If I started Again Today in the Domain Business


Morning Folks!!
If I had to start again today it would be much harder. But that is why I
did not start today and why I said in 1996 that THIS was a 'Unique opportunity
in time' Now maybe folks really understand wtf that meant. But if I did start
again today and I believe you can, I would do the following.

First, decide how much you want to INVEST in domain names. $5000, $10,000,
$100,000.

Let's pick $10,000

Assuming you know what constitutes a good domain name (90% still have no
clue) then I would try and buy domains from $100-$1000. I would buy as many as I
could that are SALEABLE. That mean something. That could have value to someone.
Then start selling. Put yourself out there. Find a domainer that you can feed.
That is a domainer that you know can turn your domain into cash because YOU did
the legwork. Oh, did I mention you have to WORK?? Yes, you have to get your lazy
ass and actually do something. 8 hours a day? Come on! 12 hours a day? closer.
16-18 hours....ok, now you are talking. You got to dig baby! You got to dig! You
got to be smart. You got to be creative. What you can't do is what I hear the
most....WHINE! The answers are all there for you and most are just too lazy to
read it. They WHINE!

Go out and find a great domain before the next guy. You may even find one
that produces income and did not cost a lot. But you got to dig. Do research.
Pay attention. Hand register. There is still more opportunity in the domain
business than any other business I see. Do I want to do it again? No. I put in
my 18 hour days then so I would not have to do it now.

So there is a simple roadmap but YOU have to put in the sweat and tears.
Nobody in this business made it without hard word, long hours and sacrifice.
Nobody made it without making mistakes. Nobody made it without a lot of things.
So if you have yet to make it....STOP Stop in your tracks. Stop moving
backwards, Stop moving. Stop. Go to the beach. Just stop what you are doing,
take a deep breath. Think what you want and realize the way you picked ain't
making you the $$$ you should be making. It is more important today than ever.
Just because you have years invested in the wrong path does not mean you can't
get on the right one. But you got to change the music for a different
result.

There are just so many ways to climb this mountain. Have no money? You can
be a broker and sell a domain for someone. But do it smart and you will make it.
Do it stupid and you will be laughed at. It only takes ONE DEAL to get you
fueled. Imagine making a deal to sell a domain. If you know who and how and
where, you could take a domainer, approach them. Say I will sell your domain and
I want my 10% commission. On top of that, if I sell it for over $100k, we split
that portion 50/50. Now here you just laid the groundwork for a big payday and a
way to fund your entire enterprise with just one deal. But you gotta WORK!! Got
to have contacts. Find end users. Do all types of stuff but nobody can do it for
YOU! I just gave you a couple ways I would approach it. One with $$$ in my
pocket and one where I was flat broke.
The second example would be my choice
because all you need is brains and ideas and hard work and the money will come.
But you can do both without a heck of a lot of head wind. But it takes time and
patience and hard work. Find something that works and repeat, repeat, repeat. That is the secret. It's just too simple for people to discipline themselves to do so they run 20 different directions at once instead of focusing on something tried and true..

The 80/20 rule exists because only 20% or less are willing to do the hard work to
get to results. The remaining 80% spend their lives whining. YOUR
CHOICE!!!

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz




17 thoughts on “If I started Again Today in the Domain Business

  1. Bogdan

    The only problem is that you don’t have contacts (and you don’t have credibility) in the beginning. Starting is hard work, but I know I will have my reward – I just hope it will not be in Heaven :)
    Thank you! You are a real inspiration for all of us!

    Reply
  2. Johnny

    The whiners have become an army lately if anyone has noticed. Most of them started domaining in the last six months.
    They are all over the message boards now and it is not fun to post anymore b/c you get engaged with folks that have no depth of experience to domaining. They say and firmly believe the dumbest things I have heard. These people have always been around but now there is just too many to deal with. If I were to say to them exactly what you just said here Rick I would get ridiculed. It’s already happened several times and it is tiring. :)
    .

    Reply
  3. mike cohen

    Rick,
    One of the best posts here in a really long time in my opinion — in one word: RAW !
    I like that…
    Domain industry isn’t easy.. It isn’t for everybody. Just like you said, it is a full time gig and takes up a lot of time and energy to make it. Whoever thinks that it is easy got something totally different coming… 15 hrs / day minimum x 5 days minimum and you may turn in a profit.
    If you aren’t putting in the hours somebody else is and they will eat you for lunch. It is very competitive. Always have and always will be. Those that are serious about it and want in on the action have to make sacrifices and play smart.
    Surfing forums 24/7 or blogs isn’t the best way.. It is a way to stay informed but don’t expect to learn all about”domaining” cuz it’s not gonna happen.
    There sure is plenty of opportunities in the domain game and I myself have gotten re-energized past few month’s while thousands of domainers are quitting and dropping all of their domains I am seeing all this opportunities — so many… So much to do. So little time… AHH!!
    You have to be really selective this days though. There is TONS of deals to be had. Do the research and you will succeed.
    Hard work pays off.
    Keep em coming buddy… Lets keep it real and RAW
    Best,
    Mike
    http://www.wannadevelop.com

    Reply
  4. Bryan

    Amazing post Rick! Spot on!
    You basically just detailed the last 3 years of my life. I’d been into domains as a hobby since 2000 and decided I didn’t want to work my day job anymore. My quest started with an $800 investment which has been multiplied over 1000 times at this point. It’s never too late to start and I’m proof. I’ve been very comfortably supporting a family developing and investing in domains on a full time basis for two years now.
    Bryan

    Reply
  5. RegFeeNames.com

    Hi Rick,
    This is a great post!
    I agree with you 100% you need to work you ass off!
    I got into the business only a few years ago and I have built up my contacts and domains but it takes hard work!
    I now buy, sell, park and develop but what pays off for me now is brokering – Its hard work a real challenge but that is what life is about you cant just sit on your ass and moan I wish I had got into this in the 90’s get up and look around!
    My site that I wont mention as people think I spam has thousands of great names available to hand register for REG FEE but you just because I list them there free doesnt mean you should go there people!
    Wake up do your own homework!
    Search the drops compile your list of names and whois each of them see when they are due to drop and work hard to get them.
    Teach other about domains – It is the only way the world shall realise the huge amount of traffic and wealth there is out there in owning a great domain!
    Good Luck to everyone and if you work hard trust me it shall pay off!
    Regards,
    Robbie

    Reply
  6. Johan

    Interesting post. I’m quite new to the domaining industry with my one year of basic learning (“domaining honeymoon”). I totally agree that you have to put in all the hours and work hard in order to find good domains and/or to develop them. I sure wish I had started domaining and developing back in the days but I still think you can make it if you start today as well – you just have to work hard!

    Reply
  7. Dluzional

    While I agree with the post, and the hard work required to be somewhat successful, what hard core veteran domainer is going to get hooked up with a domainer newbie…probably 80% of them won’t. That’s where the contact’s portion of the post falls away. I really wonder how many hard core veteran’s of the domain wars, and all the crap that goes with it, actually remember what”they” were like when they were new to the game. Seems a lot have forgotten how stupid and idiotic they were, with all those”visions of grandeur”.
    Tell me that a hard nosed veteran, when approached by a newbie isn’t going to try to take advantage of that newbie, getting something for nothing, justifying to themselves that they’re teaching them a lesson in hard knocks.
    Domaining can be fun and lucrative, and also secretive, not to mention downright nasty, but the old time domainers would do best to reflect what got them to where they are in the first place.

    Reply
  8. Rick Schwartz

    Dluzional,
    You are only a newbie if you put yourself out there too soon without knowledge. The way I did it had the same obstacles just with a different crew. I got engaged on the boards but I did not post for the first few weeks and when I did post I was thoughtful and careful of what I said. That gained me some credibility and I was able to build on that. To get accepted. To get along.
    Most are too impatient to do it right and by the time they do it wrong their reputation is already soiled. They lose before they even begin and they are the only ones that don’t know. So do it smart, different result.
    Anything else is whining. Really.

    Reply
  9. Eric Borgos

    Rick mentioned about acting as a broker to make money. I have 9500 of my own domains for sale at http://www.nameshopping.com but I could use help selling them. Much like Rick, I spent 18 hour days back in the 1990s buying my domains. But, unlike Rick, I do almost nothing to market them. I get a few sales a month from people who lookup my whois info and email me an offer, and I have all my domains listed on afternic.com and sedo.com, but those 2 sites don’t bring me a lot of sales. So, I would be happy to pay anybody a commission for selling my domains. I am not looking to sell to domain investors though, and I won’t do any sales that are based on traffic or ppc income. If the buyer wants to even know the traffic or ppc income, than it means they are not the right buyer for me. I don’t need cash, but on the other hand around 75% of my domains make less than the annual registration fee, so it is worth it for me to sell them to end users who want to buy them for a specific reason, like they are starting a website and want that specific domain.
    – Eric

    Reply
  10. Danny Pryor

    Hi Rick,
    It’s almost like you wrote this one just for us! I was doing content development 10 years ago and advising clients to get a good name – but I didn’t follow my own advice. Strange.
    I like the sacrifices part, because THAT is THE ONLY WAY to move forward. As the Nike commercials used to say, JUST DO IT!!!
    Mistakes? You can’t NOT make a mistake, if you’re human. We’ve made plenty, but it’s learning from the mistakes that differentiates the successful people and the failures. Those who refuse to learn, or who give up when they make mistakes (more like a 95/5 rule) are the washouts.
    Bigger than determining how much money you’re willing to spend – this plays off the being broke part – is making the decision to stay in the game for the long haul. If you’re in the game, you have every opportunity for success. Sit on the sidelines and watch everyone play, you’ll end up feeling sorry for yourself and … you guessed it … WHINING. Great post!!!

    Reply
  11. Appraisal Mind

    Inspirational Rick, inspirational. People like to follow some simple rules and not to think hard. But in this game there a still new rules to be invented.

    Reply
  12. Neopolus

    Rick, says it all, no matter how you approach the domaining industry hard work pays off, sacrifice and everyday learning will get you somewhere – great words, clean and clear for those who want to make the difference.

    Reply
  13. Damon

    Rick’s post, plus, Eric’s comments make this platinum reading. And I dearly appreciate you both for writing. I have a little over 100 great, brandable domains, and I’m only interested in end-users who can see the value I saw when I chose those domains (sometimes doing a search at 3 a.m.). Forget about the stats, if you can’t see the value and brandability in”StarMechanics.com”, I’ll keep it until the right person comes along who can.

    Reply
  14. Successclick

    Rick! Where’s the love? You don’t read my blog at http://www.successclick.com? For over a year I’ve been busting out good articles for readers, and I think I have you on my list.
    Why not endanger the reputation of the other blogs you list by putting up mine!!
    You never know what benefits will be drawn to you….as if you need them from me… lol
    peace

    Reply

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