Filling Niches: The Alternate Road to Riches - New Cover Story at DNJournal.com

[Duke]

This weekend marks the 2-year anniversary of my entry into the domain business (with the purchase of a handful of .US domains). I marked the occasion with a new Cover Story at DNJournal.com that is a sequel to the piece I did last May about my rookie year in the business.

Year 2 has been quite a ride. I have sold 970 domains in the past 12 months and watched my domain portfolio expand from 475 to over 3,400 domains - all paid for with profits from sales. This story is about the strategy I used to get that done and for the first time I also write about my own background, taking you along the path I followed (all the way from high school through three seperate careers) that wound up bringing me here. I hope you find it an interesting weekend read!

[David G]

Extremely interesting article Ron, much appreciated. You have experienced a very interesting life and career(s) and I am sure things will only get even more interesting and profitable for you in the future! Thanks again for sharing your story, and keep up the great work with DNJ.

[mole]

Dotcommers : Location! Location! Location!
Duke : Niche! Niche! Niche!

[izopod]

First let me say "thank you" for your service to our country Duke, I had no idea you were a Vietnam veteran. I'm honored to call you a friend.

I read your article with great interest and came away from it thinking... "Does this guy realize how good of a writer he is?" I mean this with all sincerity. You have a "story telling" ability that is very rare in today's print media. It's a lost art. I read quite a few "industry" books and magazines every month, however each month that goes by I find myself reading less and less do to the quality of the material.

I guess what I am saying is that I think you could easily write a best selling book. It would take a little elbow grease in convincing a publisher to take you on, but once they realize the quality of your work, I'm sure they'd give you a chance. From there it would be up to you. I'm not sure you need to write about the domain business persay, but definitely something along the lines of being a small business owner in a "new market". What are the tell-tale signs of a prosperous new market? The future of small business is about "new markets" opening up all the time. Small business owners do not have the luxury of a "team" of consultants to tell them what to look for. Unfortunately for so many SBO's it's like shooting craps in Las Vegas. It's no wonder why so many small businesses fail. I think your experiences, coupled with some good story telling AND HUMOUR would be the recipe for a good book.

Here is something to think about. IF you did do a book, I myself would spend probably anywhere from $15 to $35 just to get it. I'd probably buy it off of Amazon, as this is becoming a norm for me. If you were able to convince say another 150,000 people to buy your book (conservative estimate), that would make for a nice profit. What if then you became an "expert" at "new markets" opportunities for SBO's? Your stock has just risen. Something you have "total" control over. Anytime you speak, write, or create, you produce something of value. (see any new markets open up that wasn't there before??---This IS the future of small business :-D )

The thing to take note of here is that "you" and your skills become the commodity. This is so much different then the "point of sale" business model most small business owners are used to today. Of course not every SBO should become an expert and write books. No most should just stick with the POS model (God willing they time the market right, and have some business skills). However if you posses personal skills that are above average, logic demands that this is where your greatest wealth will come from, not from the POS model which you have limited control over.

izopodian quote: We come in this world with nothing, and we will leave it with nothing. Don't waste your life trying to **collect things. Instead you should give back to this life by helping others realize this.

** Don't assume I mean things... think deeper!

[NameTower]

Great Article Duke.

Glad to see you've done wonderful things throughout your life!

Hope you have continued sucess in this and any other industry you pursue.

- Jordan

[SirSpider]

Nicely done, Duke. A good read.

[bidawinner]

Great Article Duke..!

see, I told alternative extenensions where the way to go

[skylight]

Every time i read DNJournal articles, i feel it is professionally written. Now then i realise you are a professional journalist. Keep it up !!

[actnow]

Great article.

I learn something about this business everytime I read one of Duke's
article.

No wonder I can't get any decent names. Duke stays up all night
securing all of the best domains. :-D

Thanks Duke for another outstanding article.

[Duke]

Sincere thanks to all of you for your kind comments - they mean a lot to me. I have been (and will be) tied up most of the weekend but will visit this thread tomorrow afternoon to add a few comments when I have more time to think of something useful to say!

[stevo]

I always read your article Duke. The information is useful and encouraging. Keep it up!

[Ed30]

I think Duke missed his natural calling as a doctor - he's performed open wallet surgery on me a few times this year :-D

[StockDoctor]

I want to be like Duke! Oh wait a minute -- I am like Duke!

I don't know Ron. I think investing in these new extensions is a lost cause, and I'm certainly NOT willing to invest ANY money in them at all. By the way, what's on tap for today? See ya at the races. ;-)

Great article.

Question, was the mud as deep in basic as it was for me at Fort Campbell Kentucky (with the 101st) in 1970? They sent me to sign in for OCS as well, so I got the day off from details. So I went to get a pizza instead. Was a medic. Wondered why it was important to train us in jump school and special weaponry. Oh yeah, cause they only gave us a 45 (and bandages) and we were suppose to be able to pick up and use whatever the wounded man had dropped. Like Cosby said. "Scratch that cross off your helmet asap."
Doc

[Anthony Ng]

Year 2 has been quite a ride. I have sold 970 domains in the past 12 months and watched my domain portfolio expand from 475 to over 3,400 domains - all paid for with profits from sales. This story is about the strategy I used to get that done ...

To be frank, I have not read many of your articles (nor am I interested in your life story even though I'm a Vietnam movie addict LOL!), but from your sales threads in the past 6 months of so (which I very often go through in details and looking to buy some good domains), I agree that you have struck the right chord; and I must admit that your strategy (which I deduced from your dozens of sales threads here) HAS INSPIRED me to a considerable extent (don't worry, I will not be investing too much on .info, not to say .biz or .us) that I owe you a "thank you". Thank you.

[Duke]

I think Duke missed his natural calling as a doctor - he's performed open wallet surgery on me a few times this year :-D

What makes you think I'm going to stop at three careers?! :-D

[mole]

Dr Livingston, I presume?

[URLCollection]

Super Job Ron!!!! DNJOURNAL.COM is a wonderful asset to our industry - After many years in publishing also, I know how much work the site is and a big THANKS for the time you devote to keeping us informed of the domains industry - Steve

[actnow]

For all of the west coast members who have visited to the Hearst Mansion.

I suggest you plan on visiting next year the Duke Mansion in Tampa overlooking
the Gulf.

For the history buffs, Duke plans to start a war between BD (Washington, DC) and the
Cayman Islands over the sinking of "The Name". :-D

[Duke]

For all of the west coast members who have visited to the Hearst Mansion.

I suggest you plan on visiting next year the Duke Mansion in Tampa overlooking the Gulf.

I wouldn't look for anything quite that grand. You are more likely to see what you see now, the Duke Tract House overlooking the Cul de Sac.

Question, was the mud as deep in basic as it was for me at Fort Campbell Kentucky (with the 101st) in 1970?

The time of year I was in basic training in Georgia was dry, so I didn't have to deal with mud, only ill-tempered drill sergeants (I would have preferred the mud)! Though I am far removed from the service now, I will always feel compelled to salute Stocdoctor because he was the very first person to buy a domain from me (ending the 5-month drought I went through at the beginning of my journey in this business). Actually he bought about 20 domains all at once! I might have given up if it hadn't been for that sale, so it's probably fair to blame him for my still being around to irritate people.

I guess what I am saying is that I think you could easily write a best selling book.

I appreciate the very nice compliment Izopod. If I stumbled on to a really compelling subject I might give it a try, but writing that much really good material is far more difficult that most people realize. I remember reading a quote from a famous author who said people were always coming up to him at parties saying "I've thought about writing a book". He said his reply was, "Interesting, personally I've been thinking about doing brain surgery!" It is arduous work (would probably require at least a year) that very few people have the skills necessary to pull off (not sure I do either - maybe the skills but not the stamina needed for the endless rewriting required to produce something crafted well enough to attract a publisher's interest).

I like the magazine length pieces I deal in now. Most of my past professional writing was for TV - a much shorter form that requires you to leave out a lot of intersting material for brevity's sake. The newspaper writing I did fell in between TV and magazine length and was more fulfilling. The magazine length is even better (from a writer's standpoint) as it allows you to stretch out and include everything you think is of interest ( while still keeping the story moving along).

[unclewilco]

your domain sales pieces are always my first stop every week.

and now its great to hear what drives the guy behind the "hat and cloak".