need to create a vision. Even if the change is small,
include the objectives. This is what drives the change.

-Plot out the risks of not changing as well as changing.
Risks are always part of business and to implement change
the risks of not changing must be greater than changing.

-Design potential solutions that will correct the problem.
It's important that the solution match the culture of the
department or company. If it doesn't then you will have a
two-tier change, which could potentially create more
resistance to the change.

-Don't move forward until you fully understand what the
change entails. The more steps in the new process or the
greater the number of people involved in the change, the
more complex the change will be. Use the mind-mapping tool
to flush out all the different parts of the change.

-Include the individuals who will be impacted by the
change. Allow them to be part of the process...either in
uncovering all the different components of the problem or
as part of the solution. It really depends on the people
involved. If you have professionals on your staff, they may
have strong analytical abilities and could add a lot to the
planning process.

Note: Keep in mind that most employees will react...no
matter what their position is within the organization.
Sometimes managers fault by thinking that professionals are
more mature in their reactions. They can be, but I've also
seen individuals who were in management or professional
roles react negatively to change. This happens when the
employee feels they or their position is in jeopardy.
So...don't make assumptions about people...instead do your
research about your staff and create a plan that includes a
whole range of potential reactions.

-Stress the benefits - include in your planning all the
benefits the change will provide to the people and to the
organization (department).

-Plan for training...as with any change, you do have to
train individuals how to perform the new process. The
more complex the change, the more extensive the training
needs to be. Training is continuous until the change is
fully implemented. As part of your planning, include
different ways to present the information. Since employees
absorb information in different ways...include in your
training program reading materials, visual aids and
interactive exercises to offer the information in different
ways. If you have trainers on your staff, they can be
instrumental in building the training plan. Otherwise, you
can get outside support for this part of your planning.

-Your communication plan....this has to be a robust project
plan. If you think that you have created enough
communication message and different mediums of
distribution...stop and add some more. Communication is
critical to the success of any change.

The above points are provided to start you thinking. If
your change is small, then this information is enough to
guide you. If the change is big, you will need a
professional to drive the project. Keep in mind that change
occurs at the employee level, so consider not only the
business objectives but also how to include your employees
in your planning.

----------------------------------------------------
Pat Brill is the author of the blog "Managing Employees"
http://www.ManagingEmployees.net , "The Secrets of a
Successful Time Manager"
http://www.SuccessfulTimeManager.com and "Manager's Guide
to Performance Improvement."
http://www.GuideToPerformance.com . You can reach Pat at
pat@TheInfoCrowd.com