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To begin, think long and hard about your decision. Often times we spend so much time wondering if we could, that we forget to think if we should. Becoming and ISP is by no means an easy task. It is however a great business venture and one that requires a relatively small investment as far as businesses go. To be honest your initial investment can be anywhere from $25,000.00 to $100,000.00. I will not say exactly what we spent, but I will tell you that it was within the aforementioned range. If you have 10 grand laying around, forget it. While having money for equipment and start up is essential, you should also have at least $100,000 in the bank for a working capital and upgrades, and just to live on. The first things you should consider before thinking about these three things: money, fortune and fame, are as follows:
We will start with Telecommunications first, as this is going to be your biggest headache. Don't register your domain just yet, and don't be overcome with delusions of grandeur. Call every telephone company on earth starting with your local provider. Make sure you are speaking with the head of the Networking department, not the operator. If you talk to just anyone and say that you are in need of a T-1 and some phone lines, they will think you are speaking Spanish. Fact is most telephone company employees don't even know what a T-1 is, and I am talking about the engineers. Compare prices, remember you are the customer. Ask them for their best price, don't be afraid to dicker. Be extremely firm one the phone with these people, they work for the phone company and they don't give a rats ass about you. Ask about long term commitments, i.e. 3yrs, 5yrs, etc. This will bring the costs down considerably. When speaking with the phone company make sure that you get everything in writing. Also make sure that they understand EXACTLY what you are attempting to do, and are aware of EXACTLY where you are located. You don't want any surprises. As we have found, many companies told us they could do something only to come back later and say that they couldn't. Once you have settled on a phone company get on a first name basis with the person you are dealing with. They must become your best friend. If you have any troubles with any of the phone companies, remember that you have more rights then they do money. Call the Public Service Commission of your state and complaint. Their number is located in the first few pages of every phone book. If you don't get satisfaction that route get to know the CEO of the phone company personally. It is also important to note, that while the phone company does not like to do what paying customers like, they also dislike bad publicity. We found that it is very easy to get the attention of the phone company over the Internet. Finally beware of any "Tariffs," or Special Construction Charges." The phone company loves to attach these words to the dollar sign. Next I would like to talk about location. Recently F.W. Woolworth became a part of history as they closed their doors after over 100 years of doing business. F.W. Woolworth himself learned early on that Location was everything. "Location is the key to success," he once said. Now I'm not saying you should be located in the busiest street in America, but being in close proximity to your customers is a good idea. Start small with the big focus on the community you serve. As you grow you can branch out into outlying communities. Most people today are looking for the personalized service that you can only find in a local ISP, not AOL. Knowing that your ISP consists of living, breathing human beings that are more than just a phone call away goes a long way in the mind of a customer. Look for a building in a business district. This will keep your telcom install costs way down. We chose to locate in our home, which by the way boosted our telcom costs considerably. However, it was the lesser of two evils. High telcom charges verses high overhead. By having your ISP in your home you also have the advantage of being near our equipment all the time. Instead of having to get up and drive to a building mile away when there is a problem, we can just roll out of bed and fix it. But you won't be getting any sleep anyway, so forget about the "rolling out of bed" part. We are also able to maintain 24hour support by being at home. Finally I would like to touch base with you on the Market. By market, I mean is there a NEED for an Internet Service Provider in your area? You really must ask yourself this question. Do a market study. Find out first how many ISP's already exist in your area. Next find out how many ISP's, are not in your area but have a local exchange in your area. Look at your community population and do a survey to find out how many people have computers, and want the Internet. For example if your town has a population of 50,000 people, this does not mean that you have 50,000 potential customers. You must consider that some of these people are babies, some are elderly or incapacitated, and some people just don't like or use computers. Some people may already have an ISP. To make a long story short, you may find that out of 50,000 people there are only about 5,000 potential customers. How you calculate your need or market your product is solely up to you. However, we have found that surveys, and simple asking people, oh and a lot of library research on the subject too, is a good way to determine demographics. Once you have established your need, think about how you are going to market your product. Word of mouth, newspapers, T.V. , radio, etc. Don't just sit back and expect people to notice you. Get out and sell... Do the opposite of Apple, establish an advertising budget and keep to it. Stick it in people faces. Maintain a consistent level of advertising and people will notice you. Now after you have taken care of these three biggies, consider this: Do you have the money, the time, and the know how? More importantly do you have what it takes? Be prepared to quite your day job. Be prepared to give up your social life. Be prepared to be shunned by family and loved ones. Luke once said to Yoda, "I'm not afraid." Yoda replied, "you will be, you will be." This can be a lot of fun. But it is also a lot of work. You will get NO SLEEP. You will find yourself drinking to much, smoking too much, and pulling your hair out. But if you want it, and I mean really want it, DO IT!!! Ok, enough of the pep talk. Think about a name. Try something unique, as everything at InterNIC is already taken. Incorporate. This will protect you against liability. Make friends with an attorney, and a therapist. Register your domain. Look for a Network Access Provider to supply you with your Internet connection. Grill them like you would the telephone company, after all they are in the telcom business too. Look for a supplier for your Mac equipment and modems, etc. Try anyone but Computize. DO NOT under any circumstances get a loan. If you truly want to succeed in this venture, make sure you are heavily capitalized. Owing people money with such a high monthly overhead is just going to dig a deeper hole of debt. Remember, without a day job or some other source of income you are not going to be able to pay loans on top of monthly phone bills. Get a bank account though and a checking account. You will need a tax ID and a Employer Identification Number. Create a web site and get it up, your NAP should be able to host it until your equipment and T-1 is up and running. Create a plan of action or Launch Strategy outlining your agenda and start up date. You will also need to begin structuring your pricing and a list of the services you will offer. Create applications, service agreements, billing terms, etc. Start advertising. Prepare your facility with the necessary power, outlets, etc. Finally expect several surprises and delays along the way. ALL TELECOM RELATED. If you intend to start running is 3 months time, for example, order the T-1 as soon as possible. It usually takes 45 days for it to be installed. Realistically it can be anywhere from 45 to 65 days. Be patient, and expect the worst all the time. I am not saying be a pessimist. What I am saying is expect to experience problems, so that you may be prepared to deal with them intelligently and rationally. Good Luck!!!
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