Welcome to the tale of DanceCrazy.com, and how it got started, 2 years ago, on the internet. This is but one interesting internet ecommerce story, but I thought it was worth telling, for the lessons to be learned, and mistakes to be avoided.
First, realize, the site that you see there now, at DanceCrazy, is the site in it’s rebirth, and not the way it once looked, nor with the functionality it once had. This is being written as we start to rebuild from the mistakes we’ve made.
And no, we’re not slouches. We’ve bene making insane money on the net for years and years. I would say I’m a guru in hiding (or perhaps simply too busy pursuing other things), to come out. I’ve done just about every type of thing to make money on the net. I continue to buy course after course, even though they’ve long lost any fleeting usefulness they might have had. I still … believed, for whatever reason, that there was something I was missing.
Ya’ see, I was following the internet marketing courses. Going to the seminars. Buying the big ticket items. Trying to uncover the "secrets", and like everyone else whom eventually succeeds, finally coming to the realization that it is fast movement, trial and error, and a constant attitude of immediate action (along with tons of hard work), that eventually makes the difference. Anyway, we’ll get back to that… let’s continue with the story.
At the time I purchased DanceCrazy.com, it was the most expensive domain name I had ever purchased. I purchased it in the waiting room of a local hospital, as my girlfiend underwent throat cancer surgery. As the bidding got higher and higher, the entire waiting room gathered around me, as I bid the domain higher and higher to try and get it. Up until this point, a business of ours had been salsacrazy.com, and I had a dream of expanding this to all dance (as I still do). So…higher and higher the bidding went.
200? 300? Nah, that was peanuts. At $1000, was when people started gathering around. Wondering what I was doing, as I called people whom I thought might be bidding against me, in hopes of reaching a settlement. Nope, never did find out whom was bidding against me. It would be nice to know in hindsight. With all the people around me, pushing me to bid higher, and the stress of my girlfriend undergoing surgery, I just went higher and higher…
Now, before you yell at me, "what were you doing bidding on a domain name when your girlfriend is undergoing throat surgery"? Let me tell ya’, what else should ya’ do?! I was sitting in a waiting room going crazy. Absolutely crazy. So, this was passing the time. And..y’know…etrenepeneurs right?
Anyway, 2k, 3k…higher we went. Snapnames bidding going crazy. It ended at…8k. Jeez. I was rolling in cash at that time, but I still thought, 8k was crazy. Dance-Crazy to be exact. It had been in use since 2001, dependably aged, and with good incoming links (which I squandered wastefully). So, I got it. Yay. Now what?
Well, here’s the crazy thing. Even with all my success, I decided that I was "missing" something. I thought, well, now that I’m rich, I’ll go play with the "big boys". I’ll spend some serious cash. Go to bigger companies. See how it would be to have a real "professional" do my web design. A super "pro" do my marketing (argh it hurts to say this out loud). A pro to create my backend. Argh. I still didn’t realize the single greatest secret…
I was the pro! Whoops…Didn’t stop me from losing my shirt. For well over a year!
What did I do? You’ll have to wait for the next chapter…
Lessons Learned:
1) Don’t over pay for domains
a) Don’t get caught in a bidding war!
b) Set limits so you know how far you’ll go!
2) Know WHY you need a domain.
a) For me it was vanity. What’s your reason?
3) Mistake that I averted since then?
a) for vanity purposes, I wanted "salsaking.com". So lame. I didn’t pay the 20k he was asking. Vanity has it’s limits. The domain, at it’s absolute limit, is worth $250-$500. Don’t get taken advantage of. Learn how to value domains!
b) Yes, if you are interested in going into domaining, or learning more about domain purcashing and valuation, there are many FREE resources available for you. Coming soon..
OH, and of course, what everyone wants to know! The throat surgery went well. All cancer was removed. And while she is no longer my girlfriend, she remains one of my closest friends in the world. She’s fine, and living a happy life.
