Lessons in Domaining: The Importance of Focus

When I started in the Domaining industry I found myself with hundreds of domain names and the constant pressure of developing, parking, or selling my names as quickly as possible. What I learned very quickly was that many of the names I thought were worth thousands were worthless, and that developing a quick site vs. a good site made a huge difference. At first this was a depressing realization – I had just wasted hundreds of dollars on domain names that nobody wanted and I found that to really make money with my domains I had to put a lot of time and energy into developing a website.

This is the realization I had two years ago and over the past 24-months I can say it was the best learning experience I’ve ever had. If you find yourself in the same situation the first thing I can tell you to do is: stop, walk-away from your computer, pull-out a notepad and make a plan.

When I realized the situation I was in I knew that I had to make changes in order to turn this into a lucrative business rather than a renewal nightmare. So I did exactly what I’m telling you know – I left my computer and pulled-out a yellow notepad. On the notepad I created three headlines, each one on a different page.

1-Year Goal:

2-Year Goal:

3-Year Goal:

Under each of these I wrote the high-level goals I had for the next three years. Mine looked something like this:

1-Year Goal:
– Let all the garbage-domains drop or sell them if possible
– Start a blog
– Build one high-quality website each month

2-Year Goal:
– Buy domain names with strong keywords similar to other domains that have recently sold
– Continue to focus on making a great blog
– Build one high-quality website each month
– Sell one domain name each month
– Sell any domains that I do not believe in or would consider dropping

3-Year Goal:
– Buy domain names with strong keywords similar to other domains that have recently sold
– Continue to focus on making a great blog
– Build one high-quality website each month
– Sell one domain name each month
– Make over $x,xxx/month consistently

Making a three-year plan is absolutely essential because it takes you out of the overwhelming place that many of us find ourselves and allows you to focus on your high-level goals. I have stuck to my plan and am getting ready to start year three. Now don’t take this for more than it is – I am not an Internet Millionaire or a Dot Com mogul. Instead I’m someone who has a passion for what they do and I’ve stuck to my goals. I am making a consistent monthly income with domain names and in an economy like this – anything consistent is pretty incredible!

So for those of you out there with a huge portfolio of domains, spending each day completely overwhelmed and feeling like there is nothing you can do – stop! Step-away from your computer, pick-up a pen, pencil, quill, whatever it is that you write with – and make a plan. After just 10-15 minutes of writing down your goals you’ll find yourself more relaxed and most importantly – focused on what you have to do to reach your goals.

There is a entire half of 2009 that is yet to happen – make the second half of this year a time in your life that you can look-back on and say – “that was when I took control, focused, and reached my goals!”

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton