Morning Folks!!
Expensive is relative. If you spend $100 for an
advertisement and get no return, that is expensive. If you spend $5000 and get
a $100,000 return, that is cheap! So the definition changes as the rewards
change. By that standard T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is not only cheap, it is life
changing. We aim for the moon, yet we have delivered over and over again. But
hey, why listen to me? Listen to a guy that travels over 50 hours to get to
TRAFFIC and the story behind why he comes. Michael Gilmour, who writes the
popular "Whizzbang's
Blog," shares the reasons he would get on a 25 hour flight each
way and do it 3 times a year. He joins a growing group coming from "Down
under" as well as from 15 other countries who make their way to TRAFFIC
show after show after show. Coming to TRAFFIC once is a novelty, twice means
that it was so worthwhile that you want more. But when you come to show after
show after show and invest time, energy and substantial funds just to get
there, then there is something very valuable going on because we would all rather
be sitting in our homes in front of the computer with our families.
So I ask you to read
Michael's story. Then if you still think no big deal, go read similar stories
from our page of unsolicited testimonials; and I have some yet to post there.
48 people took time to write a note expressing the value they got from
attending TRAFFIC. And when you look at the names saying it, quite a compliment
and the reason we are committed to keep making each show better than the last.
We have a formula for
TRAFFIC. A recipe. Others have tried to copy that recipe but they will always
miss one key ingredient. Just like Coca Cola has their secret formula, we have
ours and it is called "Gut instinct." Instinct that has proven to be
right on target over and over again year after year after year. Many parts of
TRAFFIC can be simulated, but without the secret formula, it will never taste
or be as good as the original. Going forward, folks will be much more conscious
of where they spend their time and money and the return they get. No where else
do the biggest and the best get together in such a meaningful way. You have to
ask yourself how does a show that is by invitation only, that screens every
attendee, that takes place at expensive and high end hotels, is also the most
attended, most meaningful and consistently sets the tone, the stride, the pace
and the agenda of the industry? It seems like an impossible FORMULA. But this
formula has a track record of great success and when we bring in speakers like
Steve Forbes it says to the attendees that they are worth bringing in the
sharpest minds to discuss who we are and what we do. It says to the outside
world that this is a serious industry wanting to hear from the most influential
business people of the day. It says we have something valuable to discuss. It
also shows we are willing to take profits out of our pockets to elevate our
industry. We won't sell extra tickets because of Steve Forbes, but there is a
sense of some seriousness when you have someone of his stature coming to spend
some time with a small group of serious investors even if he is getting paid to
do it.
One of the hidden
benefits of TRAFFIC is that we are in the domain business; we are investors.
The combined total investment represented by the attendees of TRAFFIC is
measured in the tens of billions of dollars. Think of the value represented by
that audience. Yes, we own domains and that is the investment that fuels all of
our other investments. We also own stocks, bonds, hedge funds, real estate,
restaurants, businesses from every walk of life. Some of us are in the funeral
business, some in the flag business. We cover every aspect of every corner of
investments on a global basis. We are an interesting group of entrepreneurs! We
are decision makers! While corporate America has meeting after meeting to
decide how to make a decision without losing their jobs, we make deals. We move
mountains. While they look for others to finance their ideas, we are self
financing. We write a check to see if our idea works. We don't need to BURN
other people's money to build a flawed business that returns no profits. That
gives us a certain independence that only fuels our growth. That makes us
unique. That makes us interesting. That makes us different from the rest of the
universe. To this day nobody can really get their heads around the FACT that
only a few hundred, (Maybe even a thousand or two) figured out the greatest
opportunity in our lifetimes, our father's lifetime or our fathers before them.
The last time the "Common man" had an equal shot at such a big
"Find" would have been the gold rush. But even in the gold rush it
was a place you had to get to. It was difficult. Many died. In this gold rush
the playing field was much more comfortable and the risk of dying had little to
do with domain names. Truly, never have so many had such access to great
success with such a low entry fee. The historians will write about these days
as they did about those days. So never ever doubt that you are in an historic
time on an historic path. The most surprising thing that they will write is
about how many missed the greatest opportunity in any of our lifetimes and how
a few hundred or a few thousand changed the face of the new century. How the
ones that got PAID not to miss these things, missed them, continue to miss them
and continue to fail their companies and investors.
So there is much more to
TRAFFIC than a domain trade show. We are writing history. It's more than just
the world's largest live domain auctions presented by Moniker.com. It's more
than the $25 million in sales during the last 3 auctions. It's more than having
some 60 speakers that actually know what they are talking about. It's more than
being fed steak and lobster. It's more than hearing from Steve Forbes. It's a
launching pad for folks with resources and a track record of success to network
in the best environment and to do it in a way that is conducive to meeting as
many folks as possible and doing deals that can become life changing. We have
one thread in common that brings us all together. That thread has turned into a
steel reinforced rope that binds as together as we trail blaze the future.
Some think that with the
great success that we achieved in the New York City show, there is no new
horizon. The TRUTH of the matter is that whatever we accomplished in New York
won't become evident until the Florida show. It will be in Florida that the
DIVIDENDS of those efforts will germinate. Make no mistake; we are not talking
about a small "Dividend." We are talking about an avalanche of things
unfolding. I am usually pretty good at predicting what will happen. However in
this instance, I can't even begin to articulate how that show will effect you,
your portfolio and your future as a Domain investor.
Now let me be clear. I usually make VERY bold predictions before the shows.
Look at my words before each show and then look at the reality of how the
industry was affected by each show. Stating a goal publicly in front of all
your peers is a risky thing to do. But if it were not for those predictions
becoming reality, there would be no reason for anyone to pay attention.
Do the research. See
what I said publicly and in this blog before the New York show, then read the
independent reviews after the show. See what I said 10 years ago about the
industry, and then see how it has unfolded today. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is the serious
show for serious people looking for serious networking and surrounded by lots
of serious fun and serious food.
I rest my case. See you
in South Florida.
Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz
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