Reflections on Domain Roundtable

While enjoying the Pacific Northwest leg of my vacation this summer it was a real pleasure for me to drop in for a day at Domain Roundtable in Seattle.  Jay had me do a keynote for which I had deliberately not prepared anything. At first I was nervous and hesitant on the stage, but after looking some of those folks in the eye for a moment or two, I found it therapeutic to recount my tale. As I told my story about my time in the name business, thoughts and memories rushed through my mind..  vignettes and hazy flashbacks of moments that made me who I am and helped me grow my business.

I met a lot of new faces at the event.. Diligent folks who were doing in 2007 what I did in 2002 and 3..  People out there beating the bushes for the next deal.  Folks not satisfied to take "no" for an answer..  Persistent entrepreneurs with drive, a thick skin and passion; a gumption that gets them out of bed in the morning and a burning desire to rise above and to grow.

When I got back to my vaction hotel, a friend sent a link from one of the domain forums discussing my keynote.  It was incredibly flattering to read colleagues who I truly respect and admire say nice things about me and I had empathy for folks who had been beaten down and took from my speech that the good times were behind us.

The thing that struck me the most about DR were those people in the domain business I had never met before..  those unnamed people working hard each day to create opportunity ..Those who say "all the good domains are gone" and "nobody is selling cheap" were spending their day in the chat forum venting about the state of affairs while the folks I met at Domain Roundtable (who I had never heard of before) where out there creating opportunity for themselves..  quietly making their own good fortune and getting rich while others looked the other way or sold themselves on the misinformation that "this is over".

While the domain industry has matured since 2002, it is still very much the same.  When I began (in earnest) and chose domains as my path, a different group of people in a different chat room told all who cared to listen that "the best days are behind us" and "all the good names are gone"

Perspective is the key.  I urge those of you who think this business is done and the opportunities are gone to attend a domain name conference.  TRAFFIC in Miami is in less than 2 months.  Attend that event..  don't be aloof, speak to your colleagues and listen to what they tell you.  You will be struck as I was at the opportunities that remain at this very late point in 2007 when all the good names are gone and the easy money has supposedly been made.

In life, attitude is altitude. When most people don't understand the usefulness of domain names and half the population doesn't use the Internet, there is still a great deal of untapped opportunity for you to make your mark, but you've "gotta wanna".  Find a good name, create a rudimentary site and repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.. Buy low sell high and repeat, repeat, repeat..  Find your sweet spot add value for an existing player and repeat, repeat, repeat.  The world is your oyster.

Comments

[Ed Keay-Smith]

Hi Frank,

Welcome back mate! I hope you and your family had a great time on your vacation :-)

I missed your posts and it was a bit of a "cold turkey" experience for the the first week!! LOL

Thanks for your reflections on Domain Roundtable, the talk you gave that was on YouTube was great and very inspiring!

Regards

Ed Keay-Smith
Oz Domainer

[Brad]

Frank-

Thanks. I watched your speech and was linked from Aaron (SEO Book).

I really, really enjoyed what you have to say and it's nice to put a face with a name.

Hope to be seeing more posts from you know that you're back from vacation!

-Brad

[Scott]

I thought your keynote speach was natural, interesting, informative and entertaining Frank, I'm a new reader and I enjoyed the speach a great deal, thank you.

[Jeff Burkey]

Frank,
Great having you back. This post is right on the money. Opportunities are created every single day. I picked up JobaGear.com the other day. Not sure if you follow baseball, but Joba Chamberlain was unknown prior to 8/7/2007 and now its "Joba Time". Welcome back!

[josh]

Your passion, drive and message hit home.

Imo, what you are alluding to and pointing at should not be underestimated when one is attempting to achieve something.

Be prepared for the short, medium and long haul.

[MyZine.com]

Welcome back Frank!

[Mike]

Frank,

We are thrilled to read your blog again.

Frank, are you related to singer Michael Buble?

I ask because I watched your well-executed RoundTable keynote and your mannerisms and chill vocal tone reminded me of my favorite entertainer, Michael Buble....perhaps, it's just Canadian DNA :)

Frank, what are your impressions with dotMOBI now that Disney, NBC, AXA, MLB, Bank of America, Triple A, Ford, and other major brands have adopted and are advertising their dotMOBI throughout the world?

For example, Disney is now running a commercial showcasing their dotMobi via the famous "High School Musical brand" ... HSM2.mobi

I appreciate your thoughts.

Mike

[Charley]

Hi Frank,

I couldn't watch the speech, link provided as on dnjournal, do you have them in any other format?

Thanks.

[Robert]

This is good advice, thank you. There must be a way... there must be a way.