I quit my day job years ago to go full time into domaining. I could do so because I have a support structure. I cracked the $100,000 mark in sales for the past 2 years and in my own demented mind, I am still struggling. In my mind, I want to be better and bigger and very soon, I will be.
I like saying that to inspire others. I was able to do that because I shut off all the din and noise that goes on in the domaining world. If you simply blindly follow what others are following, it may not be the best way to start out. Too many people doing the same ol' thing. Following the chatter and giving value to what the crowd values.
I branched away from this PPC and traffic based valuation model and totally focused on names which could be modeled for a REAL online business and corporations would be willing to pay high $$ in exchange for it.
Another major reason I could quit my day job was because I carefully analyzed my portfolio. I knew 110%, I had a winner there and I took a leap. Look at your portfolio sans emotions and give it a good breakdown of its potential. Unless you are 110% certain that your names will realize value, do not quit your job. You owe it to your child.
Your success can only be determined based on the quality of the names you own. You got to have no choice but KNOW that a buyer will come along in the next 12-18 months for a good number of your names, if not all. And let no one else determine their quality for you. Either you know they are good, great or crappy or you don't. After all, YOU are the one who invested in them in the first place. Why ask someone else to discover its value? That would be foolish indeed.
There will always be people who will come out as industry leaders, experts and what have you. Don't fall for it. Some people achieve success for many reasons including luck, and being at the right place at the right time and also having some foresight. But, eventually, it is you and you alone who can determine how far you will go in this business and it all begins with a sound knowledge in the quality of your portfolio and how valuable they will be in the months and years to come.
Also, your portfolio sales must be consistent. You cannot have fluke, unpredictable and chance sales. If you sales are consistent on a monthly basis, it is a sure indication of the value of your assets.
Determine how much money you will need to make to offset your expenses. If you come to a value of $5k a month, then scan your portfolio and seek solutions on how you can realize that much of income, sales on a monthly basis. It won't be EASY.
If your domain acquisition strategy is like mine, new registrations and selling for profit, then it may take a while unless you hit the jackpot. There are many other ways you can acquire existing high value domains and resell for profit of which I am not too knowledgeable about.
Hitting the nail again - Take a good look at your portfolio. How many solicitations have you recieved for names in them in the last few weeks and months? How many have you sold thus far? At what prices? Why would anyone pay you the big bucks for your specific names, whether the economy is good or bad?
Unless you have a years worth of expense money stashed away, keep your day job. I risked quitting my job because I have no kids. The challenges and fears were not that high. I risked quitting my job because I knew, coming home after a 9-5 and sitting in front of you pc for 2 hours was not the way to build a portfolio.
Write down all the worst case scenario if you quit your job and your domaining strategy does not work out. Answer them with all sincerity. And if you can still find courage to make a decision in favor of full time domaining, then by all means go for it.
If you don't take a chance, things may never happen. No matter what you decide, do it in the best interests of your child. I would not be half as successful as I am today if I had kids. I know, I would be happier (if I had kids) and I am sure you are too.
NOTE : Keep networking and find time to build the right relationship with good folks in the industry.
