I’m leaving for The Domain Conference (TDC) in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow and twenty-four hours later I’ll arrive. There’s nothing like the expectations of a long-haul plane flight to force you to evaluate whether it’s a really good idea to make the journey or not. So why am I going?

One of the things I love the most about conferences is that most of the people in attendance are there because they want to improve their business. This could be to do deals, learn or mostly it's a combination of both. I must admit that I love sitting down with a group of fellow domain investors and hearing about what they are doing. It’s often refreshing and definitely invigorating!

I’m really looking forward to the privilege of sharing in one of the sessions on advanced monetisation. I plan on digging into the stats and techniques on how to get the most out of domain traffic….so watch out!

Of course I’m attending to get a chance to speak with domain investors about how ParkLogic can help them get the most from their domains. In fact, we’re previewing the new ParkLogic website now….it also has a number of videos about ParkLogic Next. We already have some clients on Next and the feedback has been outstanding.

I’m also looking for domain traffic portfolios for sale. We have a number of clients that are cashed up and wanting to buy good quality portfolios. If you have a portfolio that you are looking at parting with then don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Attending a conference like TDC is also about renewing friendships. I love catching up with friends that have flown in from all over the world. It’s great sitting in the bar late at night to hear about some of the entrepreneurial activities they’ve been doing. Domains are so incredibly flexible that I’m constantly amazed at what people do with them.

So is it worth the 24 hours of traveling from Melbourne Australia to Fort Lauderdale in the USA? Absolutely! Last year Barbara, Howard and Ray put on an incredible show and we’re still reaping the benefits of it twelve months later.

If you’re still considering whether you’ll attend, then take my advice and stop considering. If you really want to get your business moving ahead then spend a few days with other like-minded people and you’ll be surprised at what you come away with.

See you in Fort Lauderdale!

The above title is reflective of my past week and also first written by Bilbo Baggins, a character in from the “Lord of the Rings”. During this past week I’ve been away on vacation and now I’m back again.....so it seems quite appropriate.

There’s nothing quite like a vacation to get the creative juices flowing. While having a really interesting conversation with my wife, Roselyn, I suddenly had an epiphany about the domain industry. It was like a light-bulb was switched on and so I quickly wrote it down so I could dig into it when I returned.

The next day I was playing a mindless game on my Windows Surface and again a great idea sprung to mind about how to extract additional value from domains. I went away and wrote it down next to the first idea so I wouldn’t forget about it. This continued to happen while I was away.

Vacations are more than just having a great time (which we had). They are all about refreshing yourself so that your mind is able to come up with new ideas, solve intractable problems and to really think without the clutter of the day-to-day activities. Even after only one week away I’m feeling refreshed and reinvigorated about the upcoming month.

So what’s happening? First of all, I’m heading to “The Domain Conference” in Fort Lauderdale this Friday. So if anyone is going to be there on the 9^th then I’d love to catch-up with you.

Once again, I have the privilege of sharing on domain monetisation. Trust me when I say that 99% of the material I’ll be sharing will be completely new. If the conference is anything like the last one, then it’s going to be outstanding for doing a lot of business.

Thirty-six hours after returning home from Florida I’m heading to Hong Kong for DomainFest Asia. Last year was a complete eye-opener to the Chinese domain community mindset and I’m looking forward to this one more than ever.

I’ve been invited to share a number of times and I wouldn’t be surprised if the conference ends up being one of those special events that will be looked back on as a bit of a bell weather for the domain industry.

So now you can see why “There and Back Again” is relevant for me this month. I’ll be heading out and returning and doing it all again. Although I’m sure the conferences will each be amazing what I’m really wanting to do is get stuck into some of the concepts from my vacation…..

So do yourself a favour, take a break. You may be surprised how you end up transforming your business.

The overwhelming success of the recent Domain Conference is testament to the resilience and strength of the domain industry. Well over 200 domain investors and service providers gathered in Florida for an outstanding time of networking and learning about the abundant opportunities in the domain industry.

I do apologise but this article will have to be quick as I'm writing it in Sydney just before my next flight to Melbourne.....nothing like a 30 hour journey home!

So what made it such a success? The Neu family, together with their team, made all of the attendees feel welcome while at the same time ensuring that the event went off without a hitch. Congratulations should be offered to all those behind the scenes who made it such an enjoyable event.

As a conference venue, the Hyatt Regency, was exceptional. The rooms were at the right price, the conference facilities were world class and everyone just seemed to hang around. This was evident by the number of people talking and doing business in the large bar area each night.

I had an interesting conversation with Jeff Saas from .club in the hotel bar one night about how to make a conference success for your own business. To paraphrase the conversation, “The repeated attending of conferences and industry events will grow your business as people get to know you and the fact that you’ll hang around.” In other words, the more you attend the more likely you’ll be successful.

I’ve made the journey across the Pacific innumerable times now and I heartily agree with Jeff. A large reason why my own company, ParkLogic, is so successful is that I’ve put in the effort and the resources to associate with my peers. There is nothing like breaking bread with someone to really learn about their business needs and to see if you can meet them.

I should also mention that ParkLogic released a sneak preview of the dashboard for our new platform at the conference. After listening to what domainers really want from a domain management platform we spent the last year in developing everything from the ground up. I will be regularly posting videos of ParkLogic Next that will feature some new and exciting features. Check out next.parklogic.com

As many of you are aware, I have recently published my debut science fiction book Battleframe. The domain industry has given me so much and as a thank-you I gave out over 100 free signed copies to conference attendees. The level of encouragement for writing the novel from the domain community was really inspiring….thank you everyone!

For those people that didn’t receive a copy of Battleframe, I’ve decided to give out a free copy of the e-book via Amazon to 50 people. All you need to do is go to battleframe.club and register for your e-book and then send me an email with the number that you receive after filling in the brief form.

The conference sessions were also excellent with some refreshing content shared by experts in their respective fields. Despite my own hectic meeting schedule, I made sure I attended a number of the sessions.

As you may have guessed the conference was so successful that it will be held again next year. If you didn’t attend this year then whatever you do, don’t miss out next year! See you then.

---------------------------------------------------

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 can’t believe that “The Domain Conference” is kicking off this coming week! It won’t be long before; I board a plane, put my noise cancelling headphones on and assume the foetal position for the 15 hour journey to LA followed by the 5 hour flight to Fort Lauderdale. Sounds like fun....not!

Overall the trip is around 26 hours door to door. At the end the journey the flight attendant pours me out of my seat and I typically stagger into the blazing Florida sun while wondering why it isn’t night time.

A few years ago I arrived at a TRAFFIC conference and an attendee I hadn’t met before came up to me. They were complained about the length of their flight and how terrible it was. I asked them where they had travelled from and they replied, “Boston”. It was at this point that I explained that they were probably talking to the wrong person to get some sympathy. LOL!

So why am I sharing all of this? The only reason why I wave goodbye to my family and regularly travel across the Pacific to attend a conference is because it’s worth it. Sure, I hate the flights but meeting up with other domain investors, clients and partners is worth much more the than the temporary pain of the journey.

From all reports, “The Domain Conference” is going to be really well attended with people flying in from all over the world. The majority are geared up to do business and are looking to make deals….I know that I am! So if you don’t plan on attending then sadly, it’s likely you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities.

So what am I doing at the conference? I’m really looking forward to the two sessions that I’m involved in and I hope to share some of my own experiences in domaining with those that attend. My colleague from ParkLogic, Joe Politzer, is flying in from San Diego and I know that he would love to talk to you about how we may be able to help you better monetise your domains. Feel free to reach out to him or me to arrange a meeting.

What’s really exciting for me personally is that ParkLogic is providing a free copy of my debut book, “Battleframe”, for the majority of the attendees. There are a limited number of copies so make sure that if you are attending that you sign-up to secure your copy (more details to follow). For those that are interested, I’ll also be available for signing copies.....which is really humbling as I've never done anything like this before!

ParkLogic will also be providing a sneak preview at our new interface and platform. So if you would like a demo just let me know. I’ll post a link out to a video early next week that highlights some of the great new features.

The best part about a conference is that it’s a chance to catch up with a lot of friends that I’ve made over many years. Howard, Barbara and Ray Neu are hosting the event and they’ve all become great friends to both myself and my wife. Sure, there is a lot of business to be done but it’s the reaffirmation of friendship combined with business that will make “The Domain Conference” so special.

If you have been thinking about whether you should attend or not then can I encourage you that it will be worth the journey. Whether you’ve been investing in domains for a long time or are new to the industry “The Domain Conference” will be an outstanding opportunity to learn and do business. It costs me around $4,000 for my airfares and I typically make that money back plus more within a few hours of landing.

For those of you that are wondering, I’m arriving on the 24^th Sept and leaving the 30^th. If you would like to catch-up then please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Safe travels to everyone that is attending.

Michael

---------------------------------------------------

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.

In 2015 the domain industry was launched with Namescon but there's a lot more on it's way. Domaining Europe, ICANN conferences and The Domain Conference being run by Howard, Barbara and Ray Neu are just a few of the topics discussed on this video.