If you buy a domain for x and can't resell it for some approximation of x, then you paid too much.
How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
21–30 of 38 posts
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#22403 I Didn't Buy a Domain
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
The best way to overcome this is to keep a running list of any business or project you think of that's even remotely worthwhile. Continually groom and sort this list. It's like how comedians and writers come up with material, a lot of them carry around a notebook. Your brain gets used to having this background thread that is coming up with ideas and seeing all your ideas laid out in writing spurs new ones.
I think the main problem (for me) is that I live in a vacuum. I work in a tech company that engineers products for engineers. I've surrounded myself with so much tech savvy people, and places that I don't have inspiration for problems I am capable of solving. My desire is to create a product for "normal people"... but i don't know what "normal people" have issues with.
Figuring out which problems should be solved is a pretty hard problem in itself. Maybe you could ease that pain point somehow?
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
It warms my heart that Boeing has pricing information available, even if it's just average prices. I hate that "Call Us" where the price should be and needing to go through excruciating pitching by sales droid to get further, I'll ask them how their product is more special than a 747 next time....
Without providing an easy way to pay they are losing lots of potential customers. If they just added a simple Stripe form, their conversions would double overnight.
Fee = $360,000,000 x 0.029 + $.30 = $10,440,000.30
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
The best way to overcome this is to keep a running list of any business or project you think of that's even remotely worthwhile. Continually groom and sort this list. It's like how comedians and writers come up with material, a lot of them carry around a notebook. Your brain gets used to having this background thread that is coming up with ideas and seeing all your ideas laid out in writing spurs new ones.
I think the main problem (for me) is that I live in a vacuum. I work in a tech company that engineers products for engineers. I've surrounded myself with so much tech savvy people, and places that I don't have inspiration for problems I am capable of solving. My desire is to create a product for "normal people"... but i don't know what "normal people" have issues with.
Are you not a normal person yourself? Do you not have problems? Go scratch your own itch!
Just yesterday I chewed through a (pretty good) idea for a modern review-oriented site for gear-centric hobbies. As a guitarist and photographer, I read a lot of gear reviews, and the sites that provide them are often horrible to use - 2002-vintage antiques, or ugly and unnavigable, or both. But the hobbyists have well-used forums (awful ones), enough to make a living for some small time businesses.
So the other night, I was researching Japanese kitchen knives, as I'm planning to get my daughter some for Christmas, and butted into the same problem. And I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if someone built a really modern review app and built hobby gear review sites with it?"
I spent a couple of hours poring over the financial model for such a business, and decided it was a bad idea. Running on ad support and waiting for the content to build would be a slow, painful time with a fairly low income ceiling.
But hey, want an idea? There's one. Run with it!
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
The best way to overcome this is to keep a running list of any business or project you think of that's even remotely worthwhile. Continually groom and sort this list. It's like how comedians and writers come up with material, a lot of them carry around a notebook. Your brain gets used to having this background thread that is coming up with ideas and seeing all your ideas laid out in writing spurs new ones.
I think the main problem (for me) is that I live in a vacuum. I work in a tech company that engineers products for engineers. I've surrounded myself with so much tech savvy people, and places that I don't have inspiration for problems I am capable of solving. My desire is to create a product for "normal people"... but i don't know what "normal people" have issues with.
Maybe take some time to live a little. Move cities and try working remotely from a small town. Or work abroad. Work with a consulting company servicing a variety of industries. Get a job teaching at a community college. Or vary your reading and start focusing on news from an industry outside of the Internet-centric world. And if you're in SF even moving to LA might give you a very fresh perspective. Also, I do think it's important to unplug and do absolutely nothing on a screen sometimes to give your brain a chance to come up with totally new ideas--try daydreaming.
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#27His numbers seem a bit off & inflated to make the point. For example - why does he have to buy 3 domains per idea he thinks up? Getting the .com alone would be sufficient until he actually does have a prototype. Similarly, why is he bound to hold on to them for 3 years a piece? A good alternative would be the "1 year rule" or buy a domain & commit to not renewing if you don't have a prototype finished by the first ye…
Yeah, my numbers were inflated, but even with your numbers the point is the same: work on your idea first and only buy its home when you're ready to launch. Thanks for reading.
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#28Site is down. Mirror here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...
Thanks. I didn't expect you guys to find me. :)
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#29Overall point is good, but while I could believe someone could come up with a reasonable idea every day of the year, coming up with a good enough name for each one that's worth registering seems unrealistic. If you can do that, you could have a mind blowing career in branding ;-)
Re: How I saved $39,420 by not buying a domain without a prototype
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without providing an easy way to pay they are losing lots of potential customers. If they just added a simple Stripe form, their conversions would double overnight.
Fee = $360,000,000 x 0.029 + $.30 = $10,440,000.30
How much does a phone line, a bank account, and a sales-person costs on average?