Yesterday, I crossed the line of no return. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I could somehow undo what happened but then, with a smile on my face I really don't want to. You see, yesterday was the day when our youngest daughter turned eighteen and in Australia, became an adult.

I remember like it was only yesterday when I held her in my arms for the very first time. The wonder in her eyes as she looked around the hospital delivery room and then she finally fixed on my own.

We both soaked in each others features, I her father and she my daughter. So yesterday I looked at not a little baby but a beautiful grown women, full of life and excitement for the years ahead. An almost mystical spark of love sprang between us.

When I look at her today, she seems to continue to look innocently around at the world in wonder....and then our eyes meet. Like eighteen years earlier, the bond of love between us is as strong as ever. I'm her father and she's my daughter.

But I’ve crossed a line. I no longer have children who are children but children who are now adults. Somehow, though all of our life’s ups and downs my wife and I have watched as three babies transformed into adulthood…..and now our last is no longer a child.

I'm so proud of each of my children, for the adventures they're going on, devouring life with a ferocious appetite. If life is a theme park, each of them are definitely riding the rollercoaster rather than playing it safe on the merry-go-round. You only get one shot at life, so you may as well enjoy it.

So when I looked at Elise yesterday, I found I had conflicting emotions. Happy for her but sad that those childhood years are now behind us. So rather dwell overly long in the past I begin to think of the future and the possibilities it will bring. Grandchildren! It was then that a smile spread across my face…..the cycle of life continues…..so maybe there was no line after all.

Have a great weekend!

PS. I should mention, that my wife Roselyn and our two daughters will be at NamesCon in January…..we look forward to see you all then!

I was watching my daughter, Elise, play netball this morning. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the game, it’s like basketball but without dribbling or a backboard behind the net. As I watched the game unfold and the players run around the court it reminded me to think about who are the players in my own domain team?

If you really want to win the game and run a business that’s really profitable then there will be different people and organisations that add value to your endeavour. One of the most critical players would have to be your registrar. Having a good relationship with your registrar is vitally important when things go wrong.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a problem I was having with Enom, which I use as one of my registrars. After banging my head against the wall over a problem I had to make the difficult decision to move many of my domains away to Epik (who is now sponsoring my blog). Credit must be given to the product manager at Enom that reached out to me at the last minute to help resolve things.

So why did I choose Epik? As well as a great interface the most important factor was because the founder, Rob Monster, is proactive in dealing with things immediately and is always available on skype. So Epik is now becoming a part of my team.

Other members of my team include my traffic monetisation providers. In my case, that was an easy decision for me as I am one of the founders of ParkLogic. Let’s look a little beyond just my own domains and at ParkLogic’s many partners. We take the attitude that we do anything we can do help out our partners, streamline processes and get the “sand out of the gearbox”. We see all of our monetisation partners as members of the ParkLogic team.

Of course, I then have my accountant, lawyers and administrative support. There is one group of team members that is often forgotten…..how about your family and friends? Roselyn and the other members of my family are such an incredible support to making sure the business succeeds. It’s less about what they can do and more about being an emotional support which helps keep me going.

This brings me back to the netball game. Watching the girls play and run around reminds me that if you really want to be successful then make sure that you are nimble and able to seize opportunities at a moment’s notice. In the meantime, I’ve got some yelling and cheering to do!

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.