So many people let life live them rather than living life. What do I mean by this? The vast majority of people go through the motions each day in order to put food on the table, pay the bills etc. Domain owners are very different individuals as they’ve decided to take a risk and invest in what many see as a highly risky asset.

The problem is that so many domain investors stop there. They buy the domains and then wait for the magic to happen and believe they'll rake in huge amounts of cash. When this doesn’t happen they crawl back to the nay-sayers and say they should never have invested in a crazy asset like domains.

Before you humble yourself to people who invariably don’t have the gumption to take any risks consider this, buying an asset isn’t the same as working on your business. Buying the asset is the first stage in a journey and that journey will always starts with you. How much you develop yourself will have a direct impact on the success of your business venture.

I'm not trying to brag but I’m constantly attending conferences and speaking with other domainers so that I can learn from their successes and mistakes. It's a real cost to do these things but the payoffs can be astronmical. Reading blogs (thank you for reading this one) and participating in forums is another way you can hone your skills which is less costly.

For example, one of the reasons why I attended the first Domainfest.asia conference in Macau last year was that I wanted to learn more about the Chinese market. Likewise, I attended Domainers Meeting in Dubai. Yes, they were both small conferences but both of them sit at the cross-roads of enormous future markets. I know that learning about these markets now is going to help me in my domaining business in the future. Sure enough, I'm now doing a growing amount of business with the people I've met at these events.

On my recent trip around the world I had the opportunity to speak with a prominent domain investor who told me that domain parking was completely dead and that he was hardly making any revenue from it. I was really surprised by this comment and asked what he’d been doing these last 5 years with his domains.

He told me he’d left them all at one parking company. At which point I said, “How can you expect a different outcome by doing the same thing?” He’s now about to work with ParkLogic. Just for the record, we had a best month ever last month in monetising domain traffic…..so traffic monetisation is far from dead.

Here’s what we can learn from these incidents. Whatever you do, invest in yourself and then make a decision to act. Investing in yourself and then doing nothing is insanity while not investing in yourself and randomly acting is sheer lunacy. You need to do both if you want your business to move forward.

The next thing you should do is develop a plan. If you are buying and selling domains then have a plan on how you’re going to do this. Don’t just buy domains and believe you’ll get a heap of enquiries. That’s a hobby. A business has a plan that you then execute for a defined outcome. Along the journey you need to remain flexible enough to adapt the plan as more information comes in.

In future articles I’m going to unpack how I sell domains and some of the innovations that we are developing at my company, ParkLogic. In the meantime, register for a domain conference and then grab a pen and paper so that you can write down what you believe are your next steps to grow your business.

Have a great weekend!

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.

Last night I had a great time going to see the Dodgers play the Padres in baseball. I must admit that I don't really know much about the game but it was a heck of a lot of fun. What really struck me about the game was just how similar it was to domaining.

The bases are like the four primary domain business models; traffic domains, stock item domains, high value domains and domains for development.

Just like domains everything was about the stats. In fact, I found the stats being posted about each player somewhat bewildering for someone that really knows nothing about the game.

The helpful people sitting behind me explained a whole lot about why the Dodgers really should win.....sadly they didn't. For me, their help was like attending a domain conference. You won't believe the number of people that will help out "newbies" in their exploration of the domain world.

The similarities between domaining and baseball don't stop there. The batter seemed to be all by themselves as they faced the onslaught of the next pitch. Most domainers are loners and work from home and each one of us is trying to knock the "domaining ball" out of the park.

I could go on and on why domaining and baseball are similar to each other but many of you that know the game maybe able to provide much greater insight. In the meantime, I'm almost late for my next meeting....cheers!

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.

There’s nothing quite like your eldest daughter turning 21 to really focus your attention on the years that seem to have sped by. I’m so proud of the young lady that she’s become.

It seems like only yesterday that I held her in my arms for the very first time. Her wide open eyes soaking in the world around her…..and then she pooped in my lap. I really didn’t mind as the loving bound between us that was forged in those moments would stand the test of time.

In the early years, like every Dad, I was my daughter’s hero. I was like superman, able to lift large toy boxes down off shelves, build complex train tracks and give copious amounts of tickles. Holidays were times of laughter and playing games together.

In the teenage years Dad became a bit of a “he’s the old man”. The bound between us was tested but it was built of stronger stuff than steel. The transition from telling Sarah what she should do to advisor was a little traumatic at times as I watched her make mistakes, learn from them and then sometimes make them again. I wanted to reach out to catch her so many times but knew she needed to learn from her own experiences. It was tough being a Dad.

But now she’s 21 and I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter. Sure, she’s done some pretty amazing things such as getting qualified and working in her industry but it’s more than that. A lot more than that.

When I look at Sarah I see a young lady of character and as her father this is so much more important than her achievements. She’s patient, loving and kind. She loves telling me about her friend’s successes, while downplaying her own. She easily forgets the wrongs done to her by others in her desire to care for them.

She’s a lady that does her best to be truthful and protect those around her from harm. I’ve never seen anyone that perseveres like her and she always hopes for the best in every situation. More certain than all of these things I know that our love for each other will never fail.

So as we celebrate Sarah turning 21 today I have the privilege of looking at her through a father’s eyes, with all of our memories and knowing that we will make many more together in the years to come.

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.

I don’t know about you but I feel we live in an age where everyone seems to be shouting and very few people are listening. Companies are screaming out their marketing messages and now even some friends have fallen into the trap of effectively yelling via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. What’s happen to the lost art of someone listening and giving you their undivided attention?

Mobile phones are incredibly useful devices but one of the most under-rated features would have to be the off switch. I get so frustrated when I’ve travelled to the other side of the world to meet with someone and they’re constantly glancing at their phone. I may be smiling but inside I’m resisting the temptation to grab their phone and stomp on it.

A few years ago I was having a lunch meeting where it became clear that anyone that called/texted/facebooked the person I was meeting with had priority over me. While they were on their fifth phone call I texted them and it effectively said, “Let me know when you’re available for our lunch meeting.”

If you’re waiting on an important call or message, then just apologise by letting the person in front of you know. Doing this is respectful and plain just good manners.

Sitting above our dinner table at home is a sign which says, “This is a phone free zone”. Both my wife Roselyn and I believe that having dinner without phones isn’t a big ask of our children. When the sign first went up there was some scepticism until one of the kids quickly checked their phone at dinner and just as fast mum whisked their dinner towards the trash can. Luckily for them it didn’t get dumped but they got the message.

In a world where we are constantly being bombarded with messages, listening to the person in front of you has almost become a lost art. To have someone give you their complete and undivided attention is sadly, almost archaic. There’s a very good reason why we have two ears and one mouth….we should all be listening twice as much as we speak.

Giving someone your undivided attention is not only respectful but amazing things seem to happen. Business can get done, you often learn something new and problems can suddenly easily be solved.

I recently went to the local optometrist, had my eyes checked and not surprisingly need to up my prescription. After wearing my new glasses for a couple of weeks I really wasn’t happy as their seemed to be a problem with them. I went back to the optometrist met with a staff member who said I needed to make an appointment with the manager.

I returned a few days later and the manager said that I needed to meet with the resident optometrist. I again returned a few days later and the optometrist didn’t bother to ask me any questions but wanted to test my eyes again. I stopped her and in some frustration said, “Can someone please just listen to me rather than jump to conclusions!”

There was a bit of stunned silence at my outburst so I took advantage of this and explained the problem I was having with the glasses and within a few minutes a solution was worked out. They just needed to learn to listen to the customer before the customer goes somewhere else.

I’m just as guilty as many of the people in my above examples…..but probably like them, I’m working on the problem. I lead an exceedingly busy life but that is no excuse for being rude and not giving someone my undivided attention. Please accept my apology if I have been rude to you in this manner. Likewise, let’s all learn to listen attentively before we speak.....in the meantime I just need to go and tweet, facebook and Google+ this post. ;-)

Have a great weekend!

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.

As fun as they are, Easter is a lot more than a time for egg hunts, chocolate and various other indulgences. Whether you are a Christian or not, we should all respect that at its heart, Easter is all about love. Jesus, God incarnate, sacrificing himself for us.

Like you, I was horrified by the senseless carnage portrayed across our television this past week as suicide bombers blew themselves up in Belgium. Terrorist actions like this aren't born out of a heart of love and care but from a desire to kill and destroy. How is it that killing a mother of twin young girls queued up at the counter in the airport is justifiable? It’s not.

At the very most the terrorists could possibly argue, “They did it to us so we can do it to them”.....but when does this line reasoning become fascicle in light of the blood being spilled? Surely the sanctity of life must prevail or in the grip of hate has life become completely disposable? To justify such senseless slaughter in the name of any religion is a prevision of that religion.

At some stage the terror must stop and forgiveness asked for and given on all sides. Without forgiveness and love the world will collapse into anarchy as one offense is rewarded with another down through the generations.

There are many people in society that we should emulate as they have a loving view of life for their fell man and woman. These people serve in the armed services, police, fire departments and emergency services all around the world. They place their own lives in jeopardy because of their love and care for those in quite often desperate needs.

So at Easter this year I would encourage you to pray for those that place themselves in harm’s way. Like the heart of the true Easter story, many of them willing give their lives for others.

God bless you and your families at this time.

Michael

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.