Rick Schwartz is the original domain name investor. He has parlayed his insight and experience into the creation of 'Targeted Traffic', the leading domain name industry conference and convention. Nobody, nobody who is active in the domain name business today started earlier or with a stronger vision of the future than Rick Schwartz. I can not say enough about his passion and fire -- So I am going to stop now and let him speak for himself:
Hi Folks,
I usually write very straight forward and basic. It is rare I write things that are cryptic though it is always important to read between the lines. Here is a mixture of both. Some rambling thoughts designed to make you STOP and think. I’ll ruffle a few feathers to get you there. The first thing you need to do in life to change course, to change your destiny, is to STOP IN YOUR TRACKS, take a deep breath and re-evaluate where you are and where you are going. If you don’t start at a STOP, you lose before you begin. (Got that?)
Everyone runs around and says they want to make a million dollars. But that is truly silly. It is the same thing as climbing to the top of a building or a mountain without a staircase, ladder, elevator, gear or some device to get you there incrementally. The map to making a million dollars is not making a million dollars. It is making a dollar a million times. It is making a PENNY 100 million times. So if you are STOPPED as I suggested, this is your first change. When you make a core change like that it affects other decisions down the line so now you have to reanalyze many things. Invent once and then repeat, repeat, repeat. The more you repeat and the faster you repeat it will determine everything else. $1 million, $10, million, $100 million, it’s all based on the same recipe.
There is “No courage in Corporate America." That's what I learned at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. EAST 2006 and how true those words are. No spine, no vision, no dreams, no ideas, no nothing but spineless jellyfish only interested in a paycheck on the 1st and 15th. No courage is something that may be able to be exploited. I see so few great IDEAS out there. I think they are coming. I think a foundation is being laid. I think sparks can and will be created. But corporate America won't care until you can lose $100 million and they can pay $500 million to rescue your company. They have such an interesting way of overpaying and make everyone think they are so smart. So my next piece of advice is don’t look to corporate America to sweep you off your feet and bring you to the promised land. They would rather knock you off your feet and bury you once they figure out how badly they goofed and how they missed the single biggest opportunity in any of their lifetimes, their father’s lifetimes and their grandfather’s lifetime. While Wall Street and Main Street traded manipulated and sometimes worthless stocks and Madison Avenue ignored us, they missed the commodity that has gone up faster in value than any other commodity ever known to man. No gold, no diamond, no land no nothing has ever gone up faster and further than a great domain name. Besides that, they lost the most magnificent self maintaining lead generation system ever devised. Imagine getting a million qualified leads for $6 a year. Imagine that? They can’t!! But IMAGINE how it will change the landscape when they actually do figure it out? When they STOP in their tracks and see what many of us see.
My current mission is to make a $1 a day domain be a $20 a day domain and then a $200 a day domain and then a $2000/day domain. Can you imagine what it would be like to multiply your entire income by 20 or more?
Yeah I know it can't happen, it won't happen blah, blah, blah. And to that I would say it CAN happen and it WILL happen and it HAS already happened. It will take on many forms and it will be duplicated 1 domain by 1 domain but the folks that can make that happen are soon going to meet each other and a new day is going to dawn. I have watched payouts go from 1/10 of one penny to many dollars. So the leap I described above is not as far as the ones we have already accomplished.
But, if you can't dream it and you can't believe it, then you can't do it. I accept that and completely understand it. But it does not affect me whatsoever. Not only do I believe it, I know I am actually underestimating what is soon to happen. Hey listen, I don't expect anyone to agree or even see what I see, but all I can do is share what it is I see and just how strong I see it. This will raise all of our overall net worth's. Your holdings are going to do very well IF you have good commercial domains or social domains with lots of eyeballs. Like anything else….If you believe you CAN’T….you are 100% right. And if you believe you CAN……you are also 100% right. YOUR CHOICE!!
If today is your first day of being a domain investor, good luck. Your job is to copy old paths and forge a new path. A new direction. You are never too late so don’t defeat yourself. The publisher of this very blog “Came to the game too late” and was able to outperform all others that got here before him including me and every other domain investor in the game. He had no excuse and neither should you. With a solid plan and a few bucks in your pocket you can still get into the domain game and have it transform your life. I will tell you what I have told everyone before. “Your first domain is your most important domain.” If you choose that one right it makes your future easier than if you don’t. Take the time to learn what makes a good domain and a worthless domain. They likely cost the same. There are a lot of decent domains to be purchased on the secondary market for $500 to $2500. Learn how to pick out the gems and you will never look back. Good luck!
Before I put you all asleep, I’ll leave you with this. My famous “Truck story” and why helping each other has great benefits. With the spirit of giving in your heart you will receive more than you can ask for. That’s the “Magic” in approaching life from this side of the equation.
The 18 Wheeler Story……and The Crest of The Hill.
Years ago [in the domain business] many of us walked around searching for meaning. We knew we had gold and diamonds but were not sure how to turn them to cash. So the net was a true NET. We were forced to help and cooperate with each other for our very survival.
I have always seen the way things could and should unfold in a more uniform manner. Of course that is not possible but the way I have always seen it is in this picture I draw.
IMAGINE there are 10 trucks. All 18 wheelers and all lined up parallel. NONE of them have the power to get over the crest of this steep hill. Each truck has a driver and a helper. You see 10 trucks with drivers and you see 10 trucks with a guy behind it doing everything he can to push the truck over the crest. ALL are failing. Not a one has budged. They are stuck. Paralyzed in time.
The thing they don’t understand is that they have the power and resources right there to change their destiny and overcome the huge obstacle they are facing. Instead they are grumbling and frustrated and are losing money by not getting the goods to where they need to go. If they were to think a little more unselfishly they could easily garner the power they need to get moving again.
What if…..What if you took 9 of the 10 drivers and put them behind just ONE truck and what if you got all the other 10 helpers to also push that one truck? Well you would get the result they all wanted by cooperating and then they could go right down the line and REPEAT the process and formula and push all the other 9 trucks until they are all rolling again.
The day I created this story I also had a vision for a way to apply it. Maybe there is still a way. We talk about “Development” and I think that is what most of us ultimately are. Some develop at different speed, at different levels and for different reasons.
IMAGINE…..10 domainers with like minds get together. Their mission is each month, develop one domain name owned by one of the other members of the group and built by all other members as they donate a little time and talent and knowledge to the effort. At the end of the year each would have a site developed by some of the very sharpest people we know with talents beyond most and 10 chances to hit pay dirt. Imagine dozens of groups doing the same thing. Starting with a great domain, identifying a void, figuring a way to profit from that void and creating something that we would be proud of and move in a direction we all would like to go. We all have great land and nails and wood and brick and cement in our arsenal. Together we can build houses. Alone we may build frustration and feel like those truckers until they figure it out.
This leads to other things and I could see dozens of groups like this pulling this off. One domain at a time and success after success after success.
Just a vision I have had for a very long time and never have the mind or time or PATIENCE to put it on paper and explain it in a way that could be understood and embraced. I know I have tried several times. But I have not successfully articulated what is in my mind and heart.
Lastly, don’t listen to the naysayers. They are the ones sitting on the sidelines cheering for your failure. They build themselves up by ripping others down. Don’t fall into that trap. Don’t become a person on that side of the equation. They are mad at the world and the frustration built up in them is used to try and defeat you. Don’t let them. Your triumphs are illustrations of their failures. They have the power to change that at every moment of their life, but the first thing that has to happen is the first thing I mentioned. They have to STOP and reanalyze, rethink, and set the course. Something we all have in common and something we should all do periodically to make sure we are still on course.
I will leave you with my most important thought. When you leave New York and set sail for London and you end up on the shores of Africa…..your problem did not occur when you landed in Africa, it happened before you even set sail for New York. Point is……99.9% of ALL failures are due to a bad or quick decision in the beginning or the planning stage. So the likelihood of any success can easily be determined before you even begin. Usually a SIMPLE change can also change your entire future fortunes. If you walk east looking for the sunset you will likely become disappointed and frustrated. Just a 180 degree shift on one thing can change your destiny. But before you do that you MUST STOP. Stop in your tracks. If you don’t start at a STOP, you lose before you begin.
Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz.
Rick,
As inspirational as always.
We've never met, but I can tell through your writings that you would've made a success out of whatever you went into...and lucky for the rest of us that you chose domains.
James
PS. Whens the book coming out?;-)
Posted by: James | March 13, 2007 at 06:11 PM
Hey Rick,
Thanks for your post! I'm not sure that you and Frank even realize how much we (fellow domainers) appreciate your thoughts and insights in the domain industry!
This goes to show you how powerful the internet is today. To put this into context 10-20 years ago, you couldn't even fathom that any old stock broker could be in correspondence with the Warren Buffets of the industry...asking questions, getting invaluable tips and opinions that could shape that industry....this is what we are getting via the blog right now.
Isn't the internet beautiful! And we all know that domain names serve as the entrance to the incredible tool.
Well, Frank and Rick....thanks again for your genuine and sincere efforts to help everyone else in the domain game. As always, I'll be on the lookout for more valuable posts int he future!
***FS*** Very kind of you to say sir .. just trying to help folks on their way.
Posted by: Gabe | March 13, 2007 at 06:44 PM
Rick,
Good advice about stopping to think and look around a bit. I am doing my income and expenses for 2006 today. Had a good year but also had a lot of expenses. I need stop and figure out how to raise income AND lower expenses thus increasing my net. I need to stop, think and do some planning.
Posted by: Rob Sequin | March 13, 2007 at 07:40 PM
Thanks for taking the time to post in this forum and give everyone a little insight into the possibilities that lie ahead. The future is bright for all and I want to just say thanks to Rick and Frank for adding your personal insights.
Posted by: Steven | March 13, 2007 at 08:33 PM
> Imagine getting a million qualified leads for $6 a year. Imagine
>that? They can’t!! But IMAGINE how it will change the landscape
>when they actually do figure it out?
FRAME THAT PUPPY AND HANG IT ON YOUR WALL.
***FS*** Oh brother.. is Verisign reading this blog?! I feel another price increase coming. :- /
Posted by: Drewbert | March 13, 2007 at 10:59 PM
Fantastic post and great advice Rick... Thanks so much for taking the time!
You are so right about everyone needing to come to a stop before they can then start... I have realized this recently and after taking some time to focus on what it is I truly want, I have found it is infinitely easier to find the path of least resistance to achieve my goals...
It is so easy to let life take one where it may, to lose focus and to get stuck in the 'just one more (insert action here)' routine... Taking this route is the surest path to nowhere and sadly, is the way that most people live their lives...
I love your vision of domainers forming groups to share their expertise and help each other develop their properties... I think you are definitely onto something and would be interested in participating in such a group with anyone else who's interested...
You are a hell of a motivator (as are you and your beach view photo, Frank)... We are lucky to operate in an industry lead by those with true vision - the deeper I get, the more camaraderie I sense...
Looking forward to a prosperous and exciting 2007 for all of us!
Thanks again for your words of wisdom and to you Frank for bringing these amazing guest bloggers to us...
Someday soon I will be sitting on a beach sipping margaritas with you guys - I'll buy of course, as I owe you both big time for the inspiration! :)
Posted by: Colin Pape | March 13, 2007 at 11:07 PM
Frank, you've taken your blog and ran with it! You are providing great information. Thanks Rick for coming and speaking with us. It's made me think a lot and has confirmed my ideas in a sense. Hoping to meet everyone at your traffic forums one day!!
Posted by: Tia Wood | March 14, 2007 at 11:25 AM
Schwartz is generous in spending time to engage fellow domainers and help them. His advice about stopping and assessing your direction is so true, or you end up down the line buried some domain netherworld. And, his advice that your first domain is your most important could save you thousands of dollars in lame domain purchases. Advice from a true sage. Schwartz is a man to listen to - he is from the "old domain school".
I started domaining several months before Schwartz in 1995 (I was just a kid - 24 years old!), but I believe Schwartz had a stronger vision than I or most of my counterparts that were registering domains back then when they were FREE (Pre Sept. 1995)! Some of the domains I come accross that he registered in 1996 blow me away and I wish I followed his lead a bit more. Most of us (A handfull of folks!) were still scratching our heads while he was on a registering tear. We were sitting around contemplating : Do we buy domain sets in a category, singular or plural, adult domains or family domains, etc.... We got many good ones, but we should have been more agressive like Schwartz. That is why I listen to him today.
Folks laugh at the $200,000 for Flowers.mobi he spent (and the .mobi jury is still out), but you don't make the big money after everyone knows Flowers.mobi is worth something. Everyone laughed at us domainers from 1995 to 2000 and now look where we are! They said, "ha, ha, ha wait until the big corporations get involved. Your domains will then be worth crap, or they will just squash you with lawsuites, etc....)
So, here we are in 2007 and Schwartz still is a visionary. He could not be more right when we says we need to work together. And for more reasons than he mentions, because I am of the opinion the evil forces of Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and other dubious third party interests will try to find a way to steal by theft, redirection, software, etc... our legitimate traffic or even domains now that true value has been established regarding direct navigation. As a team we will may be able to help thwart the attacks that are sure to come. If we can, as a group, get all of us over that "hill" that Schwartz speaks of we will all be better off as a group and better positioned to fight the attacks. We must help each other to help this industry survive and flourish, or we may be fighting the fights of our lives labeled as squaters, scum, etc.... once the big media gets involved. Remember they only like big headlines b/c that is what sells - not the real story!
BTW, this is an awesome blog Frank! The best one out there.
Posted by: Jack Stone | March 14, 2007 at 01:31 PM
Excellent web site I will be visiting oftene
;)
Posted by: Blazej | June 26, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Hi, Good work... Thanks
;)
Posted by: Filip | July 09, 2007 at 12:51 AM
jador moi je le met dans mes favoris!!! tro coooool
Posted by: Mark | October 16, 2007 at 07:43 PM