Full-time Domainer or just a Hobby/Part-time?

[Bram C.]

I was reading an interesting NP thread earlier today that has a poll on how much profit domainers are making on average /month ( https://www.namepros.com/threads/how-much-do-you-earn-from-domaining-per-month.958903/ ) . There are already some interesting results such as "Around 52% of all domainers who voted make less than $100 a month." and " Around 10% of all domainers who voted make more than $5K /month".

I figured it would be a nice idea to also have a poll on how many domainers are doing this full-time compared to doing it as a hobby/part-time to have a better understanding of the previous poll and to be able to compare the results.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

Full time domainer.

 

[BrandChimp]

Full-time.
Investing can't be a hobby. You must treat domain investing as a business if you want to make money.

I started at age 17 registering crap domains .net .info for fun and soon realized that I was just loosing money.

Now I'm turning 27 and I do it full-time.

 

[Bram C.]

I forgot to mention, I'm also a full-time domainer.

 

[Federer]

"Full-time" - but doing this part-time.

Once you have a system/model in place, there is no need to work full-time hours.

 

[SpareDomains]

2003 ran a web hosting company along with a few other websites. Got an offer for 1k on a $8 domain sold it and that sale made me go full throttle in acquisition mode as I'm like $992 profit for no work sign me up. So back then I would say full time work which included web hosting, various websites, domaining etc... so a diversified income stream with full time work. Full time work was due to excitement of let's try this, let's try that etc... excitement I suppose of being something new, some winners and some losers.

Over the last 15 years some sites still exist, some I've gotten rid of and some new ones have appeared. So same strategy as back then today=diversification just work load has shifted from full time work into part time work as over 15 years ya waste $/learn/adjust a few things. I've never done outbound and I don't sell any domains under 4-5 figures so not much work has really ever been involved on the domain end. All my domains are on sales pages and in the process of working on my websites I just respond to domain offers at the end of the day. I shoot my price/negotiate and if it sells it sells if not the recurring revenue stream I've created over 15 years really makes me not care as I don't really need the money and holding costs are only $8 year so I've held for the 1k, 6.5k, 7.5k, 16k etc... sales off of $8 purchases. Domain value is determined by the quality of the domain and having the "right" buyer on the line. Patience is needed for maximum return value. Not needing the income helps with that. I've rarely parked domains even when it paid better as my focus was always sales first and I've always had enough of my own developed websites where I'd rather link my own websites from my sales pages than sell that traffic off to google. I like to keep things in house or full circle continuing to increase the recurring revenue each year.

Diversification is key to online strategy, investments etc... One sector could drop cold and it wouldn't even phase me as other sectors continue on. Domaining should be a piece of the internet pie not the whole pie.

 

[d-e-x]

Full time Hobby Domainer

 

[The Domain Wizard]

Still a hobby but working on to make it full time. I know it will be hard work but if you are in contact with the right people to share knowledge that will help. I joined Mike from @DomainSherpa DNAcademy and we have every Saturday a Google hangout with Mike and some other people to share our domaining journey.

Beside that we are in Skype group so we talk to each other every day. This is just a small part of my dream to make a full-time domainer.

 

[MoMo.Domains]

Part time here
Spend a lot of time in early 2000s then got busy with life and job.
Now trying my hand again here

 

[Keith DeBoer]

Some interesting surveys this week:

• ~75% are domaining part-time

• ~50% have bought a domain that cost $1,000 or more

• ~50% are earning less than $100 per month

Conclusion? There are a boat load of part-time domainers buying high priced domains and earning less than $100 per month. Maybe it's time for some to re-examine their business plan.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

FTD

 

[CircusMaximus]

I started part-time in 1998, and was able to go full time in 2002. So it's a 14-year-old business for me.

I feel I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, especially during the 2001-2002 drops, and I doubt I could become a full-time domainer if I had started now.

If you started post-2008, you'd need to be a very astute trader to remain full time.

 

[frank-germany]

its my full time hobby

 

[Kate]

part-time business...

 

[Federer]

Have been buying/selling domain names "full-time" for the past 11 years; but only spend a few hours/day investing and/or replying to offers >> it's a part-time "passive" business model that reaps (more than) a full-time wage.

 

[bluebox]

100% hobby

The reason it's fun is because I don't have to stress about overall profitability - as long as I break even I'm good, everything over that is a bonus "beer money"... well, OK, make that a "gadget money" (e.g. my new laptop).

 

[baseballworld]

Very successful hobby for me. Which is weird considering the amount of time I actually put in is very minimal since i am gone working 13 hours a day offline.

 

[Shams]

I already have other businesses and thats y i don't count domaining my full time job. In earlier stage of domaining i started as hobby but I'm willing to make it full time. I have invested handsome amount in domains. The other thing is full time domaining isn't for everyone. I know a guy here on namepros and we are good friends. He has good taste in domains. The way he choose domains, i never seen anyone like that. He's full time domainer now but undevotional. He don't take it seriously. He always made 2 3 good quality sales in a month and relax all other days.

 

[fitkhan]

Till now it was a part time hobby/interest but in the next coming weeks I am going to make it my full time business.

 

[BoothDomains]

Full time

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I am a part-time domainer. Mainly as a hobby. Im building up a portfolio and im in no rush to sell. And some domains I buy for my business. So I bought a .com recently for $$$ and havent sold anything in that month. But still I think theres nothing wrong with my "business plan".
Not much can be concluded from these little surveys.
Being a domainer might require skills, but being a statistician probably requires even more.

I'm not talking about you or anyone in particular. Just the trends I see. Yes, if domainers have a business plan and buying and holding is part of it than no sales is OK for a while. But at some point there needs to be sales otherwise its just a delusion. I'm glad to hear that you have a business plan and are following it. My sense though is that the majority of domainers don't have one.

 

[D Haynes]

Definatly as a hobby. As with most business ventures you need to speculate to accumulate which requires a certain amount of capital to start with. Its a vicious circle as to make money domaining you need to commit alot of time and effort as well as that capital which most people dont have because they work a full time job already and cant give it up because they need to money. In my probably quite missguided opinion, I think it would be quite easy to make money in domaining if I started with alot of money.

 

[NetworkPearl]

Part time , Student

 

[RTM]

Part-time as part of an overall IT / Web services business

 

[Rainmaker-NL]

Hobby, and many of the domains I own are suited to use for my dayjob......