When I first started investing in domain names, I had very modest goals. I was in graduate school, and I primarily used the money I earned to buy dinners and drinks. I didn’t really set many financial goals, because there wasn’t any point to it. I registered new domain names for around $8/each and I quickly sold them for anywhere from $15 – $100/each.
On occasion, I found buyers who wanted to buy a large number of domain names, so instead of selling each name for $35, I would sell 10 at a time for $25/each. The profit on that type of deal would be somewhere in the ballpark of $170. I started doing those bulk deals more frequently, and I figured if I could do one of those deals a week, I could make $10,000.
For many people, I would imagine making $10,000 a year with domain investments is a lofty goal – it was for me when I started, and I am sure it’s the same these days. However, if you break it down into smaller, more surmountable chunks – say $200/week, it makes achieving your goals more realistic.
As I started to get more serious about domain investing, I set goals for myself and tried to figure out the best ways to achieve those goals. As the goals become more lofty, I began to buy higher value domain names, which I could sell for lower profit margins, but much more money. Instead of selling an $8 new registration at a 300% mark-up, I could sell a $1,000 domain name for $1,500. The profit margin shrunk from 300% to 50%, but the profit grew pretty rapidly.
Set goals for yourself and try to beat them. Continue to raise the bar and look at new ways to generate revenue. Don’t cut corners and do shady things. You might make some more money in the short run, but it could be very damaging to your reputation and business in the long run.
If you look at the big year-end number, you could become overwhelmed. As they say in baseball, you don’t need to hit a home run to make big things happen. Do what you can to slowly chip away at that big goal, and eventually you will hit your number.