What country are you based in?
Icy, frigid Canada.
Do you feel your location has an effect on your domain investing?
Aside from being numb half the year, I own a few French .com domain names. Speaking that language also allows me to spot French keywords compounded or blended with English words instead of viewing them as anomalies. For example, I acquired PontStreet.com at closeouts. I knew that “Pont” meant “Bridge” and not “Point” without the “i”. I also got Sondio.com (Son/Sound + Studio) and Tonore.com (Ton/Tone + Sonore/Acoustic). The combined value of those names on BrandBucket is $22K. Not bad for a $50 investment! I’m glad BrandBucket saw the value in them.
As far as plunging into freezing waters, I decided not to dive into the .ca market just yet!
How long have you been involved in domains?
Approximately 2 ½ years, which is about 6 months in Canadian years.
Are you a full time domainer?
No, unfortunately not. Watch out for when I thaw out, though!
How did you find out about domain investing?
I had heard of domain “flipping” and of the spectacular sale of Snoring.com a while ago. But it’s only upon trying to register “Eclipse.com” that I realized everything but a misspelled .tech was taken. LOL!
Down went the dream of owning that name for my pseudo-patent and I started getting curious about this particular sphere of assets…
How many domains do you currently hold?
330 names will remain after my final set of drops. Two-thirds of these names are either on BrandBucket or Squadhelp.
Since I started, I probably dropped 120 names, mostly hand registrations. I did not know what I was doing at first. Now I know better. I prefer to grow slowly and have a lean, clean portfolio. The renewal fees can get quite frosty!
What's your favourite non .com tld/nTLD/gTLD?
.Zesty! LOL. Close seconds are .io, .org & .xyz…
What's the best advice you've been given by another domain investor, either directly or through something they've said on twitter or in an interview?
The simple “Think-Aim-Shoot” rule Michael Cyger established in DNAcademy.
I still struggle with that one since my personality likes it backwards.
What kind of goals do you set yourself?
I want to get better at spreadsheets and management tools. I want to navigate ExpiredDomains.net in a more proactive way. I want to have a more rigorous domaining discipline and improve the quality of my names.
Who are your top 3 domain investors?
Since I mostly own brandable names, I would say Keith DeBoer is a beast and a great example to follow. His podcast was terrific!
I also really like the strategies of Mark Levine and Logan Flatt. I was fortunate enough to meet them all at NamesCon this year and they sure didn’t disappoint! I love the fact they all do so well without breaking the bank purchasing names. It’s uplifting!
What's the toughest part of domain investing?
At first, it was creating so many accounts, figuring out all the different platforms and dealing with their respective bugs & glitches. Then, trying to absorb the abundant and complex information about this industry all at once. Now, I would say the maintenance and anxiety-triggering renewal fees. Finally, not having enough time to shop properly and promptly.
How do you structure the domaining part of your day?
Structure? Me?
How do you manage your portfolio?
Let’s just say I would love to have a mini-Leanne on my desk doing all the management.
Currently, no method but blood, sweat and tears…
Do you also have any NFTs or Crypto in your portfolio?
I have a tiny bit of ETH and a few NFTs a friend gave me. I also bought 3 from the artist I’m working with on an NFT project, which will hopefully see the light of day in a year or two. By then, I believe NFTs will have become sophisticated holograms shooting straight up from one’s phone. Our project is different though, very simple and hopefully endearing. Its primary goal is to entertain and send love around the world.
What's the most you've ever spent on one domain?
$1500. A one-shot deal. Most of my domains were bought at closeouts or wholesale channels between $5 and $50. I unfortunately don’t have the budget to go after what I really want.
Have you ever done outbound? If so, were/are you successful?
I did that once. 10 minutes later, the CEO wrote me back. Then I blew it…
You're given $10k to spend on domains, how do you spend it?
Definitely on higher-end names. 5 to 10 names with that $10K!
Outside of domains, what other business/wealth/personal growth figures do you look up to?
Anyone who’s maxed out their talents while keeping a good heart and soul.
Robert Redford, Bill Maher, Jane Fonda, Michael Moore, Sadhguru, Eckhart Tolle, Jane Goodall to name a few.
As far as big business goes, success sometimes comes with certain levels of ruthlessness, so it’s hard to say…
What do you do when you're not domaining?
Fantasizing about living on a boat, exploring remote beaches…
Writing, gardening, developing projects.
Travelling. I’m an expert at hanging out!
I also like to whine about cold weather.
What advice would you give to people just starting out in domains?
Respect your pockets.
Don’t shop ‘til you have a good sense of this industry.
Research ‘til your fingers turn blue!
Go through DNAcademy. Read DNJournal, Domain Name Wire, look at Name Bio daily and most importantly: follow Crunch.id!
An important final message from The Queen...
All creatures, big or small, blossom and flourish in my Queendom.
Unfortunately, not all rulers are magnanimous…
Many little beings are suffering, so, in order to boost the morale of the brave troops that have been sent to help them, I humbly ask my loyal subjects to consider showing their support to the Soi Dog Foundation.
You can find out more at SoiDog.org.
