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

Morning Folks!!

My biggest challenge in writing is patience. While I have patience for domains to ripen, I hardly have the patience to get the thoughts in my mind, on paper. I have a hard time going into detail. I think very detailed, but it is much harder to write detailed. Thinking detailed takes a split second. When writing it out, that split second could be pages long as I describe the processes I go through with almost each and every thought.

Will anyone even care about what is written here after today or next week? I know I hope the words have value after that. But oh so many words in the world and such little time to feed them all into our heads.

We do things in life faster. We travel faster. The computer allows us to move without leaving our seat. All of a sudden I feel like Andy Rooney. I better stop.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As is the way I view life and business the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. App is out there and working. Water thru the pipes. May not be the best, but water comes in and goes out. But now the work really begins. We will be refining the app and making it much more valuable, usable and address some basic issues.

Below is a list of improvements. We have things scheduled in 3 phases. The first phase will be in progress by next week. Once we do that and evaluate how much progress we have made we will prioritize things for phase 2. It is going to cost ten's of thousands if not more to get this evolved to where we want. But our deadline is not until next October, however I think it will be the spring when all 3 phases are complete.

Each phase will add value and usability. It is geared to the top tier of the domain industry but we do have plans for a parallel platform for a general domain audience with limited functionality.

• Turn the domain list into an accordion menu and offer an ‘expand all’ button.


• Allow users to return to the same spot when returning to the list.


• Automatically resize uploaded images to 2 sizes, 1 thumbnail, 1 card


• Fix appearance of pictures


• Allow users to filter list by categories AND sort list by last name or company name


• Add additional domain attributes (Looking for Buyer, Looking for Partner, Looking for Service)


• Add a personal message for the domain


• Add text search for domainer names and domain names


• Link forgot password page to the login screen and shorten reset password


• Add a change password page link to “Your trading card”


• Automatically email users their name and password when signing up


• And many more

So just a quick update about what we are doing and hope you enjoy it more and more as these basic things are addressed and major additions come.

We will also be looking for a sponsor or two. We can integrate their companies right into the app itself. We will probably price it by a bidding process that we will open in January. One slot will already be allocated to the overall sponsor of the show and that means there will only be a couple slots that are ever open to a sponsorship. Right now the platform could handle up to 4 total sponsors and be sold on an annual basis only. The sponsorship $$$ will keep going into development to make the app more and more valuable. Sponsors can even have input how their company would work inside our app. A new avenue of revenue.

So we are working on all types of enhancements and hope you enjoy as we keep adding value to the App and the Show itself.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Thinking out loud mode ON.........

It all starts with an idea. An unpolished idea. But a nucleus. There are contradictions in an idea and the key is figuring out those dilemmas. So here is an idea to build on. It's not an original idea, but it is unique to our dilemma of having great properties and in need of a profitable idea/business. A business.

Our #1 common problem is we have great real estate and we have yet to have many ideas to turn that real estate into income producing businesses. Into an asset that is exponentially more valuable than a parked page. Into a thriving business or marketplace. If we unlock that door, everything we do changes.

As always, first you must identify the problem. Then you need to identify the missing pieces of the puzzle while you are strengthening the pieces of the puzzle you have. Time and Times are the other 2 ingredients. The time and timing is right o pull this off.

So I have a seed of an idea that Howard and I started exploring last summer but there was not enough time to do it in a meaningful way. Instead of 'Test Track' next year at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. What if we had a competition? A competition with maybe $25,000 if that what it takes. $50,000 if we can really nail a solid formula.

The idea is to reach outside the domain industry to the developer world. It is something I already explored a bit over the summer and a couple development companies I talked to liked the plan. Not freelance developers, but they would not be excluded, but top tier development companies.

Here is how it could work: (and this is raw and will evolve with your help)

Domainers could offer up a domain they would like to get developed into a business. They pay an entry fee to have different companies build out their site. The winning developers would not only get a cash prize, but would be highly sought after for future development projects. I would think 50% of the prize money would come from folks that want a site built and to have 5 different versions to choose from. What is the value of that to me? To us? I guess that depends on who builds out those sites. But the more we have entered, the broader the contest and the more prize money could be awarded.

I think the cash prize would drum up a lot of interest. I think there is also a possibility that one of the developed sites could be profitable. Could be wildly successful. So there could even be a long term component of this for the winner.

The key is figuring out a formula that is attractive to all parties and moves the ball forward for all to see. Maybe even corporations, schools would get involved. If you have been pitching an end user, this may be of interest to them.

Here are a couple of guidelines. The site should have a 'Cash Register' and there can be no 3rd party PPC ads on the site. This MUST be a business.

Again, this is simply a SEED of an idea. It's rough, raw. Together we can figure out a winning formula in the days ahead and I can implement that idea. If it fails, we will learn. If it succeeds, not only will we learn, but we have a chance to BUST OUT at a crucial time and blaze some new paths.

The key is bringing in developers from outside the industry. A fresh set of eyes. Not mass marketed type sites. It could be large companies or solo acts. Sometimes a 1 hour simple site can catch more business than the fanciest of sites with all the bells and whistles.

The ability to grow what you have is the key of any successful business. What do you think would work? Keep it SIMPLE. It's all about the 'Formula.' This post I am simply thinking out loud. It weaves and turns and repeats. But that is the evolution of a successful idea and actually implementing it.

I would like to see 5 different domainers each come to the table with 5 domains and $2500. From that we would have at least 5 bonafide development companies each pick one domain from each domainers group and compete to make the best site. So we would get 50% of the funding via those that have the most to gain and TRAFFIC would pony up the other 50%. Again, just thinking out loud and how to construct a winning hand and make something BIG happen.

Like always, some will get on the field and play and participate. My gamble is just finding 5 domainers that like the idea and want to be a player and then going to those development companies and making the pitch. I will need help in targeting the right companies.

Thinking out loud mode OFF.........

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

When you celebrate great success one of two things happen. You either help folks in back of you or you step on their fingers to make sure they don’t catch up. The overwhelming answer is most help others. You feel a need deep inside to give back. That is the bi-product. That certainly upsets the other group that wants to keep folks back. So there is the first line of battle. First line of detractors. They are out to protect what they have and they believe by locking others out they can accomplish that. They are wrong, but don't tell them that.

I believe when you help those behind you do something good and when you do good, you get rewarded. I believe that opportunity is not a threat when more are involved. I believe that more involved provide greater opportunity.

Some see all the next extensions as a threat. I see it exactly the opposite. I see it as great opportunity that will make my dotcom assets increase in value, not decline. Expansion is not a bad thing. Yes, if you are a one trick pony and don’t know how to adapt then you are also likely very defensive. If you believe in the future and the future holds more opportunity not less, than you are on offense.

Lots of millionaires have lost their homes in the last few years and a lot more will be losing them in the future. Which way do you think they see life? Somewhere along the way they did a bad job of planning and not doing the math if things get tight or unforeseen things strike.

I have been in domains when nobody knew what a domain was and I have been in domains as they evolve to be mainstream and more. Guess what? I like the odds of today’s opportunity even better than 1995 because not only am I armed with more knowledge, the world is armed with more understanding.

In less than 60 days I start my 17^th year investing in domains because I saw a unique opportunity in time. You will be STUNNED by the progress we will make in the next 3 years. Stunned beyond what any of you can fathom. The understanding that is happening is vast and the puzzle is turning into a clear picture. When that happens, get ready! STAMPEDE is in our future just like STAMPEDE has been in the past. Only difference is the size and mass of this coming stampede. The first stampedes only involved small groups. The next one will involve everyone.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

There is a big difference in what you can and can't control and otherwise smart people have yet to learn that. It blows me away. You DEAL with things you can't control head on, you don't WISH for things to go one way or another. That's wasting time.

You can't stop progress yet that is exactly what so many in this business and other businesses try and do. You MUST evolve with the changing times and times are changing faster than any point in all of history. That's a FACT! You may not be able to see it, but whose shortcoming is that?

There is no substitute for awareness. NONE! You have to be aware if you really want to survive and thrive. I have seen REAL depressions and folks, this ain't one of them. There are some hard times, but depression is between the ears because more opportunity right this second than any point in history. But how do you convince those that don't beleive it?

At Harvard they teach you to CREATE jobs not to get a job. That my friends is all you really need to know.

When an item is introduced like iPads and iPhones there is a NEED for supplemental products. In the USA we have basic accessories. Go to Asia and you would see thousands of new products not offered in the USA. Anybody reading this can go and find one item to market and change their destiny.

So control what you can and stop wasting all that time and energy on things you can't. With your new found time, you should be able to make something happen. When you make something happen, you make money.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I never told this story before and it is just one story embedded in all the other stories and there are even stories within this story. I know nothing about STARTING a business with money. I only know how to start a business with the money in my pocket or a credit card. Now that does not mean you don't need money. But you don't need a lot of it when you have something good and the passion and know how to follow through.

If you want to be an idealist, that is all well and good. Go into politics. Business is a different playing field. Like baseball and football. Different game, different rules. If you are easily offended, business is not the best place to be. Business is about failure and rejection and dusting yourself off and trying again. So save the whining for the welfare office or political office.

Business is very simple but people make it complicated. Complicated fails almost all the time. Simple works almost all the time. Some folks go into business and from day one they also go into debt. They get in debt for the wrong things and wrong reasons. They get in debt because of bad decisions. They get in debt by doing things in the wrong order and at the wrong time.

The first thing is not getting an office and employees. That is the LAST thing you do. The first thing you do is make a sale. PERIOD! MAKE A SALE. When you make a sale FIRST, you have income. When you do ANYTHING else first you have debt.

With income you are free to do more things. With debt you put chains and locks on your future. Sorry, I am a very simple guy. No business should cost you more than pocket change to get off the ground. Off the ground means making your first sale. But you can’t stop there. You need sale #2 and sale #3. If you can make 3 sales in a short period of time, you have a business. If you can’t make those 3 sales, you got something else. If you can’t get to 3 you can’t get to 30 or 300 or 3000. You need 3. Period the end.

If you don’t have something to sell….then what are you doing? Why are you doing it? You don’t even need the product to sell it. You need the idea. You need a picture. You need a sample. And most importantly, you need a profit. That profit has to be substantial. If you don’t have these elements……you are digging ditches, filling in the ditch you dug and then feeling great on all that you accomplished or feel rejected for working so hard and not accomplishing anything. So many fall into these groups it is plain sad!

Sure, there are start up costs for most businesses. But you can control that and climb the mountain one stage at a time or you can try and leap the entire way and that often leads to disaster.

We are all going to be in multiple businesses along this path. Warren Royal never planned to be the bobble had king. Jeff Reynolds never planned to be the #1 flag supplier in the USA and maybe beyond by now. None of us are planning for what is coming. But it has a way of finding us. These businesses were created only because they ended up with a domain name. It then became their life's work. Not planned. It just happens when you are on the right path in life and do what you are supposed to do and see things in the right manner.

How do you know it when you see it? Training, awareness, follow through and know how.

3 weeks after I got fired from my last job in life I started selling my lighting product I found and tracked down the source. Long before I ever went to Asia, I would buy for $3 a foot and sell it for as much as $15.50/foot. But most was at $6 a foot. In time my costs went down. It went down to as low as 35 CENTS a foot. So am I supposed to sell for 70 cents a foot? HELL NO!! My prices only changed a little. It went down to $5/ft but would allow me to compete for the large orders. Did I ever sell at 70 cents? NEVER! $1? NEVER! $1.50? NEVER. $2? $3. You bet! But that was for large orders. I could have increased my volume going big, but I let others have THAT business. I went for what was profitable and still plentiful. My bottom line was just as good as theirs, but they did a lot more work and took more risk than I did. I was semi-retired and that time eventually allowed me to get 800 numbers and domain names.

You don’t have to be the biggest. You don’t even have to be the best. You just focus on a place with plenty of fish and be satisfied with the abundance you have there instead of going where all the others fish. They will always work longer and harder and end up with the same amount of fish. So knowing that, you can use your new found time chasing new found solutions that may or may not work. The others will never have that luxury. They don’t have the time. They are bigger, have employees, offices, warehouses and all the rest of the trappings. Headaches too. I just had passion and a garage.

My first sale of my lighting product was to my Dry Cleaners. Really! My next 2 sales were in New York City at 4:30 in the afternoon on a Friday in April. I made a beeline from my Dry Cleaner to “The belly of the beast” as I would call New York City. I knew if I could sell it there, I could sell it anywhere. I made my second call, the first one in New York. SALE! I got in my car, drove around the corner to my next destination. SALE! I was on my way. I started the first 2 days of the week in North Carolina. I was in Florida mid week. I was in New York City on Friday. Cape Cod Friday night and Saturday. Back to Florida by Monday afternoon. In a car. A car that you will soon read put me in business more ways than one.

So it is now Tuesday. I needed money to buy the lighting product and have some inventory. I had no money. I had just lost my job after some 7 years as I describe in this post. All I had was a paid off 5 year old Mercedes Benz and the samples the supplier gave me. The bank told me they could not give me a loan on a 5 year old car. I knew the banker. She was a lady I knew for a few years. So she says to me, let me go ask the bank President. The bank President comes out of his office and asks what I have. I plug in the lights, toss it out on the floor. Everyone in the bank stopped what they were doing to look and the next words out of his mouth were: “Give him the money” True story. I walked out with $12,500 and that was enough to buy inventory for the orders I ALREADY HAD.

That was when banks were real. They would take a risk. They would bet on your success. He didn’t even ask me for a business plan. He just said, “Give him the money.” I don’t even know his name and the bank has been renamed more times than you can imagine. Would have surely liked to thank both of them.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

And here is a little postscript. After I wrote this post on Monday morning, I LOCATED the lady at the bank from more than 25 years ago with a bit of searching. Thank you Google! And had to make a few calls but within 10 minutes was able to track her down. No longer in South Florida, but not that far away either. Another person pivotal to my success in life. Just that one simple act of asking the bank President, changed my life. One tiny fork in the road. I was able to call her, speak to her, thank her, learn who was the bank President at the time and agree to have lunch with her in the not too distant future. She made my day and I think I made her day as well.

Morning Folks!!

I think we can safely say that we are all veterans of the next extensions. We have seen them come and we have seen them go. They are a FLASH in our destiny’s and they mean something at the time and then they each go off into the sunset.

So whether it be .mobi, .co, .xxx or the .whatever’s to come, they are here, and then they are not. But that does not mean you lock them out or avoid them. You embrace their out reach. It’s a win-win situation. We all use each other with a common goal. Long as that common goal is met, all is well.

We are likely to see dozens, hundreds and even thousands of new .whatever's come to market in the decade ahead. Most will be flops. But flops still have budgets. What may be a flop to us, may be a success to them. The point is it will be their dollars that push us all forward during the next leg of this evolution. And no matter what comes, there will be dollars chasing .whatever and domaining is not a religion. I am a dotcom guy but that does not mean I can’t get some of the dollars that will fly around there for the taking. .Whatever is not a threat, it is an opportunity that will come in many shapes and sizes and your job is not to close your mind. Keep that mind open at all times because things change all the time.

I have 6000 dotcoms and I have maybe 1000 .whatever. Guess what? They are all investments in the future. I am not smart enough and nobody reading this is smart enough to KNOW how things will unfold. But when you follow the $$$, sure as hell gives you a roadmap. Follow the money. Get your share. Buy low, sell high, doesn’t matter one bit what it is. Chickens, pigs, furniture, hot dogs, advertising, gold, stock, put whatever you want in the wheel barrel. The recipe is exactly the same.

If you know how to sell, then it is no harder and often times easier to sell something for $500,000 than $50,000. If I were a Real Estate Agent and I closed sales, I would be wasting my talent at the $50,000 level when I could sell the same amount of homes with a $500k or $5MM price tag.

When you invest you buy time. With that time you get new information and then can adjust accordingly. With time you can make a decision what to do. Time allows you the luxury of watching things evolve. If they evolve towards you, hold pat. If they evolve away and not well, then you can abandon or sell. Just spot whichever it is before the market figures it out. Sell high when there is demand. Nobody hits .1000. Few hit .500. Baseball players make millions with .333 and few hit that number. That does not mean millions can't be made at .100 or even less.

If you get 1 out of 10 in domaining you can still make millions. That seems like pretty easy odds when you look at the whole picture.

Speculation is about striking out 100% of the time. That's it. Striking out each time until you make that strike and everything changes. Others can laugh that you are digging here, there and everywhere, but the same folks will wish they were you when you strike it big. The bigger the reward, the bigger the likelihood you will strike out almost all the time. But 'Almost' is not 'Never.'

We can all fish for record setting catches and we do, but you also have to eat along the way. Dotcom is king and it is not going to change. But there will always be folks that believe different and you should pay attention only when you see big money going there. Big money is usually smart money. It knows something you or I might only be speculating on.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

1 year from today the United States will have the most anticipated election in history. Both the Presidency, Congress and Governors. Our politics is more polarized than anything I have seen in my lifetime. But that is in Washington D.C. The rest of the country are having a serious discussion about the future and that is a good thing. A plurality of opinion would be a good thing. We'll see.

But either way, you will likely never witness another year like the one that starts today. So what does this have to do with domains? Everything! First of all when you have an election year there is a lot of money flying around and that money is flying low. Meaning you can get some of it.

You have certain pieces of a puzzle based on what you already know. The job we all have is filling in the missing pieces before others identify it and then figure out a way to benefit from it. Whether it be in domain names or pigs feet. It really does not matter.

One morning very soon we will wake up and hear 15 are dead and one city somewhere is on fire. That will happen right here in the USA and it will happen in the next 365 days. OK, that may or may not be something that unfolds. But if I assume it will, I can base decisions on that. Right or wrong. This was just an easy example. It can play out in 1000 different ways and the road ahead is going to be like nothing you have ever seen before.

The USA and therefore much of the rest of the world are suffering from a U.S. economy that is PURPOSELY being strangled while the rest of the government is being looted at every stage and every corner with folks that should be in jail.

I am a numbers guy. The numbers paint a different picture than anything politicians can say. $15 Trillion debt and rising at a pace that is incomprehensible is going to produce something none of us want to see. Each DAY of delay as the noose tightening around our necks. There is a breaking point. You will see that in the next 365 days more and more vividly.

I mean for those that want to save the world....did you ever sit there and see how many billions a WEEK we are paying just in interest? Gee, how many schools could you build with that interest going to China? btw....China is booming and building and progressing.

The high school there in the capital got the best test scores of any high school in the entire world. In the WORLD. China is #1 in education while the USA is declining faster than I can write this. They have a simple secret. They teach kids to EMBRACE LEARNING and then they get the hell out of the way and let them learn.

So fasten your seat belts. Start thinking how things will unfold. The WORLD is in crisis and few strong leaders leading the way. Unless Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Putin are your idea of leaders. The balance of power is shifting and the only ones stepping up to seize that opportunity are the bad guys.

So I submit to you that never before in our lifetimes has so much on the line with elections just 1 year from today. You will see positioning, sabre rattling, invasion, bombings, riots, fires, property loss and very big decisions to make just where to draw the line. Chaos is coming.

And there is a parallel in history that I see. But even parallels have huge differences. But the similarities give you a tiny window to see how things will unfold. You just have to factor in all the changes of mankind since that point and meld them all together with new players on the same field.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Always good to stay away from politics but at some point it is hard to ignore things that are happening. Especially when you have some that would like this to turn violent. It's only a matter of time especially when you have forces fanning the flames of Revolution and you actually have politicians that should know better supporting that violent talk. If this spirals out of control, we will have Hell to pay.

I have never heard such misguided whining and blaming in all my life. I have never seen such filth in this country. And I have never seen the media Romance BULLSHIT and ANARCHISTS like they are doing with the Occupy crowds around the country. Finally somebody tells it like most people see it.

http://www.breitbart.tv/our-new-hero-a-day-in-the-life-of-occupywallstreet-protester/

Enjoy!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I can say the same shit until I am blue in the face and all I am ever met with is resistance. No matter what I say, they always know better. They are broke and in despair but discount everything I say. They will try everything under the sun but won't even try and understand what works and WHY it works.

Domaining is the simplest, easiest and fastest way to make money next to the race track and the stock market. Neither of those can you control. But domains, domains you can control but folks think they are buying a lottery ticket that the MACHINE PICKS!

If folks would just stop, take a deep breath, take a fresh look at things and don't reject what works out of hand, folks would have a different result.

There are a DOZEN ways or many more ways to do well in domains. Many ways to climb the mountain and make your fortune. But if fortune is eluding you, time to change what you are doing.

1. Your first domain purchase is your most important. You can start again TODAY and buy your FIRST domain name. Try it! Just don't buy garbage. But a GEM! Not a ROCK! Don't know the difference? Keep reading.


2. Domains are about Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives. Don’t know the difference? Go learn. Until then, you would be lucky to be as good as a stopped clock that will always be right twice a day. Don't confuse that with achievement.


3. Those nouns, verbs and adjectives need to be in the right position. ie: GrandSlam.com not SlamGrand.com


4. If the domains get ZERO type in traffic, that means not 1 person in 7 BILLION think like you. Not a one. Time to adjust or build a great destination. Other than that, you have a liability.


5. If you don’t think there is still type in traffic available, you are in the wrong profession and besides that, you are clueless. Type ins are the ultimate verification reagrdless of what folks crow about. That does not mean you can't think of something before it is coined.


6. Don’t buy a domain and try and sell it 5 seconds later. That means you did no research to understand the domain or the traffic. You didn't even take the time to see if what you were holding was a diamond or a piece of broken glass.


7. It must pass the “Radio Test.” If you don’t know what the “Radio Test” is, you are lost without a compass. You don’t understand the masses. wtf are you doing?


8. Don’t leave too much money on the table when you are selling a domain. If you don't know what makes one domain valuable and another one worthless, then you won't do well at setting the value either. You don't sell by asking a price. You sell by asking questions.


9. The value of the domain has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with the buyer. But if you don't ask questions, then you know shit!


10. Learn to value a domain properly and stop selling to other domainers. That by definition proves you are leaving money on the table. They do what you do and see an upside. Something you might be missing because you don't understand #1-#9 or any or all of those.

I could go on all day with do’s and don'ts. Know the difference between a 'Social Domain' and a 'Commercial Domain.' But each domains should have some type of seed for a business around that domain. Some reason why masses of people might go there or type it in. If you are lost, focus on what you know. A hobby or specific business you know about.

I would say that almost 100% of the domains I have bought on the secondary market and over 90% of the domains I hand registered, have had a business plan associated with it from the get go. A vision of what could be done with it. However I made a conscious decision to wait 20 years before I would spend my time really developing. There were too many things to learn along the way and I don't have enough money to pay for those lessons myself. I just think it better to lay back, let others stumble and learn from THEIR failures not MY failures.

But these are just some of the most basic as way too many domainers are Pigeon Shit Farmers. They just think they are domainers. I see portfolio after portfolio with NO VALUE whatsoever. NONE!!!! They spend tens of thousands a year or more on fees and not a one has value. These are good people that just are on the wrong path and need to regroup.

Just take those dollars and buy a handful of really nice domains. They are out there. But if you don’t follow some rules and guidelines, you are buying land in Alaska that won’t see a human being for the next 500 years.

I would suggest if you are not wildly successful in domains that you foucs where there is TRAFFIC centers and population. Destination is Times Square. I absolutely guarantee you that if you had a retail store in Times Square with no rent or overhead that you can figure out something to sell the millions that pass by that is profitable. Like umbrellas on a rainy day. Compare that to what you sell in Alaska with nobody there? Don’t like umbrelleas, then try Pizza. Try anything you like because whatever it is, you will likely do ok because of the TRAFFIC! Or at least the POTENTIAL of traffic if you are a forward thinker and can see something others have yet to see.

And if it does not have traffic, then at least have domains that mean something or describe something. If not another person on the planet even understands it and has no traffic and you have no idea how to develop it, then please explain how that domain has value? (other than typos and TM infringements that will only get you grief in the future)

Last thing. Domains with SOME type in traffic are available at EVERY price level. $500/$1000/$5000/etc.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz