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There are lots of different types of domainers out there. Full time, part time, on the fence, and so on. Would love to hear stories from all over the spectrum, what are the positives and negatives, etc.
Been full-time+ with [my company] selling domains for 3 years. I'm knowledgable in selling brandables through there but I must say I wish I knew more about selling domains in other ways. Without [my company] I don't think I would have a clue on how to survive full-time with domaining. Great question, love reading these answers.
Doesn't hurt that you're the owner.
Sure doesn't. Prob the only way I would be able to do it full-time. I'm sure not a lot of brandable sellers are doing it full-time, or am I wrong? I sure wasn't full time when selling at BB.
Are you able to share the number of domains you sell per month? I'd be curious to know how brandables do. It's a niche I've stayed away from.
The numbers definitively fluctuate but overall it averages about 1 domain sale per day.
That's pretty incredible. Do you have an insanely large portfolio?
Some of the cons are:
- It can be lonely
- I don't get enough natural sunlight
- A lack of real life social interaction
- You can become insular and introverted
- It could be difficult for me to get a real job after 5 years of self employment, due to a lack of references.
Let me correct my self when i sleep its 2am i'm still writing on the forum..
What constitutes a domainer? Is there a job title for that?
I do much more than buy and sell domain names, but it is full time.
Domaining pays for both.ps: Domainer P/T. My "day job" covers the mortgage, domaining pays for toys.
Domaining pays for both.
What was intended by that question was clarification on what a "domainer" is being referred to as.
Is it one whom solely buys and sells domain names? One that parks? One that develops? One that purchases as a long term investment? Etc., ...add in the social (IM) aspect and micro-management of some of them.
A "domainer" is a broad term. A "domain name investor" is as well because the name could have been bought for various reasons.
So, yes, I am a full time domainer, but I do by far more than invest in names; though everything I do revolves around domains.
Not at all. Hopefully, if you desire, you can be a full time domainer as well.I hope you took my reply as such and didn't take it in a negative sense.
But I suspect you'd be on to better things as soon as you hit a few hundred thousand, and that's when you'll start to see domaining as a means to an end.
Five years ago I graduated from uni and in attempt to avoid having to get a real job again, working for bosses that I didn't like, I tried to make some money online. Five years later I'm still making a full-time living online. During that time all these things have been true, although most are no longer true:
After all of the above collapsed / was dissolved at various points I now import and sell physical products on ebay. See, there are 101 ways to make money online, of which domaining is just one.
- I've owned a network of sites generating 1m+ unique visitors per month.
- Made $5000+ a month affiliate marketing
- Made $2000+ a month through Adsense
- Been hired as an SEO consultant
- Managed a PPC campaign for a Fortune 500 company
- Flipped a few domains and sites
- Made $3000+ a month selling kindle books
- Had two years in which I've cleared $100k in profit
Perhaps considering my start point you could say that we even have some similarities. I can identify various pros and cons, some of the pros are:
Some of the cons are:
- I've actually had a fair bit of money, at times.
- My life can't be made miserable by a boss who sucks
- It can be liberating at times
- I can take a day off when I want
- I save shitloads in fuel costs with no daily commute
- I get a bit more time in bed in the morning and can work in my PJs
I got a real buzz out of the first 18 months of working for myself, online, it was really exciting. That does wear off.
- It can be worrying when you rely entirely on yourself
- It can be lonely
- I don't get enough natural sunlight
- A lack of real life social interaction
- You can become insular and introverted
- It could be difficult for me to get a real job after 5 years of self employment, due to a lack of references.
- You need to be REALLY self-disciplined
- I'm paying my own heating/cooling bills
Actually, now it feels a bit limiting and unfulfilling. I miss working in a team, the camaraderie of getting through something as a group, and the pats on the back when you do something right, having an xmas party at the end of the year.
I just feel that it is fair to point out that making a full time living online from your bedroom (or loft conversion, in my case) isn't always a dream or glamorous. Sometimes it really sucks.
If you are willing to take any advice from somebody who is probably more similar to you than you think, and has been at the stage you are currently at, then here are two pieces:
You are also choosing a "career" as you call it (I'd really start viewing and seeing it as a business venture) which may or may not have a long term future.
- Get yourself an SAD lamp to make up for the lack of natural sunlight
- Go and do half a day a week volunteering or something, for the reference and the semi-formal social interaction.
Do you see yourself being a domainer in 10 years time? What happens if you are a full-time domainer for 5 years and then have to get a real job? Where are your references? What transferable skills do you have?
The natural progression would be to build some capital and build a real online business.
And that's why I say that you should dream big.
You want a full-time career selling domain names on flippa.... I say that you should aim to one day build the next flippa (and by that I mean an online business, not a copy cat site).
Why just domaining? Why not also developing? Why do you want to become a domainer selling names to people who build million dollar businesses, why not one day acquire the domain upon which YOU will build one of those businesses for yourself.
You think that I am being negative towards your dream here. I'm not, I'm actually saying that YOU should be MORE positive, by aiming HIGHER and thinking about what become successful at domaining would enable you to achieve. I'm just telling people that domaining should be a stepping stone towards achieving a dream which has been formulated with more foresight and ambition.
So no, I don't think that domaining would be particularly "fulfilling" in the long term. I honestly think that by that time you'll have moved on to bigger and better things.
I've pointed out that people should be aiming higher in life and using domaning as a means to an end.
And ultimately, that vision of utopia where you can travel around with a laptop isn't as fantastic as people make out, because you'd still end up spending 60 hours a week glued to a laptop surrounded by four walls, self-employment online = long hours indoors.
Every business is a means to an end if you're not passionate about it. It has nothing to do with the business and everything to do with your personal preference.
These are not industry-related limitations; they are your limitations, probably due to your own choices or having a non-sustainable business model that doesn't allow you to grow your business(es).
Build a viable business, open an office, hire a team, repeat. Then you'll have people around you every day. Camaraderie at every turn. Plenty of domainers have done this. Others choose to work from home.
A successful online business (including domain-related) gives you the freedom to do whatever you want: have an office with lots of employees or work in your underwear. It's your choice. The domain business doesn't dictate one or the other. Many businesses do, but not a domain business. That is the benefit of building one.
This is a billion dollar industry; it's not possible to aim much higher than that.
Building a domain empire would offer just as much as, if not more than, the majority of other businesses in the world.
None of the businesses you've mentioned are better. They scale much slower, actually. Sales are sales.
That's your choice. If you have a real online business with profits, you can afford to hire people and delegate.
Can you provide a single example of a successful domainer who pays somebody a salary to sit and do domaining for them? How long until that person becomes a competitor, copying your methods?
That's a small industry!
Yes, without a doubt.Are you seriously suggesting that somebody starting in 2015 flipping a few domains has the potential to build what you call a "domain empire"?
I do run a real business, with profits, with an employee (just one at the moment). So again, not really sure what your point is here.
I don't think many domainers would hire people to manage their domain assets in fairness, brokers perhaps for specific names, direct sales to generate leads perhaps, but it would require a lot of trust to allow them to sit and reg domains for you, or trust them with your cash to purchase?
If you taught somebody how to buy valuable domains and sell them for huge profits, how long are they going to sit and take your salary to make you rich, when will they decide to start regging domains for themselves?