I’ve worked on lots and lots of different projects over the years: development services, hosting businesses, a small escrow service, a 457-page book, a YouTube channel and so on. I’m also a domainer and from time to time, can’t help but make comparisons.
Specifically comparisons about how much work is involved to make a buck in our industry compared to others.
Am I saying domaining is easy?
Of course not.
On the contrary, I’ve written quite a bit about how it’s a lot harder than most people think.
But is it easier to make a buck in the domaining biz than the hosting industry? Yes.
Is it easier to make a buck as a domainer than a writer? Yes.
Is it easier to make a buck as a domainer than a YouTuber? Yes.
Is it easier to make a buck as a domainer than a developer? Yes.
… the list could go on and on.
At the end of the day, if I were to analyze domaining from a “time invested vs. money made” perspective, it would look great compared to the other industries I’ve been involved in.
Granted, this is just my personal experience but in my opinion, domainers are fortunate. As hard as it is to make money in this business, it’s a lot easier than in others. But again, do keep in mind that this is coming from an experience domainer. Due to all the noise surrounding domaining nowadays, it might be harder for someone to start out now than it has been for me but that is a topic for another post 🙂
March 10th, 2017 at 9:51 am
I would add domain investing is easier than stock investing also. You have a greater chance of buying a $50,000 name for $1,000 vs buying a stock that will go up 50x.
March 10th, 2017 at 10:44 am
Don’t really agree with this conclusion or advice Andrei.
For the 5% of investors, yes it’s probably a good use of time. For the other 95% they could have better spend the resources and money on many things. A vacation, books, school, stocks, mutual funds, etc.
I know if I added up all the time I spent domain investing, it wouldn’t have been worth it even with the domains I’ve sold for a hefty profit. I think many that many that read your blog would agree.
What if you acquired an extra 3,000 customers for your hosting business with the time you spent hunting for good domains? Is that extra revenue worth more to you than investing in domains?
Granted learning the domain process has been incredibly helpful for me acquiring domains I’ve used for businesses over the years. So that’s been a huge plus.
March 10th, 2017 at 1:47 pm
The domain industry has it’s ups and downs like riding any other industries roller coaster and one size does not fit all. I think it’s important to keep an open mind and look at both sides of that coin. Like with any entry level position, one starts at the bottom and gradually works their way up. The harder work will be at the beginning of the journey and slowly get easier with time, experience, and creative financing. Eventually, all that hard work pays off in the end and you can relax more headed towards retirement.
However, I would imagine that retired and now hobbyist domain investors have the most fun. 🙂
March 11th, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Domaining is not for everyone. It is really going to depend on what your skill set is. I know writers that can create a thousand word essay easier than it would be for them to try to figure out which domains to buy and resell for profit. it’s similar for many programmers and web developers who know what they’re doing.
Also, another thing about domaining is that it takes money to make money. It will be a lot harder for a small time domainer that needs to sell domains to make rent payment, than it is for the wealthy hobbyist domain investors that Eric mentions.