Let me save you lots of trouble and money.
Don't do it. I had an ISP from 95-97, when we finally went under big time. I have been assembling my horror stories in hopes of writing a book about the whole miserable experience. But I will probably get sued for that as well. (like everything else.)
If you insist on doing it make sure you have the following:
Multiply all your cost estimates by 1000, because no matter what you think, you are wrong.
A billing system is not a luxury
Don't assume anything about the amount of customers you are going to get. In fact, divide your estimate by 1000.
Have at least one year of cash in the bank to asborb the costs.
Don't rent any office space until you show a profit.
Forget about your life. It is now over. Every moment of every day will be absorbed with questions like "Can I run an IRC server on your unix box." Or "I put your floppy in that you sent me and now my monitor doesn't work." (She didn't have the monitor turned on.)
Be prepared for the lawyer "cease" letters because one of your users is posting something they shouldn't
You won't be able to sell if after a couple of years, so take that out of your business plan now.
You probably won't be able to sell it, EVER!
You will *Never* be cheaper, better, or faster
Advertising costs will kill you.
Those sportster modems are a REALLY bad idea.
Every one of your users wants something for nothing.
Don't borrow from your family to get the project started. You will never be able to pay them back. And you will just look like a fool for the rest of your life.
I could go on but you get the idea. Just don't
do it. Don't even think about it. Just forget about it and be glad this message stopped you in
time!
Slashdot Mirror
Let me save you lots of trouble and money.
Don't do it. I had an ISP from 95-97, when we finally went under big time. I have been assembling my horror stories in hopes of writing a book about the whole miserable experience. But I will probably get sued for that as well. (like everything else.)
If you insist on doing it make sure you have the following:
Multiply all your cost estimates by 1000, because no matter what you think, you are wrong.
A billing system is not a luxury
Don't assume anything about the amount of customers you are going to get. In fact, divide your estimate by 1000.
Have at least one year of cash in the bank to asborb the costs.
Don't rent any office space until you show a profit.
Forget about your life. It is now over. Every moment of every day will be absorbed with questions like "Can I run an IRC server on your unix box." Or "I put your floppy in that you sent me and now my monitor doesn't work." (She didn't have the monitor turned on.)
Be prepared for the lawyer "cease" letters because one of your users is posting something they shouldn't
You won't be able to sell if after a couple of years, so take that out of your business plan now.
You probably won't be able to sell it, EVER!
You will *Never* be cheaper, better, or faster
Advertising costs will kill you.
Those sportster modems are a REALLY bad idea.
Every one of your users wants something for nothing.
Don't borrow from your family to get the project started. You will never be able to pay them back. And you will just look like a fool for the rest of your life. I could go on but you get the idea. Just don't do it. Don't even think about it. Just forget about it and be glad this message stopped you in time!