Morning Folks!!
Perseverance!!
I think the last time I saw despair online and specific to the domain industry was before there was a domain industry. Maybe around 2000 when things crashed. Then around 2003. At that time it was serious! The net was the enemy to brick and mortar and they tried to kill it. Put a dagger through the heart if they could! It is not as serious today, however a widespread amount of domainers are in despair, scared, questioning every move and most likely their bills are more than their income.
The LAST thing to do is give up on your valuable domain names. Stop listening to all the bullshit spewed by every guy and his sister about this or that. IF you have good and solid domains, take a deep breath, you will be fine. Things are going to change.
In business and in life it is all about overhead. Do you have a spreadsheet that lists EVERY SINGLE recurring and non recurring expense? Do you know EXACTLY how much it costs you to wake up in the morning? What's your 'Number'? If you don't have your 'Number'.....you are without the tools to navigate through what has been going on and what is yet to come.
So on one hand you have the financial burden as payouts are lower and on the other hand you have umpteen thousand extensions coming your way. Extensions that have little relevance in your life even tho some are jumping overboard. They are likely not to have any meaning for 5-10-20 years in a success!! If at all.
What makes things worse right now, is that the last 2 weeks of July and the first 2 weeks of August is when then entire world is on vacation. Just a fact folks! That is the heart of the summer holiday time. What makes it even worse is the Olympics is very distracting so it works as a double whammy. Sprinkle on some political and financial fear and you have what we have.
August 15th is when things starting to change each and every year. Why? 3 words. Back to School. So vacation turns into focus on getting the kids ready for the school year and it takes until mid September before the business minds come back to play.
So you add all these things up and add to that a soft economy that folks are scared may unravel, gas prices back on the rise, taxes about to skyrocket, an election with unknown results, a civil war in Syria, Egypt still not settled, Iran and Israel a spark away from launching WW3. Then add the 40 things I did not mention.
I have written earlier this summer that the next few months will be the most uncertain and unsettled times in many of our lifetimes. But Iook past that mess assuming we get survive December 21st I think it is.
So I see very unsettling times for now. But when I look past this mess and to next August 9th, I see much calmer seas. I see a reshuffling of what has value and what is considered a liability.
Cash, Gold, Diamonds, Oil, Real Estate, Com. Investment quality .Com. Income generating .Com. You can build an empire around one .com domain name. They have yet to connect the single most important DOT! The overhead of 1000 stores vs the overhead with one .com. Some will open stores because of their .com and some will be closing stores because of their .com.
In the history of the world, there has never seen anything like .com. Nothing in history had billions of folks building .com. Good luck repeating that! To lose faith in .com now is like giving up at the Olympics. I did not see Phelps give up after that huge loss. So to lose faith in what you believe in because it is going to be challenged by 1500 wannabees is just hysterics from where I sit.
Step back and look at the dynamics. We had a false start last spring. Things looked like they were about to get better and people reacted and then we found out it was a mirage and things sunk again. When things sink, folks go out of business and those in business are mostly concerned with preserving it as opposed to expanding it. So when things turn in the right direction, you will see more new businesses, better funded businesses and a general expansion as opposed to the contraction we are seeing now.
What is the cost of renting/building/owning a real world store with all the overhead? That's the value of any domain in demand in my book. And .com just reinforces your brand no matter what that brand is.
In despair? Then figure a way to 'Poll Vault' mentally and financially over the next 5-6 months and you will see what I see. Just make it that far and you will see clarity.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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