Should I host my own website to start?

[RKramkowski]

Hi, I currently have my own management consulting business and as such am in the process of building a website for it. I have quite a computer setup in my house right now. I have my own exchange server, web server, DMZ set up, firewalls, UPS, etc. Problem is that I'm really operating on a shoestring right now due to real slow business. My consulting website isn't intended to be a high-traffic site since what I do is very specialized so I don't need bandwidth the size of Texas.

Is it possible to host my own forum with some of the free forum software that's out there? And what about hosting my own website(s) to get started. I realize that whatever I do, it'll take a while before traffic and hopefully profits start. I'm really trying to start this off for as little as possible and then plow any profits back into expanding and making my business better. I do recognize that at some point it probably will make sense to use a hosting service but until I have something coming in, any recurring costs as well as other startup costs will be very hard to come by.

Given that I already have my own infrastructure and have some technical capability what's the best way to spend what little money I have in order to start the ball rolling?

[Warren Contreras]

I have a rack server in the next room that I use for testing in house, but there's no way I would put it on the Internet.

With quality hosting available around $6 a month, how can anyone compete if they need any bandwidth allowance at all? You sure can't afford to bring in a T1 line and dial-up is not on full time. Putting a server on Cable or DSL in most cases is against the terms of service for your ISP, so what's left?

My $6 account is on a dual Xenon server with an OC3 pipe in the middle of the Silicone Valley and pumps out response times I could NEVER get from my server at home. They take care of all the admin stuff that I COULD possibly do myself, but not for $6 a month.

I think it's a No-Brainer

[weblord]

you need also to think about the uptime and availability of your 24/5 online business and put it into the hands of the experts.

[calvinchin]

[Marc Meole]

[flensborg]