The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Afternoon Folks!!

An idea does not mean much unless you follow thru and the EQUATION works. Equation? What's that? What does that have to do with domain names?

Well, simply put, the equation is everything. It will prove you wrong or it will prove you right. It will give you the right direction if you use it and it may keep you lost if you ignore it. Equations are filling in the blanks. But FIRST you have to define the BLANKS!

For some I may be talking in riddles. For those that understand and know about equations, my statement is as clear as day. If you want REAL ANSWERS to things unknown, then it is the equation that will get you there. Equation is about filling in some of the blanks and then figuring out the rest of them. They fit natuarally like a puzzle. You NEVER have to force an equation. An equation will tell you if you will succeed or fail before you even try. That means it saves you a lot of time and money. But most do not employ equations. They give 100% effort and find themsealves at one dead end after another.

Ever notice that the problems and failures always happen at the begiining or before you even start? That is because everyone is in a rush to do but can never slow down to think. I talk about it HERE.

Success is a thinking pattern. Success is repeating the thinking pattern but filling in the equation with a new set of variables. What is a variable? It's the BLANKS in the equation.

2+X=4. The answer to most things is just as clear as the simplest equation when you understand and embrace them and use them as a guide. A domain equation may look like this:

(.Com) - (.Whatever) = .Com

That's just a funny and simple one.

The two biggest tools in my toolbox are equations and 'The Ben Franklin Method.' The Ben Franklin Method has been around for a couple hundred years. Take a piece of paper, list allthe positives on one side, all the negatives on another side. See which side outweighs the other. But you also have to keep your eye out for 'Deal Breakers.' It only takes one entry on the negative side that is overwhelmingly negative to sink everything. Like if someone were to get hurt. If there is too big a risk etc.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So earlier I told you the story about my 1977 Cadillac. But that story led to other events and other events led to the future. They day before I introduced you to 'Sampson' and 'Ribeye.' If you have not read those 2 posts, please read them first so this story makes more sense.

I had that car for only 2 1/2 years and put on lots miles and not much left. It was 1979 and business was not so good and my employer was taking 90 days to pay me. He was behind tens of thousands in commissions and I had to BEG him to send me money. Why not quit? Well it is 1979 dude! It's hard to get a job and harder to get a good job. Anything I would do would make me less. A lot less. Not enough to cover my bills. So begging them for money became normal.

They were just hurting themselves because by Tuesday I was so dejected and unmotivated that I would just take the other 5 days off and be in vaction. What difference does making $100k mean when they only feed you a few grand at a time to just keeo going but not enough to enjoy what I really earned. So I became a slacker. A damn good one. lol

I traded in my loaded up 1977 Cadillac for a stripped down but brand new 1979 Caddy with a lower note. I was preparing for my next move and a car with many miles was not going to do the trick.

They were finally into me for close to $70,000. They would always give me just enough to stay but never what I had already earned. It really sucked but I was trapped.

So I finally opened a furniture store in Houston, Texas and became a customer as well as my National Sales Manager title. Most of my inventory came from the factory I represented and when I was as close to even as I was going to get, I jumped ship and went to the competition. I owed them as much as they owed me. Bye-bye! My days of being an 'Indentured Servant' were over.

The other company had been hounding me for 3 years to make the move. But I never could because of the amount of money that was always owed and money I would never see if I left. I finally did and that closed one chapter and opened another. And even more stories upon stories within stories. But my days of begging for what I already earned were over. It was like being a free man for the first time.

The next 30 days saw me visit every single account and drive 10,000 miles to do it. 30 days! Coast to coast, border to border and many nights driving without sleep. My old employers wanted to kill me. Really. They might have if they knew exactly where I was at. They would work the phone in front of me and behind me. I would write 3 orders and have one canceled. But the one they got was always the one with the least profit. They were on me 24/7. But my new factory had given me 'Carte Blanche' and they loved what I was doing. Every day I would call and they would get 3 or 4 new accounts. Maybe 8 orders a day. I was burning it up! The first months were uncomfortable and then our paths finally crossed at the Furniture Market. Things were still tense. But eventually things calmed down.

The first factory went out of business just 18 months later. I was taking a lot of business and the bank ended up closing them down. Eventually they sued the bank for something they did and walked with $12 million. The 2 brothers from Cuba wanted to kill me then and for months after that, but we competed fiercly those 18 months and are still good freinds to this day. I speak to both at least once or twice a year. They abused me, but I also learned a lot. Things you can never learn without being exposed to it.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

In September of 1976 I left the furniture factory in Miami and decided to trade in my 1976 Grand Prix that was only 6 months old but had like 60,000 miles in for a new Cadillac. I bought the Grand Prix on a Saturday when I was in Mobile, Alabama. Actually I had bought a Plymouth Cordova earlier in the day. But after 3 hours of waiting for them to get a credit report, I went to lunch and decided to look at the Pontiac Grand Prix. Well they put me together in 15 minutes for a nicer car at a lower price and while the Plymouth guys were still dicking around, I bought the Grand Prix and proceeded DIRECTLY to the Plymouth dealer to let them know they fucked up. You can read the first part of the story here.

1976 Grand Prix at the dealer before delivery. I traded in a 1974 AMC Javelin

I went to EVERY SINGLE CADDY DEALER between Miami and New Orleans looking for one salesman to take me seriously and sell me a car. EVERY dealer. I was 'Ripe' and nobody would or could make the sale before they pissed me off and I left.

So it is 8:15 one Saturday Morning and still have not found anyone that wants to sell me a car. I am in New Orleans after stopping in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tallahasse, Mobile and I am sure I left a couple of them out. I go to a place called Pontratrain Cadillac in Downtown New Orleans. They were an old school dealer that had been there for some 50 years or more. They were not even open yet. There was a black guy standing at the door dressed in a suit. I asked him when they open. He said 8:30 and found out he was a salesman there. I asked where there was a place to get some breakfast. He told me and I told him I will be back after breakfast and buy a car from him.

So I go back and see Alexander. He takes the order. I ordered every option and he gave me a decent discount and said it will be in in November 1976. The 1977 Caddy was the first one they ever downsized and I was going to be one of the first with it. I didn't even give a deposit. He just took the order and told me he would call when it came in. And he did. 6 weeks later I get a call, I have no idea where I was at the time but I jumped in my car and I was there the next day.

Tomorrow I will tell you about that era and my next car.

West Texas.....Spring 1977 with Girlfriend leaning on trunk on our way to Los Angeles

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz