 Web
Design, Hosting, and the Meaning In A Name
The time has long since past when I should have been placing my
thoughts on electronic paper (so to speak) regarding the state of
this industry and of my own business within it. For specific,
personal reasons that I shall keep to myself, I have finally
relented and begun to record my thoughts after much delay.
When I first started this website in September 2003, little did I
know that it would become not only a staple of my overall business
plan, but also that it would go through so many incarnations. While
the overall look and feel of the site remains the same, the business
thrust has taken many unexpected twists and turns.
Probably the most dramatic was when I established a new company
to run the web hosting business this past Spring. The reasons for
the move are varied, but at the forefront was a simple fact. The
original business name under which I ran this website was
DLD2000.com LLC, which was originally established as a
telecommunications company that specialized in selling long distance
services and related products. When it came time to organize my web
hosting efforts into a business form shortly after I first
conceived the telecom business in 1995, I never thought in
terms of establishing a new business entity. After all, why should I
bother. It would merely double the paperwork, and I've never been
one for paperwork, particularly at tax time.
I ran the business this way from 2003 until the Spring of this
year, and I achieved some stable (if not spectacular) success along
the way. But all along, it had become clear that people were
confused about the name. They thought of my business as Free Website
Design, so when they made their payments to DLD2000.com LLC, they
did so dutifully, but it was clear that the name caused confusion.
So in May 2007 I organized a new venture under the name Virginia
Host LLC and sold this website (along with other assets) from the
old company to the new company. DLD2000.com LLC would continue to
exist as a separate company, supporting the purely
telecommunications needs. Also, this website's sister website at www.connweb.com
would remain in business under the old name and take care of
customers of the old business who weren't interested in moving over
to the new company.
Fortunately for me, that has not proven to be an issue. Nearly
all my customers are choosing to move over as well, as their annual
hosting agreements come up for renewal.
October 28, 2007
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