The Domain King's® thoughts on domain names, web traffic, increasing web sales, success, life, and plain-old Business & Marketing 101. Nothing happens until a sale is made!
Took me over a week to be able to even write this post. Someone that had a lot of influence in my life died last week. I wrote a little about him here back in 2011. Who knew that just one person could have such a dramatic impact on my life and then my destiny. I really did not realize until this week that he was the 'Linchpin' of my life. It is where my life's story really starts.
Frank Critelli hired me THREE times back in 1973! Never fired me. For the same job. Gave me more chances than I ever deserved. As I said back then, he could take me with a grain of salt, but for whatever reason there has been a lifetime bond.
Without him hiring me and rehiring me again and again during a 9 month period when I was 19-20. I just don't know how my life would have turned out. That 9 month period gave birth to me and what I do and I trace it all back to Frank Critelli hiring me that day and exposing me to a world I would make a living at for the next 20 years and lessons I will carry until I die myself. Many of which I have shared here.
They are all dead now. Al Heller, Frank Critelli, Bob Hayde. All gone. But it was on their shoulders I built a life and a career on. I learned things when I was 19 that folks never see or learn. I made life long friends. 3 of which I have been in contact just today alone.
To reach back nearly 40 years and still have those friends is priceless. Who knew then? We were all 'Kids'. Frank was probably 24 at the time. Dave was maybe 28 back then and we have never lost contact. John was 18 or 19 and I had not heard from him in those 40 years until today via Seymour. Seymour was Ben's brother and Ben fired me I think 2x. Once because my hair was too long and once for the hell of it. lol But Frank would just hire me back the next day.
Frank was a short, stout, good looking Italian guy that you could see liked his pasta. He was smooth as silk and have not seen many in his league in all my years. Matter of fact, the class on 1973 at this 5 store bedroom furniture chain in Los Angeles produced some great talent. I was lucky enough to be there and to this day use what I learned. What Al, Frank, Bob knew and I was LUCKY enough to learn from the very best.
I did not know they were the best then. I found out years later. I went back to thank all three personally. Bob Hayde at a car dealer in Sunnyvale, California, Al Heller in Downey, California and Frank Critelli in Hemet, California. Those guys are my Mount Rushmore. A job that went from May 1973 until February 14th 1974 changed my life, my destiny and equiped me for everything else that came at me from then on. A directionless college drop out that was selling cars met a guy named Frank Critelli and tasted success for the very first time in life. I answered a classified ad and who knew that phone call would be the key to oife? R.I.P. Frank. Thank you!
So to Dave, Seymour, John, Ben and all the others, cheers to crossing paths then and now! That my friends is true destiny!
I want to thank the 120 different domainers that we represent with the following 304 domain names as well as 100 of my own. So this is the list we go to market with in 2013. I decided to put in in REVERSE alphabetical order. I like change!
We fought hard to arm ourselves with the best domains available that we believe fit our leasing model. We know this won't be easy, simple or fast. But each day we will press on until our goals are met. That means by the end of 2013 we should have built a head of steam and there will be no doubt how serious we have been these past few months.
It's not for me to release the names of the domainers involved. But I can tell you there are many familiar names and we really appreciate that you have decided to run with us.
You 120 are the ONLY folks we answer to from this day forward. Each of you know what we are up against. Each of you know this won't be easy. Each of you know that Danny and I will work TIRELESSLY on your behalf as well as ours to find the highest and best use of each domain below.
I think that is the one thing nobody questions. Some toss the word 'tirelessly' around. But I think we have demonstrated what that means when aimed at domainers just to get the following list possible.
Now we take that same energy and MORE on the road in the other direction! Aimed at end users that think big, dream big and have the track record and ability to see what we see. Pretty simple. For every 9999 that don't get it. ONE, gets it!
Now I have not told you everything. In time I will tell you a promise I made Danny later this year. Nothing happens overnight but in the months ahead we will demonstrate just how far we have all traveled from 'Base Camp' in October.
I am sure Danny will be making one more statement or two before we go off and do what we plan. Yes, there really is a plan. Don't underestimate Danny Welsh. In TIME you folks will all understand what I mean and together we are going to change OUR own destiny. Why? Because this is what we believe and our job is to explain why we do with the evidence we have. And of course because it is a win-win situation for all and when you demonstrate that FACT, the rest is pretty easy. Know why? NEED, WANT, DESIRE. And then when you add DOLLARS to the end of that equation, that my friends is called a GRANDSLAM.COM!
These are in no specific order. But these are the top pure play Internet companies that are widely known to all. That almost everyone in the world knows. Compare that to the BILLIONS of sites trying to break thru the soil. Billions and FEW can do it. There are also tens of millions or more dead carcases littering the way.
So when you look to the future it will only get harder to break through. There will only be more folks competing for the same set of eye balls. The more folks depend on Google for traffic and life the more they will be squeezed and controlled and suffocated.
Groupon is now #70 and less meaningful than in prior times. Sites like Pinterest and Flickr are also making their mark. But of all the billions of websites, the following ten are the ones that are universally known and are the legs of the internet today. So far. For now.
Google Amazon Facebook Twitter eBay Yahoo Linkedin YouTube Paypal CraigsList
It strikes me that so many in life don't know the difference between a goal, a dream and pure luck. Then of course there is the other luck that is not PURE. Luck helps. You can participate in luck, then it is not PURE luck. Then it is a combination of work and luck.
But this post is not about luck, it is about dreams and goals. You have to dream something before you have a goal. But if you are a 'Dreamer', then you may or may not see your goal.
With most goals the first thing you need to do is set it and visualize it. Large or small goals are little accomplishments. If you have a life with little accomplishments each and every day you are heading somewhere and that means you know how to set and achieve goals. Even if it is showing up at the Dentist for your 3PM appointment and getting there on time.
Dreams are a vivid vision that you can see in play. They can be big or small. And when you have a dream your actions push destiny in a certain direction. The residue of all the hard work may be luck. Things lining up just right. But that is not PURE luck. That is a modified hybrid luck that successful people use many times throughout their life.
Pure luck isn't even hitting the lottery. You did something proactive to get that 'Lucky' result. Pure luck is a different type of destiny. I am sure we have all experienced it. But not often when you start to think back and redefine what luck really is. I think we can establish there are many degrees of luck. Maybe standing behind the guy who hit the lottery while you are waiting in line and he is so excited he hugs you and promises you $1 million. That would be closer to PURE luck.
But the folks that dream and have goals and work hard every day seem to just have a little more luck than those that don't. When your life is about setting goals, big or small, there is residue. Call it anything you like. But it is often times the difference between winning and losing, success and failure, hitting the goal or not. Add a pinch of destiny. A little bit of karma and you can see it is really the little things that will carry the day. Everybody sees the big things, but it is when you examine the small things closely that gives some the edge time and time again.
By now you are all getting to know Danny Welsh and why after all these years he would be my 'Orville'. I talked about Wilbur and Orville a number of times over the years. I always said that Orville would find me. And so here we are. We are at the gateway of the bridge to a 20 year vision that I have maintained every minute since 1995 like a Sentry Dog on Guard Duty. Sometimes with a growl. And if taunted will bite.
I saw something so vivid and clear back then that when I look at the picture now, I just get chills. I wrote my thoughts every day and every step of the way so that the historical evidence would be intact for anyone to see. To follow. To understand and embrace. Or not. But it is here and there and everywhere with 18 years of writings in public arenas in a way that I knew one day would serve me well when we finally reached the point we are reaching now.
Just like a song writer composes songs I composed my thoughts each and every day. Why? I've been very lucky in life but I don't like being accused of being lucky when I work hard at my hobby. Have been out there busting my ass since I am 16. Who knows the difference between true talent and bullshit.
Go back to 1996 and ask Joe Holler, Serge, Ron Levi and dozens more. The folks on Ynot, Netpond, Oprano. The folks on my chatboard and the folks like you reading my words right now and since 2007 right here. As much as I write for you, and I do, I also am writing for all those folks that are 18 years behind. They can have a full understanding right here and then go on to so many other resources to fill in the blanks and gaps.'
But make no mistake about it. What I envisioned then is unfolding now. How can I tell? At this point you just have to know that I would not mess around with something this big and this important. I am not out to make a fool of myself in front of you. I am out to open the flood gates of the possible. I will prove and demonstrate exactly what I am talking about. We are working on things that are big because we think big and we truly understand the depth and value of a great domain.
And you ask what if I am wrong? Well that's an easy one, I will try until I am right. But I am not wrong and I have already demonstrated what a multi-dimensional lease or sale looks like several times. It IS the future. It was the future 18 years ago. But most students don't graduate college until they are 21 or 22 or more. This INDUSTRY is about to graduate. The Internet is about to graduate and so are the inhabitants.
Anyone paying attention knows that in 60 days JointVentures.com has changed the direction and destiny of the industry. Fear is now hope and optimism. Folks see we have a plan and we will stick to it.
Lastly, thank you all for your submissions. Unlike the auctions, I was sent some FANTASTIC domain names. Not all leasing material. But I feel we were honest with those that sent us domains and I think as we go forward we can demonstrate what the keys are in making one domain leaseable and one domain saleable but not leaseable.
As you know by now Danny is a man of very few words. ok, neither of us are exactly men of few words. But sometimes big ideas take a while to give a complete tour of because of all the different elements and moving parts. But words can move mountains. Ideas can move the world. Leasing has moved the domain industry and the proof just keeps coming.
We get to enjoy a few more days with you. Because on February 1st, everything changes and we go to work. This phase is now on cruise control. And while I know you don't have the time to read each post right now, you will have the ability to come here and read a little bit each day. I believe if you do, you will see what we see,
If your domains are not lease quality, then start chasing domains that are. Some of my very best domains are just not lease candidates. I am hoping as we release the entire list on Friday, February 1st that you will have a better understanding of what we are looking for and why.
Below are all of Danny's great posts. There will be 4 more added to this page as the week progresses and I release his last 4 posts right here on RicksBlog.com. These posts are done and ready to go. Wish I could post them all right now. But they contain real thought provoking content. Words, thoughts and ideas that on one hand challenge you and on the other show you another path.
Like almost all domainers we did not start out as domainers. Most had an earlier profession. Lawyer, stock broker, bankers, salesman, doctors, pilots, accountants, etc. We all come from different backgrounds and folks that is what truly gives us as a community great strength.
In the weeks ahead I will share some secrets with you. Things behind the scenes. Things that Danny and I disagreed on and how we found resolution. The obstacles and challenges. Maybe the tenants have not started moving in yet but the frame of the structure is up and to me personally, THIS was a bigger challenge than what lay ahead. Truly what I believe. Getting to THIS POINT was the challenge.
Now Danny won't agree with me here because he has a huge task in front of him. But I will even tell my partner Danny Welsh right here in public that when he looks back he will see that the largest part of moving mountains has already been done. The mechanism while not fully in place is planned out.
What I am saying is just getting to this point was a tremendous undertaking. It was real WORK! But this is when the fun begins. At least for me. I enjoy the art of negotiation. I can duel in any setting or arena. I can fight to the death or I can fight for the common win. I walk away from bad negotiations and some will never even start.
It gets a whole lot easier once both sides articulate what is important to them. I just start with one set of premises. They want to increase sales. They want to improve their bottom line. They want to expand their business base. They want to get more qualified folks to their site. They want to beat their numbers from last month and last year. They want to out maneuver their competition. They would much rather bury that competition all together but they will settle for something that shakes things up a bit. These are common to all businesses.
Now it is time to go to market! We will be releasing our final list for 2013 within the next couple of days and the show begins!
A Good Business Can Work Hard
and Smart to Become Great with ANY Domain Name but a Great Domain Name can
Transform a Good Business to GREAT…Instantly
By Danny Welsh
The highest and best use of a Category.com domain name is either a
hungry growth-oriented company that is qualified and passionate with big ideas
and big ambitions to grow into a category leader (think: Melville Candy now owning Candy.com) OR an established
company looking to increase their dominance online leveraging existing
products, services, and relationships in the “category” of that business just
doing more sales online (think: Bank of
America now operating Loans.com)…
And either of those companies already had a “domain name” matching
their company they could have done just fine with…so why does Bank of America
with its established brand want Loans.com so bad they pay big $$$ for it? Why
does a company in business for decades suddenly want to change its branding to
Candy.com as the very FIRST move in wanting to increase market share?
It’s easy to realize once you realize, but until you do…people wonder,
is it really THAT valuable to operate a business using Category.com?
Yes…it IS.
But Category.com the branding
tool isn’t for the most part in most industry categories being used for that
young, hungry company that wants to be in the Inc 500. And Category.com the asset isn’t for the most part in most
industry categories being leveraged by that established company that is already
part of the Fortune 500.
How do I know this? Because all you need to do is type in a dozen
examples off the top of your head for www.PRODUCT.com or www.SERVICE.com and
you’ll find a few websites that obviously belong to a REAL business selling
REAL products to REAL people, and a few that obviously…don’t.
If you look over the available domain names on JointVentures.com you’ll
see ASSETS with only a fraction of the fantastic opportunity packaged within
them for making SALES being exploited…one nickel at a time earning income through
a monetization strategy called “domain parking”.
And all the rest of the benefits that causes a Bank of America earn
millions with a Loans.com or Melville Candy company earn millions with a
Candy.com is so far being SQUANDERED in the case of the shrinking number of
listings available each month from the month previously on JointVentures.com,
as each of those assets is in the hands of someone who does NOT have a
“Category” business.
The questions people ask is WHY aren’t the owners DOING anything constructive
with that crappy website filled with nothing but pay-per-click links on
DOMAINIWANTTOBUY.com?
There are many reasons. But it all comes back to supply and demand,
need and want, opportunity and probability. And an incredible story of risk and
ridicule on the part of 500 or so entrepreneurial people 20 years ago…that in
the coming decades I believe will provide Harvard Case studies for a century or
more in MBA classes.
If you’re reading this blog,
increasingly you found it because you want to buy one of those scarce generic
.com domain names, only now you’re realizing maybe you waited too long
and you simply can’t afford to make the investment to acquire the ONE domain
name you want MOST for your business without forking over more money than you’re
yet sure that branding tool or asset is worth…
And
you’re hesitating…wondering if the .com you want that is available for
$8000/quarterto LEASE is truly THAT much better than
the .net available for $8.99 to BUY.
You’re afraid to make a mistake, either way. Am I right?
I can’t blame you. You see, I was there not long ago when I stumbled
onto this very blog in 2010 with my eye on one of those domain names to use in
my own business.
Of course, if the PRICE is justified we business owners will invest the
money to acquire an asset that makes us more money…but IS IT really justified?
Is it really possible that something could sell for $100 twenty years ago and
the guy who owns it in 2013 and wants $10,000,000 this year OR $10,000 per
month is not simply full of shit?
Welcome to my world, my new friend. The world of eRealEstate, where a
www.Clothes.com is an asset that trades hands for millions of dollars between a
small company that gets bought by a larger company even when it hasn’t even yet
been USED properly, while a www.Clothes.crap ain’t worth…well…crap.
Come in a little closer
because we don’t want your competitors to hear this explosive information that
you’re going to be reading about in Inc, Fortune, Forbes and Entrepreneur
Magazine VERY SOON.
The CEO at your competitor’s company is too busy chasing sales when
you’ve just stumbled onto what may very well be the most powerful way to
ATTRACT SALES that the 20th century wasn’t yet ready to realize,
that even 5 years ago most companies on Main Street America still had no clue
about…
But that a small group of 500
very smart men and women called “domain investors” realized 20 years ago and
‘bet the farm’ for 20 years that one day you’d be right here, right now,
reading this and saying “What do you
mean, what I want to buy and am offering cash money for is NOT for sale?”.
So slow down, settle in, and get educated by your future business
partners (that’s us).
Your small and already successful business can become INSTANTLY more
successful if you make the RIGHT.com choice, and/or your start-up idea you’re
passionate about bootstrapping into a commercial success can be INSTANTLY
railroaded into a mistake that will cost you for years if you make the
www.wrong.choice
Are you following me?
Allow me a small history lesson, news
you will probably be SHOCKED to learn but that not a single investigative
reporter on the planet can refute.
Just about 500 men and women who had a VISION for the
FUTURE in 1994 that many people thought were CRAZY now own most of the PREMIUM land
under which the “developments” on the Internet are built…
And they own most of this .com “internet real estate”
OUTRIGHT.
One of them is named Rick Schwartz, a man many people are bitter
towards, calling him a “greedy cyber squatter” or a “lucky bastard” or simply
and eloquently quite often a “Fucking Jew Asshole” .
Please forgive my language here, but it’s true. We could show you
HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of emails that have come to Rick Schwartz alone
UNSOLICITED offering to BUY his internet real estate and when for 18 years he’s
told people it’s not for sale…they scream bloody murder and call him every name
in the book. Does screaming “So and so is a bad person” make that person a bad
person? Of course not!
(Multiply that by 500 and you’re getting an idea of the world these
people live in daily, people who own the very BEST of .com domain names like
those available exclusively through JointVentures.com… and maybe you’ll get an
idea why they don’t many times even have enough TIME IN THE DAY to respond to
all of the “I’ll offer you $xxxx for Product.com” emails some well-meaning
folks like you and me—and some nuts too—send them when you were ATTRACTED to
their retail location on the internet hoping to use the same location to
ATTRACT your future customers.
Rick Schwartz…
“greedy cyber squatter”?
“lucky
bastard”?
“Fucking
Jew Asshole”?
I don’t think so. This is the same very giving man who has
successively become my eRealEstate landlord from whom I lease a domain name I
would have preferred to buy, who has become a mentor, and now a partner to me
with JointVentures.com.
If you’ll allow me to, I’ll show you how Rick Schwartz the “domainer”
can be generous AND selfish at the same time, but at no time is he simply lucky
or has he done anything wrong.
Rick
Schwartz and the other 500 VISIONARIES like him have been looking for YEARS for
the way to FAIRLY make the most of their so-called “luck” to invest every dollar they could get their hands on one $100 bet after another to register .com generic domain names HOPING, THINKING,
PREDICTING, and finally KNOWING that years later you’d be right here, right now wanting to BUY for $xxx,xxx what’s
simply not for sale…
They’ve been looking for YEARS for ways to offer the market the
profitable use of an asset that they were called crazy to risk 1/1000 of that
amount to buy that you’re trying to give them today only to be told your offer
is simply too low.
And they are NOT the “bad guys”,
really they are not.
How can this be, when they have what you want and won’t let you have
it?
It’s because they were the underdogs 20 years ago that beat the
Goliaths to the punch, who saw what the internet would look like and predicted
how human nature would cause things to evolve…
Before there was a Google
even to search the internet these 500 visionaries were investing in “.com”.
Before everybody was
Twittering all over your Facebook, these smart people made a BET that
has turned into an investment in that which has become the most widely used
IDEA in the history of mankind in little more than 20 years.
Before there was a
Godaddy.com running commercials showing you how “easy” it is to get
your “cheap” domain name to use for a website and email in minutes, they
labored through a painful and time-consuming process to register domain names
$100 at a time and paid for them by MAIL.
They BOUGHT ALL OF THE LAND
WORTH OWNING UNDER THE INTERNET…and they did it one investment at a time to
build a portfolio of .com “domain names” 20 years before you even knew you’d want
a website for your business, or that when you DID want one…that if you wanted
the very best location for your online store it would need to be built on that
LAND they owned— or alternative land that was inferior in so many ways.
Now here we are today in 2013.
I have convinced 100 of the most successful visionary domain name
owners in the world to give ME an opportunity to give YOU an opportunity.
To allow me to marry a great domain name with a good business that
wants to become GREAT…or a GREAT business that wants to keep any good business
in their niche category from using this tool to knock them off in the future as
that competitor who’s small now becomes GREAT.
Cue the music for the story about FTD and 1-800-Flowers anyone?
It’s the same horse race that happened with vanity phone numbers, only
bigger stakes.
Here’s what I told
them: “Mr. Domain Owner: You can offer deserving small companies an affordable
chance to build a great business and brand on the great generic premium .com
domain name and take a nice cut, or big companies an affordable opportunity to
lease the domain name they’d have bought if it were sale at a price you’d
accept while it continues to go up in value every year even though you do
nothing. And both sides can be protected
in case of success OR failure with all terms fully spelled out going into the
deal.”
They said YES.
And as we roll through 2013, a record number of companies doing
creative deals to get the ONE domain name that can change their business for
the better forever are saying YES too.
Let's get DEEP in it today. Let's get in the weeds. Let's get to the costly numbers. Let's stop closing our eyes to reality because it does not dovetail well with the business of business. The truth is gonna hurt and some will lash out. But they never lash out with FACTS. They only lash out with emotion. Danny is about to piss you off big time!
GoDaddy flying high
with BusinessJet.co
By Danny Welsh
Gosh almighty, Godaddy...you mean all I have to do is have one great idea and
pay a few bucks to have it protectable FIRST and I'll be the one 20 years later
rich and laughing in my BusinessJet.com?
Sweet! Let me hop in my handy dandy
time machine so I can compete with the 500 who really WERE there first,
staking their claim on 24k gold before anyone had even thought of covering lead
in gold plating to sell for the same price, and are now increasingly traveling
around IN that private jet TODAY. Translation: If you own the best .com domain names such as those available
for hand registration in 1993, Godaddy running their .co commercial will make
you richer in 2013 without you doing a damn thing. Of course they'll make
their own money, and God love ‘em for selling as many .co's as they can until
folks realize the flux capacitor is broken and there ain't no time machine.
That's capitalism and in the capitalist system anything can be sold.
There are probably
more employees at Godaddy right now pulling down a weekly paycheck than there
were guys like Rick Schwartz in the entire world 20 years ago.
And those folks at registrar companies have families and I wish them well. Most
who work at them are fine people, and I have several saved in my cell phone by
name that I'd give an opportunity to in a heartbeat if they asked.
But the majority of
employees who work at a domain registrar simply do NOT know the difference
between YourBigIdea.com and YourBigIdea.co when there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
And so we’ll have the blind leading the blind with the sales
of .co and 1800 other www.left.right
changed domain extensions increasingly pushed by folks who are simply doing
their job and happy to clock out and get back to real life…EXCEPT that there is evidence RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES that
Godaddy’s EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT knows they’d be LOSING MONEY to advertise
YourBigIdea.co as their “branding” without first having secured YourBigIdea.com
to protect them.
Fact is, registrars can sell .whatever domains all day long
and make money.
You may not have
realized it, but the GoDaddy’s and Google’s of the world are gearing up to GIVE
AWAY DOMAIN NAMES all day long and they will make money on the hundred
products they want to sell that small business customer from email to hosting
to website templates and so much more.
And their pitch will be like a siren song. I just won't be
betting MY family's future on any old WHATEVER gamble that’s not proven to add
value and INCOME to a BUSINESS.
Simply put: Any businessman or woman in
2013 seeking a domain name for their business and their great idea to have a
chance to become a great business can now easily find FACTS having been
reported in mainstream business publications, that .com will remain the gold
standard among all domain name extensions...and that realization is a big
part of what’s going to make generic .com’s available only to use for highest
and best use ideas among companies that seek to WIN...not just to play not to
lose...
To believe that making your business’s home on a website.co
domain name will “save you money” is simply hope and wishes and lollipops when
'the 500' have math and human nature and facts that say different. When we have MATH that says
up to 61% of PRODUCT.co's traffic or BRAND.co’s traffic can go to the same
PRODUCT.com or BRAND.com. If PRODUCT.com is owned by a competitor and you go
forward with PRODUCT.CRAP anyway then you’re a fool or you have a HOBBY and not
a business. If it’s owned but not being used for a “real” business at this time
then you’re setting up a FUTURE BUSINESS to be able to siphon off your
customers one by one at will.
(and don’t try to
hide it)
Is it the 123 Main STREET retail store owner’s FAULT that when a future
retail store opens at 123 Main AVENUE
and spends money advertising, folks ready to buy now show up at his
competitor’s store confused every day when they can’t find it? When we have observations on HUMAN
NATURE that says if you want to create a successful business on a
PRODUCT.co commodity, you will have a silent PRODUCT.com partner earning money
daily with that asset from the sweat of your brow and you don't get a damn
thing in exchange for it.
(and don’t try to
hide it)
When we have FACTS that say
one is speculative gamble and another is an earning asset.
(and don’t try to
hide it)
Don't blame the guy whose $100 bet became an investment worth
millions 20 years later. EVERY .com domain name that is undeveloped IS
available to be developed. You just have to make the owner and offer he/she
can’t refuse.
As the Godfather would
say, 'just let me wet my beak.'
If you want a dot com asset, you better be prepared to pay asset prices or give
up some income from your company as you grow. If you want a commodity, you're
soon going to be able to buy 1800 www.domain.imitations as more extensions roll
out.
There are no losers when you have your great idea and you put resources behind
bringing that great idea into the world as a great business, and even the end
user who makes the WRONG choice to build a business using .co or any other
alternative extension IDEA instead of the .com IDEA that is proven…theyt can
still make sales, make money and win. If you do your due diligence on this
question, you’ll realize just what I did….
It will be an uphill battle trying to build something
magnificent on a foundation of SAND. And
for what? For whom!?
To save a some
money? That’s short-term thinking when facts show the greater you
succeed, the more money you will LOSE if you get this part of the online
business equation wrong.
To save face at a
stockholder's meeting? LOL, ask the hotel chains how that worked out
for Hotels.com when they had a chance to buy it and snubbed their nose at
OWNING THE LAND CHEAP less than they now pay MORE per month to RENT ADVERTISING
SPACE on the side of the skyscraper erected on that land. Ask them now what
they think of Hotels.com and the opportunity they muissed forever, what chance
in HELL they have to ever own Hotels.com short of BILLIONS now that the great
domain name has been married to a great BUSINESS.
In business there are bets and their are investments.
With sales of .whatever registrations for a domain to use in
a business…GoDaddy (and Google to come) is selling bets that MAY 20 years down
the road or more have investment grade value in the market.
And many domain name speculators will buy them hoping
they’ll pay off like a lottery ticket. But we doubt that will ever happen and there isn’t a .co domain in the world I’d
spend my money on advertising as part of my business strategy if you gave it to
me for free...
I’ll leave this post today with how I started it.
Gosh
almighty, Godaddy...you mean all I have to do is have one great idea and pay a
few bucks to have it protectable FIRST and I'll be the one 20 years later rich
and laughing in my BusinessJet.com?
There are 500 laughing in the chair on that private jet
because they got there first and had your great idea 20 years ago. Right now
the world sees them as somehow having done something wrong. They were smart, worked hard, took risks,
and got a little lucky. They are visionaries, and history will bear that
fact out as the 21st century continues to unfold. Don’t revile them.
Just let them help you make more money and give them a fair share.
Or trust your future to Google and a made-up domain.crap
while domain.com gold lies unused.
Do you have 20
years to wait while you hope BusinessJet.co will ever get off the ground
without sending 61 cents of every dollar you spend on advertising to enrich a
competitor that owns BusinessJet.com?
I didn’t.
I’m too busy flying first class, having made a possible
future competitor my ally, and a possible obstacle among my greatest
advantages, and a branding tool that was sitting unexploited my immediate edge
over bigger companies with more resources than my start-up.
If you’re looking at GENERIC.com vs GENERIC.co you have the
same choice.
Most domainers have all tried self-development and most failed to get
much traction.
Don't even get me started on so-called ideas for 'scaled
mini-development' or 'automated' development or 'outsourced
development'. The problems with these are too numerous to mention.
It's SO obvious for a guy like me to see, who was an
'outsider'
to this thing called domaining until 2 years ago.
When you look at the VALUE of a domain name at it’s HIGHEST possible value…It’s
NOT about the “website” you build on a domain property (and it never has been).
Domainers have tried WAY too hard to “fake” a business with smoke and
mirrors, CPA, CPM, CPC bunch of BS you do not find as part of the “money-making
plan” of a real CATEGORY.com business
run by a real CATEGORY leading end user corporation (or a start-up company with
plans and aspirations to use the domain as a launch pad to BECOME a real
category-leading business).
Exceptions like you see with an AmericanFlags.com, PalmSprings.com,
Bobbleheads.com or CreditCards.com etc where a great domain name was developed
into a great business through the sweat and persistence and passion of a
dedicated domain name owner operating as a domainer second and an entrepreneur
FIRST are the stuff legends are made of, aren’t they?
But why are these exceptions?
I’ve said it before and it bears saying as many times in as many ways as
is necessary to reach John Jones, CEO, with the message.
Because for the most part, the most
valuable domain names aren't
in the hands of a company dedicated to making that domain name alone a part
of a great business. They're 'parked' in rows of hundreds of BEAUTIFIL CARS sitting on the
showroom floor “for sale”, and no one
who’s interested can even get a test drive!
The internet of the future I believe will merge great companies that have great
ideas with domains owned by about 500 people currently. These marriages will provide Harvard Case
studies for a century or more in MBA classes.
Because the experience of many domain investors attempting to develop
their best quality properties themselves often looks MUCH different when a
Candy.com quality domain name ends up in the hands of a passionate end user
business capable of exploiting more of that domain's advantages than a domain
investor ever could.
Through focus, resources, relationships, existing products and
services, and so much more among intangibles…in 100% of the cases a Melville
Candy Company is a better steward of a Candy.com property than ANY domain name
owner.
Rick Schwartz has been saying this for years.
Some heard, most didn’t.
It’s not about SELLING a domain name.
It’s not about PARKING for pennies.
It’s not about DEVELOPING a website.
It’s about what’s the highest and best use
development of any given property in any given area.
And the “domainer” will NEVER add the other inputs
into the equation for the output to be the highest and best use of the domain
name without being a BUSINESS OWNER FIRST.
Sell, park, develop? That’s all? Shhh
What would you call it when the domain is of obvious value
such as JointVentures.com but unused with little income and has untapped
beneath the surface the potential for millions when paired with the right ideas
and monetization strategy SPECIFIC to that domain itself?
What about licensing like the Castellos with Acapulco.com?
Or direct sales of highly targeted advertising in the 7 figure per year with
great destination sites/businesses they sweat to build as END USERS like
PalmSprings.com? I don’t know those guys yet but I hope to meet them soon,
having devoured their writings when Rick asked me to immerse myself in your
all’s world. They provide GREAT value in the marketplace and the companies that
pay them to advertise on those sites get a BARGAIN.
What happens when a company leases a domain simply to use it
on their TV commercial and redirect to their own lead capture page because the
direct response % of Rings.com will out-pull BrandJewelry.com to grab a higher
number of eyeballs you can turn into customers?
[[ASIDE: If you own a chain of
retail jewelry stores that sell rings among other jewelry products, is that a
bet you’d be willing to make me? You can find my email address pretty easily.
We’ll split-test it and bet real money on the results. Your existing TV
commercial. ONE tiny change = more money in your pocket every damn time you run
that commercial. If you win the bet, you walk with the cash having tried
something DIFFERENT to increase SALES. If I win, we can talk about maybe
rolling your cash from the bet into a deal for the Rings.com domain.]]
What happens when you sell @baseball.com email addresses for
$10/year and then you make a success of it with 100,000 fans becoming
customers? Could you thereby create a market segment and a windfall that allows
you to use the SAME infrastructure and head-start also then in a JV to offer
email addresses for @rockies.com and @yankees.com to tens of millions of MLB
fans WITH the MLB’s blessing since they’ll be getting a cut for you to license
a dormant resource within THEIR domain names?
If someone thinks that somehow pre-JointVentures.com the
options to monetize a great domain name were “to sell” or “to park” or “to
develop” and now are also “to lease” or whatever, that’s baloney.
Not a single person reading this in 2013 will live long
enough to see ALL the creative and lucrative options to monetize a great domain
name. Even “domain leasing”, which people are trying to say is somehow
revolutionary is NOT. It’s evolutionary, and many domain owners have been doing
it for years.
THIS is the year, however, that Rick Schwartz and I have
teamed up to show the model to Corporate America with enough wind at the back
and empirical examples to show ANYONE doing their due diligence on domains to
know WITHOUT DOUBT that if money was no object and your business is in
“category” then CATEGORY.com is the game you want to play online in the 21st
century going forward.
*shakes head*
Sell, park, develop…or lease?
Which one of those simplistic monetization models is Rick’s
deal for Candy.com?
Rick told me this was risky…that some people who are domainers would
read this and think we’re belittling them, and many domainers try to hide the
facts to business owners about what they paid for that great domain name as an
investment you want to buy as a real tool.
If we can help the early .com domain name investor “SEE IT” that it is
perfectly OK not to have the resources or knowledge to develop even one great
domain name into a great business, then that’s a WIN. If we can help the
ambitious business owner who already has a good business and is looking for an
EDGE to make it a GREAT business “SEE IT” that it is perfectly OK not to have
realized 20 years ago that the asset you want today was once available for
$100, then that’s a WIN.
WIN-WIN joint ventures that put a great domain name in the hands of a
business that is or wants to become GREAT is what we are all about with
JointVentures.com—through WHATEVER creative joint venture deal that got the
parties together, whether it be lease, license, equity share, cash with
royalties, or other.
My role in what’s coming down the pike is to make it IMPOSSIBLE for the
end user entrepreneur in ANY business category to ignore the fact that
CATEGORY.com is available, and present a UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY for a limited time
to ONE COMPANY to grab that strategic advantage…before their competitor wises
up first and takes a test drive on the Ferrari available only for lease instead
of buying the skateboard in the window.
RIGHT NOW there is an entrepreneur business owner seeking to
use and own a CATEGORY.com that’s no longer for sale for cash alone AT ANY
PRICE, and he’s researching and reading the Candy.com story -- and many like
it-- for the first time in 2013…
RIGHT NOW there is an entrepreneur who is in an entirely
different business than anyone reading this except maybe his competition…and
he’s doing his due diligence on branded domains online vs generics online,
doing his due diligence on .whatever vs .com, talking to people he trusts,
getting in his marketing team’s face and demanding answers for how to increase
SALES...
RIGHT NOW he has followed the yellow brick road of research
and been ATTRACTED from the world wide ocean of commerce somewhere on the globe
and he ends up RIGHT HERE.
JointVentures.com, a river.
Then RicksBlog.com, the pond.
And once he realizes the IRREFUTABLE TRUTH of what Rick
Schwartz already knew in 1995 that guy will write an affordable check every
month for 10 years if need be to get that kind of growth advantage that is not
offered for sale, but lease only to a qualified company that may buy later with
ongoing royalties to the previous domain owner.
That business owner will hand the a great domain name off to
his marketing team and his web development team with a high-level plan to
increase sales of the products and services they already have using little more
than the notes he made while reading JointVentures.com and an existing
infrastructure that is fully capable of MAGNIFYING and MULTIPLYING every
benefit of a great domain name once it’s paired with a GREAT business instead
of lying unused or underutlized…
That guy will say “GET IT DONE”. And that CEO will succeed
to grow his company like gangbusters, in multiples of millions and will likely
never read this blog again.
All while so many “domainers” squander the same advantages
that guy has on ONE domain and they have dozens just as good and they’re
parking for pennies to monetize the trickle of traffic coming in without any
effort or trying to build a website in a category niche to sell products where
they don’t already have a business or infrastructure.
The best domain names are not just about websites and never have been.
Think highest and best use.
Think real business.
Think “I don’t have to do everything myself” because the
other guy is there…and he needs me to profit more than he is now, just like I
need him too.
Bare with us for 4 more days as we put the finishing touches on our foundation. And yes, part of that foundation resides right here and the words here will be read many times for many years. Less by domainers and more by end users. The 'Bleacher Seats' I have talked about are now turning into box seats. On the record for the record! If you are too busy to read this, find the time. I promise you it is that important. I promise you the more you look, the more you see. Many of you will know this. Many of you will not. Everyone will understand it even more in a few minutes.
It’s obvious once you see it.
But many don’t see the ‘way forward’ in front of their face DAILY for YEARS
BY Danny Welsh, JointVentures.com
I’m not the best or most recognized joint ventures specialist in the world in
2013, but a domain name lease deal and partnership with Rick Schwartz to
operate JointVentures.com WILL give me a chance to grow INTO that in 10 years
if my ambition is that big. We’ll see how things unfold.
So I hope folks that consider themselves “domainers” will
forgive my bluntness here but a domain of CATEGORY.com quality will RARELY if
EVER earn what it could in the hands of someone that is a domainer first and an
entrepreneur in a specific category of business second.
CATEGORY,LLC with “category” resources, experience,
contacts, passion, products, services, ideas ETC is a better operator of
Category.com than Mr. Domain Owner and his portfolio of hundreds of domain
names sitting around earning nickels with the potential for millions buried
underneath could EVER BE.
THIS WILL HOLD TRUE EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I’ve said it before and it bears saying as many times in as many ways
as is necessary to reach John Jones, CEO, with the message.
Because for the most part, the most
valuable domain names aren't
in the hands of a company dedicated to making that domain name alone a part
of a great business, you have MISSED this opportunity . These ASSETS are
'parked' in rows of hundreds of
BEAUTIFIL CARS sitting on the
showroom floor “for sale”,
and no one who’s interested can even get a test drive!
If you believe as I do that that above paragraph is true…
And you believe that intrinsic earning asset VALUES will
follow historical parallels of increasing PRICE for the BEST OF THE BEST such
as the real estate BUSINESS analogy I gave here: LINK
Or the baseball BUSINESS analogy I gave here: LINK
Then whether you call yourself a “domainer” or a business
owner, you MUST understand that to say that a domain name can only be “parked”
or “leased” or “developed as website” is incredibly short sighted, a simplistic
definition and frankly incorrect.
“Development” is
webmaster talk. The guy or gal
whose company is the highest and best use of ANY of the best generic .com
domain names in the world likely doesn’t know HOW to build or develop a website
because he hires the specialists that can do that. Even if he can do it, he
hires someone else.
The guy who knows WHY to do something pays the guy who knows
HOW in capitalism.
At a certain level of
domain name ASSET valuation, “website development” as so many “domainers” talk
about it is IRRELEVANT in my opinion -- and that of Rick Schwartz if I’ve read him correctly.
The highest and best use value of a domain name ain’t ultimately
about only the WEBSITE you put on a domain name, folks,
and it never WAS…and it never will be.
It’s about the BUSINESS that
can best occupy that premium space,
and that business’s products and services that can be sold to
real customers for a real exchange of value.
For every PalmSprings.com BUSINESS developed by a “domainer” that gets
it right as an entrepreneur to make that great domain name just simply a PART
of a GREATER BUSINESS, there are dozens
of eRealEstate internet properties in Rick Schwartz’s portfolio alone that
COULD be a PalmSprings.com success…if it were in the hands of the right
company (and that company is emphatically not
Rick Schwartz, LLC) with the right person in charge (and that person is
emphatically not Rick
Schwartz, the domainer).
And for me, personally, getting a full understanding of the true intrinsic
VALUE of premium category dot com domain names (as opposed to the PRICES of sales we all see catalogued by Ron Jackson
and others who serve the still NASCENT domain name industry with their reports)…my
education in learning this stuff has hinged on the obvious-once-you-see-it parallels and analogies I’ve been sharing in
these blog posts to help the BUSINESS OWNER of 2013 see what the DOMAIN KING
already saw in 1994.
What do I mean by
“obvious-once-you-see-it?”
Do
you see the way forward in that logo on the left?
Do
you see the arrow? Most don’t until it’s pointed out to them.
Many people see that logo multiple times per week on Fedex trucks and
on Fedex TV commercials and on Fedex brick-and-mortar store signs…and
they’ve never seen the “way forward” hidden in plain sight.
When it comes to the MASSIVE difference in value between PunchBowl.com
and MyPunchBowl.com, or MadeUpBrand.com vs. MadeUpBrand.net, 90% of business
owners don’t yet SEE what the smartest entrepreneurs who are also “domainers”
have seen for YEARS in plain sight.
When it comes to the 1000x difference those who’ve been investing in an
ASSET class for 20 years know exists at the highest levels between anasset www.GENERIC.com with the standard
domain name extension that will give you so many benefits that MAKE YOU
MONEY vs www.GENERIC.crap commodity for
$8.99 with a made-up domain name extension that will cost you money every day
even as you grow your business…many entrepreneurial business owners in
the MAINSTREAM of 2013 that are just getting their feet wet and taking their
brick and mortar stores online to compete simply do not yet “SEE IT”.
They don’t know what Rick Schwartz knows. What “the 500” knows. What
most every long time reader of this incredibly wisdom-filled blog--
increasingly becoming less a living room for the few who know and an auditorium
for the many that don’t-- has known for years.
They who are totally NEW TO THIS
INTERNET BUSINESS STUFF don’t yet SEE IT.
YET
they know they sure as hell found their way here to this crappy looking blog
(sorry, Rick)
after following the Yellow Brick Road from a domain name like Wholesaling.com
or FinancialConsultants.com or hundreds of the other best domain names in the
world…
ending up on JointVentures.com and finally SEEING IT.
Now
they’re scratching their head and only after they know what they want to BUY
(the domain name they first typed in to visit itself) are they going to a
search engine and doing their due diligence and finding themselves here and
wondering, is all this for REAL?
Yep. It is. And starting 2/1/13 the focus for Rick Schwartz and for Danny Welsh
and for the team we are building will 180 degree shift. People will claim
differently but the last few weeks of us launching JointVentures.com ain’t
simply about convincing “domainers” to do business with us, and never was.
The end users are reading this news increasingly too. When they do, the
smart and ambitious ones are going to SEE IT FIRST. How real it is, how raw,
how undeniable. What we already see and Rick Schwartz saw 20 years ago. Just
like if that was the first time you saw the arrow and the way forward in the
Fedex logo, in the future YOU won’t be able to NOT see it.
Increasingly this next few years, once the mainstream of business around the world knows the difference between an $8 domain and an 8-figure domain…they won’t be able to NOT see it.
The biggest question for you if you’re a business owner who followed
that Yellow Brick Road is if YOU will SEE IT first in time to get your hands on
a multi-million dollar asset for $xx,xxx per year…before your competitors sign
the long-term domain lease/license contract and send their money to Escrow.com
first.
So please, by all means…Do your due diligence. But do it fast.
In 3 years the cars on the showroom floor will simply be gone, on the
road, with a DRIVER at a great company in the front seat of each propelling
forward at 200MPH with the wind at his back.
Take too long to make the decision to grab this advantage, and never
again will you have an opportunity to drive a Ferrari that makes you money and
increases in value for the price of a Nissan.com that will cost you down the
road when you simply should have grabbed the keys and said “Let’s Go!”.
THIS APPEARED ON CRAIGSLIST and is guaranteed to give you a
laugh in good fun...
What am I doing wrong?
Okay, I'm tired of “beating around the bush”. I'm a
beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and
classy.
I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy
who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in
mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think
I'm overreaching at all.
Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any
wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average
around 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get
me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an
investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as I am, nor is
she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?
Here are my questions specifically:
- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics-
bars, restaurants, gyms
-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you
won't hurt my feelings
-Is there an age range I should be targeting like in 40s or
what (I'm 25)?
- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the
upper east side so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who have
nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I've seen drop dead
gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What's the story there?
- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer,
investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do
they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?
- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am
looking for MARRIAGE ONLY
Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in
an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up
front about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't able
to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and
hearth.
AN ANSWER THAT WAS POSTED
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought
meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your
predicament.
Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who
fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I
see it.
Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain
and simple a crappy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S.,
what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I
bring my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my
money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely that my
income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any
more beautiful!
So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am
an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates!
Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5
years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a
fork in you!
So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading
position, not a buy and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good
business sense to 'buy you' (which is what you're asking) so I'd
rather lease. In case you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If
my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an
out. It's as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not
marriage.
Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient
markets.
So, I wonder why a girl as 'articulate, classy and
spectacularly beautiful' as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy.
I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that
the $500K hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.
By the way, you could always find a way to make your own
money and then we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.
With all that said, I must say you're going about it the
right way.
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some
sort of lease, let me know.
*********
Talk about a LAUGH OUT
LOUD.
Does that just make you laugh or what?
I love how the poster commented that the woman 'could
always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn't need to have this
difficult conversation'.
If you're a woman...I
don't have to tell you that women are JUST AS GOOD AS MEN (if not better) in
just about any business.
There's any number of
ultra-successful women reading this blog (more and more coming as the old boys
club gets prettied up a little) and they could back me up on that even if we’ve
never met or said hello. Women like that one, though, jeez...I thank my
lucky stars I have an accomplished, beautiful girlfriend who has a LIFE OF HER
OWN...and would stand by my side even if I lost every dime I've ever earned.
Thank God I bought her FirstNameLastName.com so she can never escape
me, muahahaha!
If you're a fella, I hope you've got one of those ladies in
your life, too. I hope anyone reading that got a good chuckle...and in case you
wonder if I simply wanted to make you laugh today, maybe you want to read that
again.
Only imagine the title is:
[[Small Business
Looking for a Good Internet Marketing Plan (PROVEN to Increase Sales)]]
Shall I spell it out in another way without “beating around
the bush”?
Here you go:
Okay, I'm tired of “beating around
the bush”. I'm a small but established business (increasingly successful), 25
years old with a brick and mortar store. I'm good at what I do and
customer-oriented.
I'm not from the World Wide Web.
I'm looking to get on the internet and grow my business at least half a million
a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is small
news on the World Wide Web, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all.
Are there any business advisors who
can help me make 500K or more on this board? Any websites you can show me? Could
you send me some tips?
Sure.
Don’t skip over this
ONE decision bringing your brick and mortar business online or you’ll end up
regretting it.
Don’t spend $8.99 for a one night stand we can tell you how
it’ll end.
Do your due diligence and you’ll realize $1000 per month is
a bargain for operating a million dollar asset, increasing profits with it, and
down the road having a chance to buy it without coming out of pocket more up
front capital than you can afford to easily part with today.
PROVEN INTERNET
INVESTMENT WORTH MARRYING TO YOUR COMPANY
PRODUCT.com or
SERVICE.com or
SOCIAL.com or
###.com or
Hotels.com or
ABCD.com
SPECULATIVE
INTERNET GAMBLE ANY SMART BUSINESS OWNER WOULDN’T SLEEP WITH FOR ONE .NIGHT
PRODUCT.crap
SERVICE.biz or
SOCIAL.tv or
###.fm or
BLAHBLAH.hotels
ABCD.net
Simple. Straight forward.
You can be beautiful AND rich. Just marry right.
(yes sweetie, I said
it but don’t think that was an informal proposal
so much as a funny inside joke that’ll be written here in ink online forever)
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