With only 10K USD, I'd spend it very wisely. Leasing of course. 1K at minimum would be initially spent on advertising and marketing after the launch of the company. First of all, the site design. Some would be spent on licensing and of course a server. The rest would be saved to pay for the...
If one has the startup investment to purchase hardware outright and is serious about their web hosting business then of course it is better to own your own hardware but as new companies start, sometimes renting is the only option.
My stepdad had a big box type of battery laying in the loft and set it up for me. I wasn't too sure on solar panels and electricity storing but he works for a power company and set it up.
Zopim is fantastic but I like my live chat to tie in with my WHMCS and create chat logs in the clients profile etc. I like keeping everything organised and all in one place. This is why I am going to be shortly switching to the WHMCS live chat.
I used to run my RaspberryPi from solar panels on my window seal. It was pretty cool... it would charge the built in battery during the day and run the RaspberryPi, then during the night it would manage to just about last on the battery. Once every few weeks I'd find it off in the morning where...