Success in this industry with $$ starting capital

[domaino]

The purpose of this topic is to establish what it takes to become a successful domainer. Now I am under no illusions, I am not a successful domainer. Over the course of the last few years I have dipped in, out and back into the market, more often than not through financial necessity, sometimes emerging successful, other times emerging with a few burnt fingers. But really, I have never felt "involved" in the whole process, I have never seen this industry as one I could get a foot into, make a living from or become truly successful in. Much of this comes down to not having the capital to invest but I also feel that much of this comes down to feeling like something of an outsider, feeling as though the best deals are not within my grasp or are secured only by those "in the know."

I'm not sure whether this is the case, I'm even less sure as to how I become one of those "in the know." I'm not convinced I "know" domain names (nor, really, should I expect to). So my question to any seasoned domainers out there: is it still possible to gain a strong footing in this industry and make a comfortable living starting with only a small amount of starting capital? Really, I think I already know the answer, I mean it's what Namepros is all about, positive reinforcement, but let's test the water anyway.

 

[mplswifi]

Wow! I've made 25k this year so far off hand reg's that i haven't held for more than 11 months, part time at that. There's money to be made but it takes work and independent thinking, not so much the herd mentality we sometimes follow. Just have to find you're niche and work it, not park and hope.

What is considered success anyways????

I consider success getting back what you invested in a given time.

Patience>timing>luck>persistence>knowledge gathering and networking.. My 2 cents

 

[Ross]

Wow! I've made 25k this year so far off hand reg's that i haven't held for more than 11 months, part time at that. There's money to be made but it takes work and independent thinking, not so much the herd mentality we sometimes follow. Just have to find you're niche and work it, not park and hope. My 2 cents

This is part of my business model in the domaining industry but not the whole thing. I believe that an important thing to domaining is not to put your eggs all in the same basket. I have found different levels of success with trying different things in domaining. As i had stated above my margins are getting larger and have found what is working for me the most in the industry.

I dont think parking is over but it is old news at this point in the game and the industry is changing rapidly. Especially in the times of the unknown internets...

 

[ecalc]

you gotta a be joking

Yeah, I was kidding. Knowledge is overrated and the ICA is clearly a ham fisted money laundering operation. The acronym ICA probably violeted someone's TM. Thanks for straightening me out. Maybe this thread will raise the awarness of an angel investor who will help you move to the next phaze.

 

[hawkeye]

Yeah, I was kidding. Knowledge is overrated and the ICA is clearly a ham fisted money laundering operation. The acronym ICA probably violeted someone's TM. Thanks for straightening me out. Maybe this thread will raise the awarness of an angel investor who will help you move to the next phaze.

:]

 

[Michael]

Simple, domaining is not profitable... unless you get lucky or have a big wallet to purchase and build a nice portfolio!

Couldn't disagree with you more. There's still plenty of room to make a killing if you're good at spotting bargains. I started a year ago with a few hundred in the bank and since then I've done over $300k in gross sales working part time. There are so many angles to this industry that the money will never dry up.

 

[bigdipper]

Couldn't disagree with you more. There's still plenty of room to make a killing if you're good at spotting bargains. I started a year ago with a few hundred in the bank and since then I've done over $300k in gross sales working part time. There are so many angles to this industry that the money will never dry up.

I would tend to agree with your thinking here. I haven't had near the success you have enjoyed (Congratulations, btw!!!) - but i have a "long term" view with my portfolio. Long term meaning 5-10 years. I never believed that domaining was a get rich quick thing for me. That's not why i am in it...

I've made my share of rookie mistakes along the way... But i am trying to learn every day and i have a vision that this is the future.

I have no delusions of grandeur as we all know the .com space is locked down tighter than a drum - but if i can add 1 or 2 high quality .com names a week based upon metrics then i feel like i can create value long-term. True - these names may not be $5k or $10k names right now... but in 5-10 years i believe that I give myself a shot.

In the meantime, i am trying to be like a sponge around here and learn... learning from those who have gone before me who have acquired the knowledge and expertise to become successful at their own strategy.

I am now looking to form an LLC with a graphic artist and a designer to start building out some of the better names.

I also understand that this is not going to happen overnight - but the more i learn (thanks to the good folks on this board) the more optimistic i am - and the more i am starting to spot potential opportunities.

This whole thing has been a fantastic learning experience for me. Sure - I have bad days like everyone else - but i am try to focus on the good. I also feel blessed to have found this site and all the people who have been willing to share their knowledge.

I believe we are still in the infancy of the internet. I can only imagine what the next 10-20 years are to bring - which is why this is so exciting to me.

At the end of the day if you believe you can't do something - you are probably right. For that thinking will permeate your mindset and leave you stuck in neutral. On the other hand - if you believe you can than you are also probably right... lol

 

[accent]

An important thing to consider is ROI = Return On Investment. This means the percentage gain of an investment on a yearly basis. 30% per year in the stock market is pretty good - most investors rarely see that much.


There are many people on Namepros who made 300% per year hand registering LLLL.coms. Did the golden age of domaining end when the LLLL.coms ran out last November? Nonsense. Internet business continues to grow overall at a torrid pace. Mobile computing is just over the horizon. Find where the growth is heading and place yourself in it's path. Find that 300%, then find it again next year.

If you want to follow the crowd buy stock index funds. If you are willing to put some serious time and effort into domain research then you can ignore the negativity. There were many who insisted, for years, that LLLL.com investors were wasting their money.

I believe we have seen only the very beginning of domain investment. In ten years perhaps there will be Wall Street-type domain investment funds and armies of commissioned domain salesmen scouring the world for domain sales just like real estate brokers do today.

"One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small"
Think big - really big. It is out there if you look for it.


::EDIT:: BigDipper, you said it before I did.

 

[staffjam]

MIR - i have a question to the following comment

Unless you startup a website, which you will need a 10K start up fund... it is very hard.... to compete in todays world wide web. Unless you get lucky!!!!

Why do you think it will take $10k to start a website - what sort of site are you talking about here?

 

[tech4]

I think he meant a business website.
1k-2k for developers
1k-2k for advertising
1k for content licensing and hosting services
1k-5k for an average domain name
1k for buying traffic (not the same as google advertising)
1k for filing business as limited liabilities
1k for yearly maintenance.

That's just my opinion.

 

[ja1]

Mir -and interested to hear from others,
are there any well known examples where domain ownership was questioned or even taken away by lawyers because of PPC. It looks as if all large registers are doing it anyways!
Was the reason for the domain ownership being questioned PPC only; or were there additional issues such as TM?
Very grateful for a case example where PPC caused ownership issues.

 

[Ross]

Mir -and interested to hear from others,
are there any well known examples where domain ownership was questioned or even taken away by lawyers because of PPC. It looks as if all large registers are doing it anyways!
Was the reason for the domain ownership being questioned PPC only; or were there additional issues such as TM?
Very grateful for a case example where PPC caused ownership issues.

Here you go !
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2006/d2006-0011.html

The Complainant also contends that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the subject domain name. More specifically, the Complainant asserts that the Respondent’s use of the disputed domain name thus far cannot be viewed as a bona fide offering of goods or services, since it has been used in connection with domain name parking services in the past, and presently is used to simply display content extracted from various other sites.

The changed content in fact further supports a finding of bad faith in this case. The Respondent put up the new content shortly after a communication was allegedly forwarded to the Respondent by the Complainant. The changed content tries to give the appearance of a substantive site that provides services and goods. However, the site is in fact nothing more than a skeleton of frames that are filled with pictures and content automatically pulled from other sites. In the Panel’s view, this is an intentional attempt to mislead and further suggests the Respondent’s bad faith.

For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraph 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain name <maplin.com> be transferred to the Complainant.

 

[ecalc]

Tivo: good example

ja1: additional info ...
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/guide/index.html
According to Paragraph 4(a) of the UDRP Policy, the UDRP Administrative Procedure is only available for disputes concerning an alleged abusive registration of a domain name; that is, which meet the following criteria:
(i) the domain name registered by the domain name registrant is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant (the person or entity bringing the complaint) has rights; and
(ii) the domain name registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in question; and
(iii) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith

 

[deleted984054565403]

It's nice to have cash on hand if you ever spot a bargain on a name for sale, but there are lots of people -- myself included -- that got started from simple hand-registered domains that were developed and sold.

Create a site you're interested in -- it can be on a domain you registered for $9. Monetize it if you want, but build traffic. Once you have regular visitors, prepare to sell the entire site. Use the money you sold the site for to buy a "nice" name or start the developing process over again. That's the approach I took for my first year domaining, and it worked reasonably well.

 

[DN BROKER]

It's nice to have cash on hand if you ever spot a bargain on a name for sale, but there are lots of people -- myself included -- that got started from simple hand-registered domains that were developed and sold.

Create a site you're interested in -- it can be on a domain you registered for $9. Monetize it if you want, but build traffic. Once you have regular visitors, prepare to sell the entire site. Use the money you sold the site for to buy a "nice" name or start the developing process over again. That's the approach I took for my first year domaining, and it worked reasonably well.

Excellent Advice....

 

[soggyindo]

It's nice to have cash on hand if you ever spot a bargain on a name for sale, but there are lots of people -- myself included -- that got started from simple hand-registered domains that were developed and sold.

Create a site you're interested in -- it can be on a domain you registered for $9. Monetize it if you want, but build traffic. Once you have regular visitors, prepare to sell the entire site. Use the money you sold the site for to buy a "nice" name or start the developing process over again. That's the approach I took for my first year domaining, and it worked reasonably well.

Mind you, if you're good at creating traffic (and revenue) off a $9 name, you probably don't need a $1000 name - just stick to brandable names and put your money back into your new businesses - design, writers, etc...

 

[john645]

Couldn't disagree with you more. There's still plenty of room to make a killing if you're good at spotting bargains. I started a year ago with a few hundred in the bank and since then I've done over $300k in gross sales working part time. There are so many angles to this industry that the money will never dry up.

I completely agree. Think outside the box. I pretty much have my domaining business set up into 3 separate areas.

#1 Domains I have purchased. Over the last year I have spent upwards of $300k on domain names. These are assets I intend to hold, while earning about 8-15% of my investment back per year via parking. I tend to look for generics, lll.com and untrademarked typos.

#2 Hand registered domains. I hand registered probably 5-10 domains each day. Some I test and then throw away, but a good portion I keep because of traffic. These domains are parked and sometimes later sold. Startup capital needed for this, only a few hundred bucks.

#3 Typos. I register typos all the time. I have a very very solid technique. Sure there are some risks involved, however I usually stay away from the trademark stuff. I average $300 per day with this strategy I use, and only needed a few hundred bucks to start. $108k on average isn't bad for very little initial capital. It's all about having a strategy, using the right tools, and thinking away from the herd.

 

[soggyindo]

I completely agree. Think outside the box. I pretty much have my domaining business set up into 3 separate areas.

#1 Domains I have purchased. Over the last year I have spent upwards of $300k on domain names. These are assets I intend to hold, while earning about 8-15% of my investment back per year via parking. I tend to look for generics, lll.com and untrademarked typos.

#2 Hand registered domains. I hand registered probably 5-10 domains each day. Some I test and then throw away, but a good portion I keep because of traffic. These domains are parked and sometimes later sold. Startup capital needed for this, only a few hundred bucks.

#3 Typos. I register typos all the time. I have a very very solid technique. Sure there are some risks involved, however I usually stay away from the trademark stuff. I average $300 per day with this strategy I use, and only needed a few hundred bucks to start. $108k on average isn't bad for very little initial capital. It's all about having a strategy, using the right tools, and thinking away from the herd.

Impressive

 

[trsaso]

Interesting posts I only reading and upgrade myself to domains industry.
Thanks for share your experience.