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Today I brought dashboardads.com
I see a marginal if not spectacular interest in dashboard advertising either via videos or online / desktop games.
Total Cost : $9.20
Return On Investment : To be updated.
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At times, It seems like a long time ago and at times, it seems it was only yesterday that I caught the Internet bug. It was 1996 and when I first came across a real live breathing Internet, I was excited. It was not mere technology which excited me. It was the possibilities that I saw then.
I was too broke to buy a computer. Or at least that’s what I believed then. I had plenty of money for other useless stuff. But I tried. I used to get some tech magazines and I read with great fascination what the Internet and the world wide web was all about. I saw those full page web hosting ads and I couldn’t spend enough time trying to educate myself with what a domain name was, what a web hosting was. I wondered what could be done to get my own website up and running.
I saw this full page ad from web host Inter Land. One ordinary day I called them up from my workplace at Manhasset University Hospital for a web hosting service. The guy who picked the phone explained to me that in order to get web hosting, I’d need a domain name. And he asked me to pick a name. I was live on the phone with him. I had to make a name real quick. I made one up.
I Am Unique. Yes, that was my first domain name. iamunique.com : (I don’t own that name no more. It expired a year or two later and was picked up again by someone back in 2001.)
Now that I had a domain name and hosting, I wanted to know how I could put something up there. During those days, web design was very expensive. I had no clear business plan. All I knew back then was I wanted a website. I jumped in. And it felt good.
Looking back, I don’t wonder about the what ifs. But this I know. A good number of folks who had the foresight to register premium names in the 90’s right after the advent of the web, went on to become millionaires.
I started registering domain names in earnest in 1999 through 2002. Although not too late from the investing point of view, it was not something very high on my agenda. My first wave of domain registrations were of decent quality. Over time, my job (I was a manager at a local Wendy’s) took it’s toll. Being as conscientious as I was, It kept me distracted. It took time away form what was more important. Scooping up prime domain names. While I flipped burgers, my peers went on to amass huge number of targeted names. Eventually, my portfolio went unattended. I sold a good umber of good names for a modest success and lost most of my portfolio to expirations. This in spite of some unheard of domain name sales which sensationalized the web.
My second wave of domain name acquisitions began in 2003 with renewed vigor and a sacred pact with myself that I will not abandon my quest to be successful in this business, no matter what.
It has been almost 5 years since and over 10,000 names later, I feel greatly accomplished. It is not about the balance sheet. It was all about how much I educated myself. It was all about how much effort I put in on a daily basis. It was all about looking towards the future with an expectation with guarded certainty. I had to know where this business would lead me.
All through these years, I saw domainers make a significant amount of money by way of domain sales, advertising and increasing the size of their investment. And I knew my time was just around the corner. I had missed on the first wave of Internet riches. I was not about to let the second wave pass me by. And I did not.
It took me 5 years to get even. Simply because of the size of my portfolio. Had I managed a small quantity of names, it would have been easier and I think in hindsight my success would have arrived at the platform of life much too sooner. But I did what I did and I have no regrets. My future is secure. I have no doubt in my mind, I will never have to seek another job from an help wanted section anymore.
I remember back in 1999 how easy it was to pick names. Pretty much anything you wanted other then 2 character, 3 character letters and numbers and one word names was available. All you had to do was punch in your credit card number, pay for it and look to the future.
Fast forward 2003-04. Domain names were harder to get by. The industry had matured and there were more players in the game. The field got crowded. My battle plan was just the same like when I started out in 1998. I hand registered openly available names. I did not have a big budget to begin with. I spent $20 a week and at times $100 from my savings to buy names of value. As time went on, I become more skilled in picking names. I could have done better. Sure!
Those who have any inclination of starting a domain name business will have no room for mistakes. If they start out with a tiny budget like I did, they would have to wait another 2-5 years to see progress. The business is fiercely competitive. Good names barely become available. If an existing domain name owner forgets to renew a certain name, it is snapped up the second it expires.
It may not be as easy as it was back in 1994, 1998, 2003, but you can become a successful domain name investor if you cultivate the right attitude and educate yourself about the domaining business. Starting out with a big budget helps. You can start out buying better quality names rather than picking out what is available. They take time to mature considering what you picked is of any value at all.
I am still optimistic about the domain name industry. It is not consumed by the early adopters. You can still find your niche and create a decent portfolio you can be proud of. To say that all good names are gone and there is nothing of value anymore is to say that the child who was born today has no future in the domain name industry. You are way ahead of that infant.
The Internet is not the same as it was back in 1995. The web is always speeding on towards uncharted territory. There is always a new trend, new industry, new inventions, new possibilities and they all have to identified with a name. A domain name.
Go ahead - Register a name. Start with your name like I did. Invest in domain names. They are the true real estate in the global realm. Anyone can do it. Even a guy who worked at a Wendy’s once. Even someone who is on welfare can find the courage to get off of it. All it takes is a mere $10.
I never broke even in the first 4 years. The pain of not seeing any profit for this long was many a times discouraging. My loans ballooned. My creditors got testy and even bitter My family got disillusioned with me. But I chugged along always trying to remind myself of the pact I made before I started this business the second time around.
This year, I made close to 80k in 2007. Although, I am not even yet, it is a promising sign. My sales zoomed from a mere $2000 in 2005 to $10,000 in 2006 to an astonishing $80k in 2007. Sure there are domaniers who made more depending on when they started their business. But, I am proud of my achievements simply because I did the best I could. I gave it my all. I never cut corners and put in over hundred hours of work each week. I did pretty much all I could do within my means and knowledge to help make my business succeed.
And this is what I have to show for it today. A robust portfolio of over 10,000 names and breaking even with barely a sweat to boot. I still have bills to pay. I still have loans to fulfill. Who doesn’t. But I also know that soon enough I will never ever have to worry about paying bills no more.
Keep reading my blog and read about other domainers who have made it big in this exciting industry. Read, read, read and learn. There is money in it. Don’t wait for this industry to become mainstream. Don’t wait until you find every Joe trying to register a name. It just might be too late then. This business is easy folks. But first - Learn!
I used to love my job once. But I was not free. I love my domaining business even more. It sends my way money and the luxury of time. And I am rich for it.
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