What Makes Domain Investors Successful?: Outliers
Hard work — and good fortune — propelled successful domain investors.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s fresh book Outliers, he argues that successful people got to where they are through hard work and good fortune. Whether it’s their cultural background or just plain being in the right place at the right time, successful people don’t do it on their own.
Consider Bill Gates. Yes, he was smart and worked hard to create Microsoft. But he was also born at just the right time to be in the position to start a software firm. He also went to perhaps the only school in the country with a computer terminal. Without that, it’s unlikely he would have created Microsoft. (One of the more interesting trivia in the book: in what months of the year are the most successful Canadian hockey players born?)
The same can be applied to some of the more successful domainers. The back stories on successful people in the domain industry is well chronicled in David Kesmodel’s The Domain Game. Consider Frank Schilling. He was at the exact moment in his life when he was looking for a way to feed his family. His hopes of starting an online casino had been shattered. Pay-per-click on domains was just taking off. He then worked tirelessly to build his domain empire Name Administration. There was a lot of hard work and foresight, but also a lot of luck. The same can be stated for most other people chronicled in The Domain Game. For some it was as simple as being in the right place at the right time. Or being located near other big domainers who got them interested in the business.
Why is it that so many successful domainers live in Western Canada? Was it the time zone, making it easier to catch expiring domains? Perhaps the network of other domainers to learn from?
The thesis of Outliers can be applied to just regarding everyone. You ought to pick up this book and consider what has helped you get to where you are today. Perhaps it’s your ancestors from 1,000 years ago. Or the year you were born. Or what middle school you went to. And, of course, lots of hard work.
