In a nutshell, that is what Reseller hosting is. A reseller
buys a Web hosting package from a hosting company and then
tries to sell it independently. Usually the reseller's
profit lies in either the discount or the commission
they get for selling each hosting account.

You can also earn commissions from a hosting company, by
referring customers to their services - basically an
affiliate plan. Sometimes a referrers commission will take
the form of a percentage paid once only, and at others, the
reseller will be paid recurring monthly comissions for as
long as the customer remains with the host. Usually the
reseller needs to be a customer himself if he is to take
advantage of such a plan. Some hosting companies
even extend their terms to a multi level marketing
plan whereby resellers earn money not only for customers
they refer directly, but also for the customers of other
resellers who they recruit into the business.

A high number of web hosting companies try to outsource
their services to resellers as it helps them to extend
their business reach without such high costs in respect of
marketing and sales and enables them to focus more on the
business aspects of their operation.

As a reseller, it is down to you just what services you
sell - shared, dedicated or co-location web hosting,
merchant hosting, store front accounts - the choices are
pretty wide ranging. As a hosting reseller it is also wise
to offer related services such as domain name registration.

The cost, resources and chances of success as a reseller
are dependent on many things but it is possible to get
started on a very low budget if you do not have much
cash to invest. If you just plan to earn commission by
referring people to hosting companies online, all you need
is time, a website of your own and an internet connection.

Your ISP fees, domain name and hosting charges and that's
really about it, although you will need to consider an
advertising budget too.

Start small and not a lot of money is required. Purchase
your reseller package from the hosting company of choice
with an upfront payment and if your computer can handle
the customer accounts and you have a high speed internet
connection you're good to go.

If you're new to the business start small and expand along
with your knowledge. Grow your customer base and you can
consider the lucrative area of domain registration services
to build your profits.

If you have the money and the technical experience you can
buy your own server equipment but this introduces far more
in the way of overheads - maintenance, repairs etc. Even if
you lease a server you will probably find yourself
responsible for all the maintenance and running costs. You
would also have to ensure multiple connections with the
hosting company to avoid problems in the event of one of
them going down.

So, the upside of being a reseller is that you do not
require a lot of upfront investment. You don't need much
technical knowledge, just a little internet savvy and some
marketing skills and the hosting company provides and
maintains all the hardware and software. Make sure that
the company have good support staff and take care of
their customers as this will make things even easier for
you. Bad support will mean lots more complaints and
customers taking their business elsewhere -
it is a cut throat market nowadays and consumers have
plenty of choice.

It is also worth mentioning that some customers may not be
comfortable if they realize you are a reseller and not an
actual hosting company - there isn't much you can do if
that situation arises.

If you choose your partners wisely, hosting can be a
lucrative little business and great fun too!