Day 8 – Answer this one question…

We have arrived at day 8 of 21 Days to Becoming a Better Domainer.  Today you won’t need to park yourself in front of your monitor.  You don’t need access to your tablet or smart phone.   In fact, you can do this with your eyes closed if you’d like to.  It’s time to take a long hard look at yourself, in the metaphorical sense, since I just said you could do this with your eyes closed.  Take a moment, clear your mind of the Youtube video of that guy slipping down his driveway on the ice.  Put away your Bitcoin charts, I’m sure you got out just in time.   This is time to focus on you and your goals.

Yesterday you asked yourself some questions about your domains.   Today you’re going to ask yourself a question about yourself.  What is your domaining mission?  Are you hoping to quit your day job and do this full-time?  Is it just a hobby and you like dabbling in this space for pure pleasure?  Is it to bring in a few extra bucks on the side?  The answer to “What’s my domaining mission?” should define how you proceed from this point forward.

 

Just like when you hop in the car and ask yourself where am I going?  There are several routes you might take if you are going to the grocery store, but they are all generally the same distance, one may take a little longer than another, but it’s a defined path to get you there.  If you get in the car and want to drive to Mexico City, there is a longer route you’ll need to take.  It’s further away and will require more time and effort to get there.  In either case, there is a map, a route, that can get you there.

You see where I’m going with this?  If your answer to the mission question is, “I like to dabble,” then your ride is going to be shorter and less effort.  Just do what you want to do.  Buy a few hand regs or a lower cost premium name and see how it goes.  You’re in no hurry, the mortgage isn’t depending on it.  If they sell, well then hey that was fun.  If not, maybe they will, just give it some time.  You don’t have to make a tremendous study of the process you follow.  You do need to grow and learn and become better at domaining (although you may want to just for the enjoyment of it).  There is less pressure.

If your answer is “I want to be a full-time domainer,” you’re looking at the other end of the spectrum.  You better find out as much as you can about the industry, meet people, learn about different services offered, understand different industries that you may be targeting, learn some sales techniques, valuing a domain, personal branding, etc.  Some people believe that there is an impenetrable barrier to entry when it comes to becoming a full time domainer. I disagree. It just takes far more hard work and effort than most people are willing or able to put in.   You have to really want that and be willing to put in whatever it takes.  It wont be easy but it can be done.  Others have done it.  They know what the map/route looks like.  You have to really want to drive to Mexico City and find someone that can give you directions.  Alright, the analogy is getting old now.

Bottom line is that in order to put in the required effort, you need to ask yourself what your end goal is.  If you don’t ask, you’ll just sort of drift along without a real plan.  You’ll end up somewhere.  But if you have your clear goal in mind, you at least have an idea of where you want to end up, and you can figure out the steps as you go.  You may change course a few times, but you’ll always be headed to the destination you planned for.