Info from full timers

[JackG]

Hello,

I've had this question playing on my mind all day and I would like some feedback from the people who domaining for a living.

How sustainable is domaining as a career?

If you want me to go into more details about the kind of information I'm after, feel free to ask.

Rgds,

Jack

 

[retired_member13]

Hello,

I've had this question playing on my mind all day and I would like some feedback from the people who domaining for a living.

How sustainable is domaining as a career?

If you want me to go into more details about the kind of information I'm after, feel free to ask.

Rgds,

Jack

It's like any other career. If you work at it, learn from your mistakes and have / build some sort of skillset you'll be ok.

In terms of long term sustainability I think that kinda depends on a lot of things that are out of your control.

 

[wb]

I think you'll need to provide more information on the type of 'career' you are planning.

Catching domains?
Buying domains as investments and selling them to end users?
Buying/selling registered domains to resellers?
Finding/selling hand registered domains?
Developing domains?

Quite a few different options and many on here will do a mixture of them all.

 

[Retired_member41]

Hello,

I've had this question playing on my mind all day and I would like some feedback from the people who domaining for a living.

How sustainable is domaining as a career?

If you want me to go into more details about the kind of information I'm after, feel free to ask.

Rgds,

Jack

Your on the right track with this question for becoming a domainer.

Ask for as much information as possible without giving much away yourself lol

 

[retired_member34]

How sustainable is domaining as a career?

Without a crystal ball that question can't be answered. I have only dabbled in domaining, to me it is just a means to an end for development of my sites. I have been full time on this development since 2003 as my sole income, and I am on my 4th site that I considered "sustainable". Hopefully I am correct this time as I was not for the first 3. It is a rapidly changing business, in all its facets.

 

[monaghan]

How sustainable is domaining as a career?

Unless you have some very good names or low living requirements or just happen to be naturally lucky, you will find it difficult to live entirely on a new domainer's income, however, as part of a number of smaller income streams it can be a valuable contributor to your monthly income.

 

[JackG]

That's what I thought.

Obviously If you was to go into the industry full time, you would have to invest heavily on some decent names to provide a sustainable income. I presume catching names would be alternative to investing in decent names, though it's you against the world and you would not be guarantied to catch names all the time.

I don't know if it's from what I've learned at degree level, but I see this industry as a massive risk. Technology is rapidly evolving, and I see it as not long before something surpasses the need for domains thus rendering them worthless/useless.

If I was to go into business, specifically domaining it would be investment. It's what i've done the majority of my life. It's what I know.

Maybe I'm being too cautious.

Rgds,

Jack

Unless you have some very good names or low living requirements or just happen to be naturally lucky, you will find it difficult to live entirely on a new domainer's income, however, as part of a number of smaller income streams it can be a valuable contributor to your monthly income.

 

[retired_member13]

Technology is rapidly evolving, and I see it as not long before something surpasses the need for domains thus rendering them worthless/useless.

If you truly believe this then I think you'd be making a big mistake having anything to do with domains personally. It's difficult enough to make tough decisions (and hopefully increasingly the right decisions over time) wrt investing time and money in something when you believe in something. If you don't believe in it then it's best avoided.

It'd be like buying stocks that you believe are only going to go down long term but that might go up in the meantime.

 

[retired_member34]

I don't know if it's from what I've learned at degree level, but I see this industry as a massive risk.

Yes it is high risk, but as a consequence there is the potential for high reward - they go together, I'm sure you also learnt that in your degree.

 

[JackG]

Sure. The industry is stronger now then say the late nighties and with the right names the rewards could be huge.

It's something that I want to do for sure, but it's a hell of a long way form my original IB career path. Within the current downturn, graduate placements are few and far behind especially in IB where it's extremely hard to get a placement (Which that was not necessarily the case when I started my studies).

I guess I'm looking at alternatives, should my chosen career path go tits up. I don't want to be struggling to put food on the table in my late 30's because the industry has gone bust.

Rgds,

Jack

Yes it is high risk, but as a consequence there is the potential for high reward - they go together, I'm sure you also learnt that in your degree.

 

[monaghan]

You'll only be struggling to feed the family if you don't adapt. This will be the same whatever career route you take these days.

I'm one of the few fortunate people that get paid to "play" and I enjoy most aspects of my daily job, the computers I "play" with today are vastly different from the pre-web VAX mini-computers I used to manage in my early twenties, but I've evolved and I still enjoy my "work" and I'm still learning something new every day.

Do what you enjoy and work out how you can generate income from it, live within your income and you become free

 

[Edwin]

Why does it have to be a "career" that lasts a lifetime? One of the great things about the web is that you get to learn and adapt as the technology and trends change - the trick is to never stand still.

You're unlikely to be able to create a full-time job equivalent just from drop catching and selling domains, if that's the only thing you do. The only exception would be if you have a strong, professional, pro-active sales approach such that you're getting near end-user prices for each domain, and getting a steady stream of sales. But if the model is catch-and-flip, that boat has pretty much sailed if you're just getting into it now for the first time...

 

[JackG]

I never said that I wanted to have a career in domaining for a lifetime. What I meant was, if the original plan of IB does not work out I need something to fall back on. Should I have to fall back on domaining, I would have to make sure it is financially sustainable.

If I was to just drop catch and flip then no I would not see profits (Unless I catch some really nice domains.) I guess I'd be looking to dive into several aspects of domaining, however it's something I would have to look into when creating my business plan.

Why does it have to be a "career" that lasts a lifetime? One of the great things about the web is that you get to learn and adapt as the technology and trends change - the trick is to never stand still.

You're unlikely to be able to create a full-time job equivalent just from drop catching and selling domains, if that's the only thing you do. The only exception would be if you have a strong, professional, pro-active sales approach such that you're getting near end-user prices for each domain, and getting a steady stream of sales. But if the model is catch-and-flip, that boat has pretty much sailed if you're just getting into it now for the first time...

 

[Bailey]

I think you'll find most individuals that are successful in "domains" are utilising their other skills built up over time. Whether that be SEO, site development, knowledge about certain sectors etc etc. The way you have put your question - then 'No' I don't see it as a tap you can just switch on, just the same as any other areas of investment, It's background and interest that will improve your decisions and pay rewards.

the "I think therefore I am" method dosen't work any easier in domains as for any other field of investment. Even those of us that were fortunate to get into domains very early have made numerious bad-decisions as part of the learning process, fortunately it's a area where the rewards of a couple of good decisions can off-set quite a few bad ones, like any high-risk investment strategy ( or akin to gambling you might say).

I know a guy who makes his living just at the casinos - but even he learnt what he would call his "Craft" before deciding he could possibly turn professional.

 

[Blossom]

I think you'd be better off combining domaining with something else e.g. affiliate sites. If you've got more than one thing going on then there's less risk imo.

 

[RSK3000]

My advice would be to combine domaining with domain development. One model might be to develop a core portfolio of authority websites and use your domaining skills to track down and buy domains for you to develop and for resale.

 

[accelerator]

I think whether you can make it in domaining is more a question of whether you have the ability. I think it can be done, but having the knowledge and business acumen is essential, it's by no means an easy task. I expect the percentage success rate for people who attempt it is quite low, but for those who have the skills, the career potential is good.

I'm principally in affiliate marketing, domaining is more of a sideline. Again, if you are in the small percentage that has all the skills necessary, then I would say affiliate marketing has potential, and is low risk from a financial perspective. A website can be run very cheaply, but the income potential is pretty high if you have the talent.

Rgds

 

[accelerator]

The other thing is that both domaining and affiliate marketing rarely offer "instant" income in the way getting a new job would. I reckon that most people take a while to get going, especially in affiliate marketing. A fair bit of trial and error is involved, and I think most affiliates will put some serious hours in (far more than a normal job) before cracking it.

Rgds

 

[websaway]

Same as most other non-public sector industries, it's as good as your are.

 

[theonemanyuri]

The other thing is that both domaining and affiliate marketing rarely offer "instant" income in the way getting a new job would. I reckon that most people take a while to get going, especially in affiliate marketing. A fair bit of trial and error is involved, and I think most affiliates will put some serious hours in (far more than a normal job) before cracking it.

Amen, or atleast I hope so. Been putting in a lot of work just want to see some rewards!