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interviews Making The Leap To Full-Time Domain Investor: An Interview with Keith DeBoer

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What is your current status and plan?

  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.
  • I am a hobbyist and plan to stay that way.

    38 
    votes
    14.0%
  • This is a side-gig, and I have no plan to go full-time.

    65 
    votes
    23.9%
  • This is a side-gig, but I would love to go full-time at some point.

    91 
    votes
    33.5%
  • I tried full-time domaining, but have gone back to side-gig status.

    16 
    votes
    5.9%
  • I work full-time in domain names.

    54 
    votes
    19.9%
  • Other (please specify in comments)

    votes
    2.9%
  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.

Taking domain investing from a side-hustle to a full-time job is probably the dream of many domain investors. A few months ago investor Keith DeBoer announced that he was making domains his full-time job. Now that a bit of time has passed, I caught up with Keith to get his insights on the transition.

KeithDeBoerGraphic.png


The Interview

How long ago did you first begin thinking about going full-time in domains?

I’ve always been passionate about domain investing. Right from the start.

I’ve always been a bargain hunter and so this type of stealth mode activity was right up my alley. The hunting, the searching, the strategizing. Deciding where and how to acquire marketable domains at the lowest possible prices. I fell in love with it.

What I’m trying to say is that I wanted to be a full time domainer pretty much right from the beginning. I was having so much fun, of course I wanted it to be my full time ‘job’.

If someone is considering doing domains full time, what do you think they should take into account?

I would say several things.

First, the speculative nature of the job. Success in domaining means threading the eye of the needle. When you’re only selling 2% of your inventory each year the line between profit and loss can get pretty thin.

Second, the tendency for the domain industry to trend. In other words, what’s super profitable one year, may not play well a year or two later. So we need to adapt. A domainer has to be alert and able to recognize trend changes and move with those changes in a timely manner. If we don’t then we risk getting left behind. I look at my domain portfolio as a rushing river rather than a ripple-less pond.

And lastly, a fallback plan. It could be in the form of sufficient savings for the slow months, or other ways to generate cash or income on short notice. Another possible fallback plan would be the ability to downsize and live on a little less until your income gets back on track. Even with thousands of domains, sales come in bunches and there are periods of feast and famine.

After you made the decision to work in domaining full-time, how did the decision feel? Were you confident in your choice, or still somewhat uncertain?

Money wise, I could have gone full-time a few years ago but I didn’t have some of the fallback options that I’ve mentioned above. So I kept waiting. As an older man with no clear, in-demand, marketable skill, I waited through several years of rising income before taking the leap.

I think a younger, single person with a low-overhead lifestyle, could have jumped into the deep end of the pool much sooner than I did. Still, even with all the waiting, I was nervous. I’m happy to say, though, that my remaining fears were obliterated by the $100,000 in sales that came in during just the first 60 days of being full-time.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being full-time?

Being full-time brings both relief and pressure. Relief because my time is my own, but also pressure to perform and keep the money rolling in. Overall, though, it’s an advantage because my mind is no longer divided between two projects. Now I live and breathe domains. In fact, last night I had a dream about domains and woke up thinking about one in particular.

Has the choice to be full-time in domains changed, in a substantial way, how you do domain investing?

Not so much on the surface. I mean I follow the same procedures and practices as before. The difference now is that I have more time to review more lists of available domains and absorb more deeply the startup and tech trends. As a result I’m becoming more deeply fluent in the rapidly changing cultural and technological landscapes of the day. I’m also becoming better at recognizing shifts in the domain market itself.

Again, it’s just the singularity of purpose and mental dedication that’s changed. Also, it’s more enjoyable too. Overall I’m optimistic that all of these things are going to have a substantial impact on my ability to generate bigger and more frequent sales going forward.

A Bit About Keith

Keith DeBoer is an experienced domain investor who specializes in brandable domain names. He first joined NamePros in 2015. He has more than half a million dollars in retail sales.

Keith has shared his tips and techniques through more than 100 articles in DnGeek, BrandBucket, DSAD and right here on NamePros. I went through the NamePros archives, and here is a sampling of his writing.
His Brandable Insider podcast is a treasure chest of information and ideas presented in an engaging style. You can see a list of all episode titles at Brandable Insider. Episode #54 How To Pick The Best Brandables is one of my personal favorites.

Your can read more about Keith at KeithDeboer.com.

More On Moving From Side-Gig To Full-Time Job

In researching this topic, I read a number of articles on the topic of transitioning a side-gig into your full-time job. While these articles are not specific to domain investing, many points made are relevant.
  • Joseph Liu writes in 7 Signs Your Side Hustle Could Turn Into Your Full-Time Job that one consideration is if you are giving up opportunities because you are not able to devote full-time. As a domain investor, are there avenues that you feel confident would be worthwhile that you simply don’t have time to follow up? He also notes that rather than wait for the perfect time to transition to full-time, simply insist that it is a reasonable time to do so.
  • Martin Delaney in When to Quit Your Job and Take Your Side Hustle Full-Time provides an honest assessment, partially based on his personal experience. He writes “Don’t quit your job too early on the belief your side business isn’t progressing due to the fact you’re not working on it full time.” He also emphasizes the importance of having sufficient financial resources to keep going a substantial period if income dries up at first.
  • In Moving From A Side Hustle To A Full-Time Gig Justin Adler stresses the importance of having a sound business plan. Questions to ask yourself as you ponder whether this is the time, include “Is the potential drop or risk in income sufficiently balanced by the other intangibles I’m gaining, like happiness, or autonomy?”
Have Your Say

I hope that many will share your own experience and plans in the comments section, whether you have made the move to full time domainer, or have dreams of doing so.

Update: I had an out of date figure for Keith's retail domain name sales total. The article has now been updated to correct value of more than half a million dollars. Even more impressive!

Sincere thanks to Keith DeBoer for being open to this interview, and the wonderful insights provided through his answers. Just one of numerous ways that he has contributed to the domain community over the years.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
where is the sales data?
The interview is on the topic of the thought process of moving from part-time to full-time. Clearly one needs sales to even consider doing that. The overall sales figure is in the article.

I don't wish to take this discussion off-topic. But to answer your question if you go to link in article on episodes, go to #51 in April 2021, where he shares 10 sales from early 2021, all $2500+ each, with the largest sale during the first few months of 2021 just under $64k. He also relates information such as what he saw in each name, marketplace where sold, acquisition price and hold time most cases. He nicely summarizes at end of episode some lessons for successful brandable names based on the sales. It is a far greater level of disclosure than most would offer. NamePros members will find it interesting that the biggest sale has a NamePros connection!

Bob
 
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So 18 people have voted so far that they are full-time. If so inclined, would appreciate some sharing a bit about your experience here in the discussion thread.

Also interesting that 34% who are part-time say they have hopes of going full-time. A higher figure than I imagined.

Thanks for the discussion everyone.

Bob
 
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I have a definite plan to go full-time, all I am waiting for a $100k like a sale to fuel enough gas on my portfolio. and of course, you required a certain number of flipping/sales in order to keep liquidate yourself.

But I'm curious to know full-time domainer's experiences,
 
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Congrats on going full time Keith and Bob thanks for an awesome interview and your great contribution to the community, your labor of love is not in vain.

I have been flirting with the idea of committing 100% to domain investing but my sales velocity has been a huge deterrent. Hopefully I can pull in a huge sale that will convince me to take the plunge.

Keith I wish you all the best on this journey, thanks for your contribution to the community, I am an ardent listener of your podcast, in fact when I started out in domaining 4 years ago I wasn't sure which niche I wanted to pursue, thanks to you and Doron I got hooked on Brandables hopefully I can mirror your success.
 
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I have two full time business ventures. For me domaining is side income/ a side business with a few domains I would be content to sit on for 20 years waiting for someone to blow me away. Those names I don't really advertise since I don't consider them available.
 
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I've noticed advertising doesn't pay what it used to. Makes it more of a challenge to monetize a blog site unless you generate significant traffic.
 
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Thank you. Sir.High quality as always.
 
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Im afraid i might get Ptsd if i get full time , like he said he had nightmares about domains :xf.grin:
 
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Really appreciate this interview.... Keep up the good work @Bob Hawkes .
 
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Why did you choose him and will you interview others too?

Please provide sales data!!....and list of the domains he owns.
What bought, hand reg, how much and etc etc
As they say in sales....it is the $$$$$ you bring in!!


@Keith DeBoer is one of the publishers/podcasters in the industry. I totally agree about sales report, data and portfolio, I also think @Bob Hawkes should have asked about these metrics to understand better. But for people who follow him on BB slack or his podcast , know about Keith's sales.
 
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