Capitalism at its best!
Posted on March 27, 2008 - Filed Under Business |
When first moving to California, a couple of us formed a business building websites. Circa 1998 or 1999, every business owner needed a website even though they had no clue what it was. Since my function was to build and host the sites, I remember quite vividly the logistics and costs that went behind it.
Today: my business site will use 1and1.com hosting. The plan called 1&1Home will do just fine.
Some of the highlights:
Webspace: 120 Gigabytes
Monthly Transfer Volume: 1,200 Gigabytes
MySql Databases: 25
Stop there.
10 years ago, having a hosting service with these specifications was impossible. To get even close to these requirements, a company had to have their own dedicated server with their own internet connection. This cost hundreds of dollars per month.
Thanks to free-market competition, the consumer obviously benefits. Especially in this case. What cost 100’s of dollars per month ten years ago now costs $5/month.
This is stupendous!
Glancing at the included marketing package, we see
$25 Voucher Google AdWords
$25 Voucher Yahoo Search Marketing
$50 Voucher Microsoftdevil adCenter
That’s $100 in free advertising on the web!
If you read Tim’s Four Hour Work Week, he discusses using AdWords as market research and generating customers. Finding that right combination of search terms which costs between 10 and 20 cents per click, could potentially generate 1,000 click-thrus (people) to your site. Free!
If a business has decided to give it a run for 6 months, here are the costs.
Hosting Package: $5/month for 6 months = $30.
Domain Names: Free (included with hosting)
Website Software: Free (included with hosting)
Website Content: Free (do it yourself!)
Website Design: Free (do it yourself!)
Marketing Book: $30 (optional)
. . . UGH! How can you not try and have some kind of business venture online? Having a brick and mortar store would cost a lot more than $60 in order to reach 1,000 people.
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One Response to “Capitalism at its best!”
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Here! Here!
Excellent post! It’s eye opening how much web hosting has changed in so short a time. I’m following your lead and will be doing the same shortly!
Keep up the excellent work! The new site is looking great!