28 Symptoms of a Serious Crisis in Domaining	5.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
Joe Davison October 13, 2008

We all know things are different now in this industry than they were a year ago.

I'd like to present to you 28 symptoms of what I believe is a very serious crisis facing us all. Almost everyone I speak to is feeling these things. And if you're feeling them yourself, the likely culprit is that you’re still hanging on to a lot of ways that might have worked in the past, but don’t any longer.

And think about it:

We can’t. The fact is, breakthroughs in technology and drastic changes to the advertising landscape have resulted in what’s most definitely a new era in domaining and in online business in general.

That’s why I sat down last week, nearly shut myself off from the rest of the world, and became determined not to come out until I had my head around it all. I sought to understand the problem completely — what got us here and what’s going to get us out.

Finally, after many days and a few sleepless nights of thinking, reading, writing, and re-writing, I have finally identified what I believe to be the core issues facing us all. I’d like to invite you to share in what I’ve found here, so you can first understand where I’m coming from, but then, more importantly, I’ll let you know what I think is the clearest and most straightforward path to get us all where we need to go.

First, for those of you who don’t already know, let me tell you a little bit about who I am, how I got to this point, and why some might believe I’m qualified to lead us out of here.

For starters, I’ve been doing this “Internet gig” for my entire life. Not too many people can say that.

I honestly feel a bit awkward when I have to bring this up (I tell you only because it’s important to help you understand the real-world experience that informs what I’m going to share with you)… but among those who know me well, my accomplishments are considered somewhat legendary:

• Age 15, launched my first Internet business (1996)
  
• Age 16, sold my first Internet business (1997)
  
• Age 18, had multiple passive streams of income from the Internet (1999)
  
• Age 21, skipped ahead a year in college, earning a Bachelors in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University in only 3 years (2002)
  
• Age 23, moved to China, living entirely from Internet income streams, became semi-fluent in spoken and written Chinese (2004)
  
• Age 25, moved back to the US, got married, had a son (2006)
  
• Age 26, discovered domain investing, quickly rose to the top as an industry speaker and thought leader, moved to Silicon Valley (2007)
  
• Age 27, participated in one of the largest domain deals in history, as my company acquired and subsequently developed Storage.com (2008)
  
• Now, turning my attention entirely to teaching, writing, and speaking on Internet business.
  

In short, I’ve been in the thick of the online business world for my entire adult life —

Go ahead and read through the list of symptoms I’ve outlined on this page. While you’re going through each of them, think about how or where you might find them in your business. Then think about what you could do to change them, overcome them, and start making your business work for you instead of against you.

If even one of these symptoms is plaguing you (and I find that’s true for most entrepreneurs who are being honest with themselves), then it’s time to start down the path of fixing it. That’s why, at the end of this, I’ll share with you a way to do just that by inviting you to learn along with me in a free online event I’m putting together in early October.

More on that later.

And finally, before we start, I want to make one thing very clear.

I’ve interchanged the words “we” and “you” in this report. Other than the fact that I’m a somewhat sloppy grammarian, this is done because I do not consider myself above any of these issues — they have been the biggest issues facing me personally, and that’s precisely why I believe that others must be feeling the same things.

In other words, although my style might seem dogmatic, my intent is not to lecture you. We’re all adults.

So without further ado, here we go:

Often times when we’re confused or unsure of something, we look to others for guidance. We look to industry experts, friends, and business associates for advice.

And while that can help to a degree, it’s very easy to get caught in the trap of waiting vainly for someone else to tell you what to do. Look, it’s your business. While people can give you their opinion on how you should start, it’s just that – an opinion.

And usually an uninformed one. You see, you’re the only one who truly knows what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, and where your competitive advantage would be. And if you’re not sure of those things, I hope by reading this report you will gain some insight into the matter.

Why is this stuff so crucial to get your head around?

It’s as simple as this: nobody wants to work with you when you’ve got nothing. And we can wallow in this chicken and egg syndrome for as long as we’d like.

But don’t worry, nobody is really going to blame you, or call you out… they are probably doing the same thing. However, if you really want to move forward – you need to stop listening to others, and just dive in without a care.

It will be a bit of a shock at first, but the water’s not too cold once you do!

Look, if you work all day like a dog, yet still somehow you never feel like you’re doing what you should be doing, that’s a big warning sign that you don’t know why you are in business in the first place.

It may seem like an obvious question, but the truth is, most entrepreneurs have never answered it, and don’t truly know why they are doing what they do. The inevitable result is that there’s no purpose to anything you do, and you have a hard time figuring out what it all means.

Most people run around on this hamster wheel for their entire life. We may not even know where to start answering this question.

My hope is that, as you continue to read this report, you will begin to realize how important your mindset and purpose is. In doing so, you’ll begin to gain clarity and insight into the fundamental forces that drive your success (or lack thereof).

In times like these, it’s difficult not to be worried about the future. Unfortunately, this sort of worry itself can be a huge hindrance to your ability to take effective action.

This symptom manifests in strange ways. For example, you might find yourself worrying about all the details of a project before you’ve even gotten it off the ground – and because of that, you never do.

Since you’re not sure about your plans, you have a strange feeling of being lost and it’s hard to know who or what to trust.

If you get caught up in this, you’ll find yourself going nowhere, fast.

We all need to pay the bills. But when your sole focus is “get money now”, you are not planning for a lifetime. You’re not building the long-term relationships required for success.

You’ll also find that this strategy gives you no long-term competitive advantage, so even if you do find success, it will be temporary.

If your situation is so dire that your lights (or worse, your Internet connection!) are about to be turned off, then stop being an idiot and go get a job.

But if you can handle paying your bills just fine, and you have been able to for a while, you might find that stepping back and taking a look at the bigger picture will open your eyes to what you’ve been doing wrong.

Symptom #5: We Are Fixated On Looking For “The Next Big Thing”

Ah, the next big thing. It’s always around the corner, isn’t it? You see, if you’re telling yourself that opportunity is always tomorrow, never right now, then you’ll find yourself never really “getting there.”

“The Next Big Thing” has a kid sister too. It’s called “If only…” syndrome. If only I had this or that, or if only such and such would happen, then I would really be ready, right?

Wrong. We’re ready now. Everything else is bullshit and excuses.

If you’ve ever felt that you couldn’t seem to get where you wanted to go, it might have been because you’re not in the driver’s seat. What’s worse, you might have started to question your own good judgment. This is a big trap!

You see, the reason why people don’t get where they want to go is usually that they haven’t been really listening to themselves and what they truly want. We all have what I call an “inner voice of reason”, that guides the decision making process for our business.

But often times, with all the noise around us, it’s hard to hear! It tends to talk pretty quietly. All this can result in you not trusting your own direction, and ultimately, not being in the driver’s seat.

How can you build the business you want if you’re not driving? You can’t.

Money wasted, money lost. It’s painful.

But even more painful is the fact that our dreams are dead in the water before they start. And the desire to appear congruent to others and ourselves means we hold onto losers for way too long.

Hanging onto a self delusion like this gives us nothing but ongoing frustration that our business is just not working… and now we’ve got a new problem to boot: how to get rid of those things we don’t want.

If you’re not sure what to do next, then there’s a good reason for it: you’ve got too many ideas on your plate. Feeling overwhelmed, you’ll never get “it” done, as new ideas continually flow in, pushing old ones out of the way.

The solution to this can be summed up in one word: focus. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that’s easier said than done.

On the other hand, when you know what you are doing, it’s easy to prioritize and ignore the things that don’t matter.

Look, most successful online businesses have one core model for monetization. Not three. Not five. Not ten.

Unfortunately, 95% of the websites out there have no cohesive offer or business model at all. Instead, they are slapped together on a whim, leaking massive amounts of traffic and profit.

Put a lot of thought into your business model. It’s not an afterthought. It will be responsible for whether or not your business “works”. And instead of wasting your time on the wrong ones, understand this:

You can never get the experience you need of every single model out there. And what’s worse, new ones are coming out before you even understand the old ones.

So stick with what’s simple and do what you can see really working for others.

Symptom #10: We Find There’s Not Enough Time To Get It All Done

If you’ve ever found yourself delaying what you really want to do for what you think you “have” to, then you know this feeling well.

What’s most painful is that you know you are not spending enough quality time with family, friends, and yourself. We all need hobbies and distractions — down time to let our mind relax and recuperate.

But when you’re working on overtime, or even sitting around being “busy procrastinating”, this insidious feeling can eat away at our confidence and sense of what’s really important.

Symptom #11: Most Projects Fail or Fall Off Before They’re Done

Other than the wasted time and money, there are much less obvious but even more serious ramifications to this sort of occurrence.

First of all, when you constantly have projects that are failing before they even get to the starting gate, it hurts your confidence and makes you start to question your plans.

But what’s worse, you will probably find that you’ve broken promises to others and to yourself — and this can take a long time to fix. That’s why it is crucial that you know a project is the right one before you start it.

Once you have identified what you really want, it’s impossible not to see it through.

Symptom #12: We Don’t Know How To Spend Our Money Cost Effectively

In business, we all know the intent is to get the best return on investment possible. So when you don’t know how to spend your money cost effectively, you are not running your business at peak efficiency – something you know you need to be doing.

And like many of the other symptoms, this one too will result in wasted time, wasted money, and a feeling of helplessness.

On the other hand, even if you do find cost effective ways to achieve some of your ends, you might discover that it was only accidental success and it’s not repeatable in a systemized fashion.

Finally mastering this one is crucial in order to maintain the ability to cost effectively re-invest your capital as time goes on.

If you’re always focused on short-term gains, then you’re not building a lasting business.

Every wave that comes your way will throw you off course, and you’ll not be able to adapt without completely changing direction. You also won’t be building off of any of your previous successes, throwing them away with each new change of the wind.

And what’s worse, you’ll almost always fear you’re not doing the right thing, since you don’t have an overarching plan and vision that you can fall back on whenever you need.

Symptom #14: We Are Unable to Project Revenue Before Committing to A Project

When you’ve got uncertainty about what to do – what I sometimes call “deer in headlights” syndrome – it’s impossible to know how much to invest, and where.

And listen, if you’ve got no roadmap, no goals, and no clear vision of your desired outcome, is it any wonder you can’t predict revenue accurately, if at all?

It’s like throwing darts in a dark alley. In other words, you might hit a bulls-eye by accident. At best.

Symptom #15: We Are Looking To The Wrong People For Advice

This is a hard fact to face, but it’s true: almost everything you’ve been told about being successful in this industry is dead wrong.

Listen, if you’re ever going to get anywhere in business, you need to learn how to distinguish “well intentioned” from “well experienced.” Some people, share “advice” about things in which they have no experience, or that they’re doing for the first time!

I don’t know about you, but if I was having heart surgery, I’d prefer to get it from the guy who did it 1,000 times (and can’t even remember a time when he wasn’t doing it)… not the guy “trying it out” and “hoping it works”…

Right?

The fact is, there are at least ten know nothings and “Johnny-come-lately’s” dispensing worthless (and often dangerous) advice for every one person saying something worth listening to.

A part of you knows it’s bad advice, because you’ve found that heeding it doesn’t change anything, or even makes your situation worse. This leads to massive frustration and a loss of trust in the market.

So be very selective in who you listen to.

Nobody likes being out of their element. It makes you feel uncomfortable and out of place. If you find that you’re always trying to “force yourself” to learn things you’re not interested in, it is often a symptom of a larger problem.

The lack of follow through that often results is also a major blow to your self esteem. All the while, believing you’ll eventually “do it” can delay your real progress for years.

And by burdening yourself with work that’s not at all related to your strengths, you’re giving yourself a job that I’m sure you won’t like.

Symptom #17: We Have Conflicting Ideas About Developing a “Real” Online Business

If you’ve been trying everything, trying nothing, or you find you’re just generally not sure what to do, it may be an indication of your conflicting ideas about developing a “real” online business.

You’ll find yourself falling into “Should I?” syndrome – asking everyone but yourself “Should I do this? Should I do that?” This in itself isn’t so bad, but it fosters the habit of not taking action, and not finding out for yourself what is effective.

Bottom line here: If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll always be unable to succeed.

Symptom #18: We Don’t Have An Unbiased, Reliable Source for Guidance

Find yourself questioning everything? Think everyone’s got some sort of “motive” or hidden agenda?

These are indications that you do not have a reliable source for guidance, and you trust nobody. Do you think you know it all?

Look, you can’t get along in business in this way. With no vision or clear picture of what you want to achieve, it’s very hard for honest guides to move you in the right direction – you haven’t defined where you want to go!

Symptom #19: We Don’t Know How to Automate Everything

We’ve talked about giving yourself a job by burdening yourself with work not related to your strengths.

If you still haven’t figured out how to automate every aspect of your business, so that it can operate on its own in a truly hands-off fashion, then you’re going to feel like you are always running in circles. And most likely, you are.

What’s worse, you’ll spend all of your time playing catch up and never actually get to the work that matters, which is the work you’re good at doing.

Symptom #20: We Can’t Always Effectively Manage a Virtual Team

Do you spend all your time “looking” for people and none of your time keeping them? Do you find yourself doing the same things over and over?

If you have to look for people every single time you need to get something done, then you’ve just given yourself a job that’s almost as bad as doing it yourself.

But the most frustrating part is that you’ll always have no ability to realize your vision. Your “oven” simply isn’t big enough to cook everything that needs cooking!

We discussed earlier how nobody wants to work with you until you’re already successful. But to a large degree, this is a function of not knowing how to ask for what you want.

If you’re not even sure who to ask, or what to offer, then you’ve got a problem on your hands. Serious partners don’t work with people who are wishy-washy or not absolutely sure of what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and what they intend to achieve.

In short, if even you don’t know what your message is – how can others possibly help you get it out?

Symptom #22: We Don’t Always Know Enough About Available Technology

Confusion about the myriad choices when it comes to technology is commonplace. Even among experts. Heck, I’ve got a degree in computer science from one of the nation’s top universities, and I’ve gotta tell you: even I don’t have a clue about most of the stuff out there.

But if you find that you don’t even know what’s possible and what’s not, nor the costs associated with the different paths, then you can’t possibly make the decisions you need to make.

Often, we’ll just fall into thinking that the “latest, greatest” thing must be what we need. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. And if you’re asking all the wrong questions, you’ll never find out what you really need.

Symptom #23: You May Have No Sales Funnel

(Or Don’t Know You Need One)

Sales. The heart of every business on earth. It’s very important to clearly define your sales funnel — the different stages that a visitor or prospect must go through in order to become a paying customer.

If you don’t do this, you’re working without a map, and although you might make some sales, it will mostly be “by accident.”

A healthy sales funnel that’s been defined into a clear process is the lubricant that your business needs in order to keep the cash flowing, and growing. And once you’ve got it in place, you’ve got a baseline that can only improve.

Symptom #24: We Don’t Always Know What Our Traffic Wants and Needs

Do you know what your traffic really wants? If you don’t, you risk giving them the wrong things, and focusing all of your attention on these wrong things.

Some people have a “me too” business, and then wonder why their results are just like everyone else who’s failing. If you’re unremarkable, your traffic will simply forget you, click away, and never come back.

Be unique yet pertinent if you want to get anywhere and build a business that’s sustainable over time.

If you’re not converting your traffic like you should be, then you’re not getting everything you can out of what you’ve already got. Knowing that you are losing sales and making less than you should is disturbing and unpleasant.

You probably know you can do it better, but feel frustrated that you don’t know how.

Fortunately, you’ll find that once you have all of the necessary pieces in place, converting traffic becomes second nature. In fact, it becomes the primary focus of your business, and something you’re truly good at.

Symptom #26: We’re Worried About Tactics Instead of Mindset

If you ever find yourself worrying about SEO, PPC, or any other “marketing trick of the day”, then you’re guilty of focusing on tactics when what’s really important is mindset.

Sure, tactics are nice. They are things that are working today to pull in money and boost profits. But they come and go. And focusing on them engenders an attitude of believing that business success comes from “tricks” or “pulling a fast one”.

Mindset, on the other hand, never changes. The mindset of a successful business owner is unique. By focusing on how you should think, and not getting lost in the details, you give your attention to what really matters.

This one speaks for itself. Other than the fact that you’ll never get where you want to go without taking action, you’ll perpetually feel depressed and disappointed that you are not achieving your real vision for the future.

Lacking clarity and insight into how things really work, we’re left feeling overwhelmed, depressed and disappointed.

With over 10% of the adult population in America now on some sort of anti-depressant medication, we see this unfortunate tragedy everywhere around us.

Symptom #28: We’re Realizing The Old Ways of Doing Business Aren’t Working

You might be coming to the realization at this point that you need to make a major change – and fast.

You’re right.

The problem is, because the “tried and true” ways of years past are no longer working, you’re probably having difficulty in figuring out what is working, here and now.

And to that, I will say this. You’ll get nowhere by desperately holding onto the past. It’s not coming back. So if your solution to slumping revenue and a hurting economy is to do more of the same, you’re doomed.

A lot of people are right now waking up to the fact that they’ve been duped by the dream that’s been sold to them. And it’s not pretty.

I’d like to invite you to discover, along with me, as we map out a plan for the future of this industry, and reveal some of the “new ways” of doing business that are working NOW. Things you can implement in your business right away to start getting new results.

Here’s how it’s going to work:

On October 10, 2008, I’ll be holding a live Webinar. For those of you who have never attended a webinar before — you’ll be able to see and interact with me live on video. At the same time as you see my face and I’m talking directly to you, answering your exact questions in real time, you’ll also be able to see my computer screen, so I can demonstrate and show you anything that’s needed.

I’m also planning to invite other top industry experts to speak and share their insights.

In short, it’s like a live conference, only online! It will be like being there in the room with everyone, and it will be an experience not to miss! Surely a first in this industry.

However, there’s a definite limit to what the webinar software can handle — only up to 1,000 simultaneous attendees. And since it’s evident to me by now that there are going to be tons of people interested in being there, please make sure you register now before it fills up!

So go ahead and enter your name and email to get on the list. Priority will be given to whoever joins first. After you submit this form, you’ll also be able to submit your specific question(s) that you’d like me to answer live on the webinar.

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