Starting a home business

d_kendal · #16 12-08-2002, 02:12 PM

Great information! that's one other thing that I'd forgotten to ask about. At first I was thinking that I'd just do all my records with spreadsheets and paperwork, but now I'm realizing that it would involve a lot of time and annoyance. It would definitely be a better idea to save for a good software package like Quickbooks, MYOB etc.
thanks,

- David

ravenmd · #17 12-27-2002, 04:53 PM

Hi David.. I may be resurecting this thread a bit late, but just read it and thought I should share that I discovered this little gem of a book at Chapters yesterday:

The Complete Canadian Small Business Guide

This is THE book to have if you are starting a business from scratch. As I am still getting started too, I find it a wealth of vital info.

I’m not working for chapters/indigo but thought I should mention it’s 30% off right now

worth checking into methinks..

d_kendal · #18 12-27-2002, 10:32 PM

Thanks! that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for, there's tons of books on small business, but I had no idea what's any good. I'll definitely look into that one! (plus I've got a discount account at Chapters, so that makes it even more affordable)

- David

Paul Rupp · #19 01-04-2003, 10:47 PM

David,

I would suggest you register your domain and park it somewhere. Freeservers has a FREE hosting offer that is a good place to start, then when you can, you can upgrade it to a pay service with them as well.

Start doing research on the web for what search engines look for so you can build that into your site.

If you would like some help on getting better rateings for your site, let me know, it is one of the services that I personally offer.

Good luck in your business!!

Paul

d_kendal · #20 01-05-2003, 01:35 AM

Hi Paul,
I think I'm actually going to just get the hosting and domain name at the same time, since I want to host them both through the same place (which I've almost definitely decided on) for a couple reasons:
I was looking for a local host, even if they cost more than one from the US, it's easier to deal with them, and I don't have to deal with the exchange rate.
Also, I need a host with some specific features like PHP MySQL etc., and I don't want to have to switch hosts, I want to find a good on and stick with them.
As for search engine ratings, thats one aspect of web design I've never really got into since anything I've done has been just small personal and family sites, so thanks for the tip, I hadn't thought of that and that would be quite a big part of having a succesful website or not.
You'll be ther first person I let know if I need that kind of help! thanks again

- David

Paul Rupp · #21 01-05-2003, 02:49 PM

No problem David,

Glad to help.

One thing to ask your host when you find them is what is there server up time, in the past year, what has been the amount of downtime for any of there servers. What kind of backbone like do they have, do they have multiple connections to the backbone or just one.

These will all effect you when you least want it to.

If you have a fast connection to the internet, this helps too with large file transfers and such.

Your question about printers... I would suggest that you look into a local photo printing house that can deal with digital files and work with them. Inkjet prints fade quickly, I know Epson says there inks are good for X amount of years, but you have to recalibrate your printer EACH time you put in a new cartridge, UNLESS you get them from the same batch and lot number, even then, they do very.

HTH

Paul

d_kendal · #22 01-05-2003, 03:53 PM

great tip for questions to ask, I've emailed them (NetKnow) a couple times but I haven't asked about that. I checked their uptime on Netcraft, and it looks good and they also guarantee 98% uptime on the servers (they use BSD for the OS). I just noticed on their main page the WorldCom logo so I guess that's who their using for the backbone (but I'll have to email them to find out what kind and how many connections they have, I recall reading OC3 somewhere on the site but I could be wrong)
For printing, I'm still deciding whether to go with a printer at first (which is the most likely possibility), or saving up for a while to get the Epson 2200, because I want to get a good photo printer anyway, and I recallibrating isn't too big a deal for me because it takes up a lot less time then going to a printer each time I need anything done, because of the fact that I can't afford to drive (insurance and gas prices here are just insane right now!) so it'd be an hour or so trip any time I needed something printed which I just do not have time for.

- David

Sanda · #23 01-05-2003, 03:58 PM

these are interesting questions to ask the servers, I'm currently looking for a new server as the one I'm using now is becoming too expensive and unreliable. I've narrowed it down to 3 at the moment and I'm trying to decide between them.

The one I'm leaning towards state
" Our network is directly connected to multiple OC-48 lines and OC-192 lines on the NTT/Verio backbone (the fastest connections in the world). NTT/Verio is the world's largest internet provider. We utilise Cobalt, IBM and SUN Servers, Cisco 7000 Series Routers & Cisco Catalyst Switches"

But all that has me completely lost. So any other questions you can suggest Paul would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sandra

d_kendal · #24 01-05-2003, 06:26 PM

Hi Sandra,

Paul probably knows more about this than I do, but I'll jump in here with what I know anyway

For the connection, I just did a search on google, and found out that OC-192 runs at 10 Gigabits per second

so as long as the provider isn't overloaded with customers, I'd say that you'll get some darn fast service!! all the makers mentioned make good quality servers, but the operating system is the biggest question to ask. I'd go with any of the Unix family (Unix, Linux, BSD) any day over windows, since Unix has the best uptimes I've heard of (years compared to months for Windows servers), also Unix is Apache's native OS and Apache runs best on it, and a far higher percentage of the servers on the internet use Apache than servers that run IIS or equivalent. however, if they are set up well, Windows servers can be very good too, so it really depends on how good the host is for uptime, which you can check out at http://uptime.netcraft.com
I have an uncle who works for the school board here, and they just installed a Cisco router for their huge network, and I was talking to him and he said that Cisco is one of the best companys right now for commercial routers and firewalls, so I think the host you're looking at right now looks pretty good, as long as they have good uptime.
so before you sign up with anybody, a good test is to look them up on Netcraft, and if they have a client list on their site (which any good host should have IMO) you should look at some of the sites to get an idea of the speed of their service. hope that helps you out!

- David

Sanda · #25 01-05-2003, 08:00 PM

Thanks David, I've discovered that they are running Linux OS. They guarantee 99.9% uptime. I would like to see what compensation I would receive if they didn't supply that 99.9%. I'll email them to see what they have to say. I'll look at the Netcraft site to see what they say about their uptime.

Paul Rupp · #26 01-07-2003, 09:02 AM

Sanda,

One thing I would ask them is about there guarantee, does the 99.9% up time apply to your site, or there servers. I have seen this many times where it applies to there servers. What they are saying with the 99.9% uptime is that in one year, they will not be down any more than a total of 15.25 hours in the year.

Linux servers are a good way to go as they are MUCH less prone to hackers.

I would agree on finding out what the compensation for downtime is, some will credit you for the time down (not much) and others will credit a months service for extended downtime (Hours). This is one place it PAYS to do your homework.

If you have a good connection to the internet (broadband) there are software packages that will watch your site and make sure it is up and available. The software will alert you when your site is down, or when your site is slow.

The OCXX numbers are misleading as far as speed is concerned, it may be the backbone, but there is LOTS of traffic on that pipe. Such as telephone, dedicated company T1,T3's or OCX's. Lots of pipe sharing going on. What doe the HOST connect to the backbone through?? They speak of the large backbone, but it if they only connect through a T3... You get the point...

Hope this is helpfull.

Paul

I offer a service to help your site place better in the search engines. If you are interested, please e-mail me.

Sanda · #27 01-07-2003, 03:47 PM

Thanks Paul, yes it was helpful. I'm working on a major update of my site at the moment, although nothing has changed yet as I want to have it ready for the new server, so when I'm done I may take you up on your offer of help with seach engine placement.

Sanda · #28 01-17-2003, 10:33 PM

I'm still looking for a new server for my site. I emailed the three I was interested in but two of them are eliminated as I wasn't happy with their responses. Or in one case the lack of response, I emailed the one I was leaning towards three times but still no answer. So that eliminated them, if they can't answer a sales question then they are not going to be too great on a support one. One of them replied quicky and I have since spoken to them on the phone but I still have doubts so I'm continuing my search.

Paul Rupp · #29 01-18-2003, 09:52 AM

Your right to move on if they can't answer a question in a timely manor. There are so many out there that it is a tough choice.

I am with a host called freeservers.com and have been happy with the service to date (3 years) Have only been down once for a short time, this was 2 years ago, I was created a months service for the outage.

Good luck!

Paul

d_kendal · #30 01-18-2003, 04:07 PM

Hi Sandra,

I'm not sure if you're interested in a host this far away from you, but the host I'm looking at right now (a company called NetKnow, website is http://www.nk.ca ) has very reasonable pricing, lots of good features on the servers (like PHP, MySQL etc., the servers are Apache runnding on BSD systems) and they seem very keen, any of my questions I emailed them with were answered in under an hour, I was impressed. on Epinions.com, they have user opinions and ratings on webhosts, so that'd probably be a good place to look at.

- David