Work Smarter Not Harder

I read a book before starting college with the title, "Work Smarter Not Harder." I thought it made a great point – sometimes if you take a step back, the solution to your problem is easier than you might think. With the Domaining world officially in what I like to call "Freak-Out Mode" I think it’s time we all take a step back.

So what does this mean? It means it might be time to find a solution that does not involve your own blood, sweat and tears. It might be time to think of Domaining more like investing. This means that maybe you don’t develop all of your domains yourself. Instead, putting on your investor hat, try to find a company that can develop your domains for you at a price that you feel will not eat too far into your profit-margin when you decide to sell the domain.

This may sound counterintuitive to my previous posts but it’s important to understand what I am saying. As a domain flipper I still find that my domains can achieve the greatest value when they are developed into full-fledged websites. At the same time we all know that there are only so many hours in the day. That’s why this is a great time to break your domains into different investment timelines. Maybe you have a few names that are already making money with parked pages and could sell for a pretty-penny as-is. Now imagine if you paid someone $100 or $200 to put a simple website on your domain. This website could offer actual product for sale on top of Google Adsense giving more ways to monetize this traffic.

This could turn a domain that currently makes $10-$20 into a website that makes $100-$200/month and offers visitors content they are looking for. The important thing to think about is how much money your time is worth. As a domainer do you see yourself as a developer or investor? While I still do certainly spend time developing sites I’ve found that as my portfolio grows as does the work that I send to outside companies and individuals. This way my business scales as one cohesive unit.

While I wouldn’t suggest spending tens of thousands of dollars paying someone to develop your whole portfolio, I do suggest using a bit of strategy and picking the right domains to develop. There are tons of people all over the Domaining forums (and the Internet as a whole for that matter) that are eager for web design, logo design, and content-writing work.

I like to think of this as with traditional investments. If you have $10,000 sitting in a money-market account making 5%, how much money are you willing to risk in order to double your investment? Some people don’t want to risk anything and keep their money safe in a money-market or mutual fund. Others take a little risk and might be okay with losing $500 or $1000 if it means they have the potential to make a whole lot more.

The same is true with domaining. While you might have to take an initial hit in revenue to have your domain developed, the asset that emerges afterwards could be a potential goldmine. In this brave new Domaining 2.0 world it’s always important to take a step back, put on your investing hat, and pick a solid growth strategy. In the end, you’ll thank yourself.