Hey Guys, There was a thread about this a few months back, thought I would bring the topic up again... Just wondering what you all thought of the younger generation on the web... Like Web Designers, Coders, Hosters, Developers and all that marlarcy... What are your views on the subject when a 15 year old is running a hosting company, is it good? because hes learning, or is it bad because your thinking of the customer and if something goes wrong. Your views please . Jac
If they are mature enough and have the skills necessary then I have no issue with it at all. Having said that though, how many of you know the ages of the people who run your web servers? I am lucky in that a good friend of mine personally runs and maintains my server but for those of you who simply buy web hosting from companies on the Internet, you have no idea of who is behind the scenes. If you can provide a good and reliable service nobody should question your age.
good as long as the servers are up all time and they are not fly by night operators, one thing here is can be issues with running a corporation as minor under age 18 do have limited freedom on business
I dont like dealing with 'companies' run by kids. I phoned a company up and confused the kids mum with his secretary. She got angry wanting to know why a 30+ year old man was trying to speak with her 14 year old son. Was very embarrassing.
a kid who is doing that kinda things is smart IMO BUT I still would want them to be kid and kick them on the streat to play somethimes
The problem is when there is a problem and they are at school, do you have to wait till they get home to get it fixed?
It might be in some other person's name, but the kid is the de facto owner- he promotes, markets, sells, answers queries etc. To the OP, If the 15 year is mature enough, why not ???
Yea, I agree I'm only 15 myself. As much as I 100% support kids owning hosting companies etc, there is some limitations. 1) School, how can they fix a problem when there in school. 2) No credit card, this can have a big impact only using PayPal to buy things, due to the fact there parents probably don't know (because they wouldn't understand) they limit about 20% of purchases of there business. 3) If the client does not know the owner is 15 and they find out this could cause a lot of problems, the client would probably think it's being run by someone who has a steady form of income etc to run the business, if anything went wrong it could be fixed. The Positives: 1) Keeps them/us off the streets I guess. 2) You learn to punctuate and not use slang (When I had a hosting company, I learned not to use slang etc now I most of the time right in good English). 3) Gives you a bit of business sense for the future. 4) You learn loads along the way about Linux/Windows etc and it sets you up in life I guess, even though the company will probably last less than 5 years you will have good knowledge to get a job hopefully when you pass your exams. So it's got some good sides to it but also bad, I am curious... I am sure there is a law in the UK that minors can't run a business also they have to pay VAT? I doubt anyone is :s anyone can confirm this? Jac
I would have a problem trusting a person that young. I know many minors who are very responsible, and it's possible that I've done business with them before without even knowing it, but if I knew a person was 15 I probably would not want them as my web host. Experience with the job would be a major factor, but problem solving experience would also come into play. How would they handle a situation if something major goes wrong? I would just feel more comfortable dealing with adults who can be held accountable for their actions.
Jac Everyone has to PAY VAT on vattable items. Do you mean would you have to CHARGE vat? Yes, if you go over the threshold, which IIRC is somewhere around the 40,000 a year mark. I'm terms of running a business a educated guess would be not. But then Peter Jones from Dragons den started a tennis company at 15 and is now worth in excess of 250 million.... You could try newsgroups like alt.uk.law or alt.uk.legal If it helps I ran a hosting company at 17, but i just accepted paypal etc and didn't form a "company" as such. Technically you have to declare earnings etc...But you could do that as just self employed. If you're serious you need serious advice IANAL HTH
Thanks for clearing that up, I have no idea about all that sort of stuff I have a rough idea now, thanks SERPalert, also Davewashere (Y). Jac
Good luck bro, I started geeking around when I was 13. And I've obtained more than i dreamed of....anything is possible!
Good luck, lol if your thinking that I want to start a hosting company... Naa been there done that, there is way to much competition and I don't think people realise that, 'kids' just think it's a get rich quick scheme when it's not . Jac
If a kid is really mature enough it may not be a problem. I don't believe that there are many kids out there that will take the serious responsibilities that go along with running a business, which is what hosting is.
I've had one hosting company run buy a kid and found them to be disorganised. but yeah if they are all organised and mature enough I will happily let them host my site.
I don't really see a problem with a 'kid' running a hosting company, if he/she truely know's what's going on and how to handle it...as long as the actual company has some adult leadership...incase something goes sour...someone has to be held responsible... in the case of a child...being a minor...no contracts for the hosting company would hold up in court...so it could turn bad on the both sides...customer or company...