Domains, Domain Names For Sale & Domain Name Registration

A personal touch

It seems the more I read other domainers blogs the more I see them talking about themselves and expressed their personal opinion on the domain name industry and how their experience(s) of investing domains has impacted on their life. I have found some of their thoughts quite intriguing and some just plain rubbish, but who am I to comment? They make the industry what it is today, and those of you who are active within the domaining community will know exactly who I am referring to.

What I also find interesting is the “select few” who seem to have created a clique. A group of what some would call “high profile” domainers who all link to each others blogs, spout anecdotes of days gone by, opportunities they had and deals they have done and generally feel that they and they alone ARE the domain name industry…how narrow minded some people have become. Don’t get me wrong, some, in their own right, have proven track records of success, both in the domain name industry and within previous careers.

In 2008 I won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the UK’s Midlands Business Awards. I am a mortgage broker by profession, so what business do I have in domain names? Well I recognise the successes I have had in my life so far to date and apply those experiences to the domain name industry. I like scalable models. If I can make it work on a micro level and the model can be replicated across multiple markets I feel I am onto a winner.

My domains are my pension fund. Kevin Ham reportedly made $70m a year from 300,000 domain names. Thats just $233 per domain per year. If I want to retire by the time I am 30 years old on a £100k a year pension fund. I have 4 years to develop 429 domains to earn £233 each. Thats 2 per week. A recent example of this is flyfishingbooks.co.uk which took me about 3 hours in total to develop and start earning. Its already earned its registration fees back in just 2 weeks. This will form the basis of my presentation at Think Visibility this September.

My advice however for new domainers is don’t get caught up in the “millions talk” don’t think you will buy a few domains and become ultra rich over night. Ask the top 10 earning domain name investors in the wold when they registered/bought their last million dollar domain. For most of them it will be back in the 90′s or early 00′s. The time has come in the market where there are great investment opportunities if you have the right funding in place now, but to think you will reap the rewards by flipping domains is not the right mentality to have in the current climate. Those who think long term in the domain game are the ones that have gained the most and minimised their losses. And yes even those who have made a few bucks will certainly have lost a few too!

So I guess what I am getting at is be unique in what you do, don’t follow what others have done and try to replicate it. A great read for those new to the industry is Rick Schwartz’s post about pigeons and eagles Like my dad always tells me, “You’re not re-inventing the wheel.” So find a business model which works for you AND your budget.

Conquer reality and your dreams will come true.

Gary