Jobs Make You Scared

It was July 2002 when I made the break from my "safe" world of employment to go full time on-line.

I'd secured a nice little contract to look after a members area of a popular web site. I had no idea as to what my income might be, but I was certain that my future lay online, rather than in the business I had run with my brother for the previous 10 years.

My brother is better at business than me. He has more focus, more maturty - maybe he's cleverer too. I admire him greatly and I am grateful that he chose me as a business partner all those years ago.

But, sometimes, circumstances conspire that mean that you have to take a leap pf faith.

I'd become interetsed in the online world and the opportunities it offered and so, when, in 2002, I was offered the chance to go full time into something that interested me greatly, I jumped in with both feet.

There was no safety net in case things went wrong.

A year or so later, things did go wrong.

Changes in the way the online credit card processing rules meant that I all but lost the income I was earning in running someone else's web site.

It took 10 weeks to find an alternative payment processor.

In that time, I was worried, as I had a fairly large mortgage, three young kids and a wife to support.

That was when I was introduced to the world of building surveying by a friend of my son's father, at football training one Saturday afternoon.

We spent a few weeks brainstorming some ideas and we now run a successful asbestos surveying company - a perfect combination of training and experience, plus a thorough understanding of Internet Marketing and purchaser behaviour.

The payment processing came back and the original members only website worked very well, providing me with a handsome income for the past 5 years.

Recently, I realised that the original thing I left the corporate world for had become a "job".

I was spending more and more time on it, handling customer service and technical issues often working until well past midnight.

I'd wale a 4and 5 am only to sit at my PC answering queries and looking for solutions to the issues that inevitably plague an online business.

The problem was, that it wasn't my business. I was just a sub-contractor. There was no ownership for me.

A few weeks back, I made a conscious decision to change things around.

I am part way through a very expensive house renovation that has literally eaten all of my spare cash and more!

That doesn't worry me.

What worries me is that I am suddenly vulnerable because I have come to rely on some steady money that comes from running someone else's online business. It's very good money.

So what do I do?

I don't know if this is brave or stupid, but I have significantly reduced the third party work and the income that comes from it.

I have put into place, three brand new development projects that will hopefully exceed the earnings of my previously "safe" income.

It's a risk I am taking when I am at the most financially vulnerable I have been in 15 years.

It could cost me every material possession I have, quite literally.

The fact is though, that I have total belief in what I am doing online. I'll be showing my plans and the new sites to readers of this blog very soon.

Why post this on my blog? Because I know that many of my visitors are in a similar position - maybe they want a 100% online and passive income, or they want to go it alone, but they are stuck in the rut called employment.

They are chained to the coat tails of someone else and their future is not 100% in their control.

For me, this is a new beginning. There is no safety net for me or my family this time.

All I have is belief.

If you're teetering on the edge of jumping from the relative safety of employment or a secure contract, watch this space - it will be an interesting ride and no doubt, there will be lots of hurdles to overcome

It's not as scary as you might think, as long as you have faith.

Drop by again, I hope to prove it to you very soon.

How To Make More Sales Without Sweating

It's easy for me to assume that everyone who visits this blog is a domainer, as these are usually the people I speak to most, both online and off.

But of course, many people from different walks of life come along either randomly or because they've been sent here by someone else.

So today, I am addressing this blog to those business owners and managers who want to increase their online sales but haven't got a clue about where to start.

Step 1. Decide that you will gladly share a proportion of the profit from each sale that is generated with ANY person who can generate it.

Step 2. Decide how much that commission payment can be.

Step 3. Resolve to be 100% honest in all of your dealings.

Step 4. Help your chosen sales partner(s) to develop content for their web site with the help of sales materials, some induction training to what your company does, product or service guides - in fact, anything that somebody else can use in order to sell your product or service effectively.

Step 5. Remember at all times that an online freelance sales agent will not be stepping on the toes of your own sales people because the leads they generate are passive - in 100% of cases, the customer is making the first approach.

Step 6. Allow the agent to do whatever they wish in order to generate enquiries to their own web site. This can include pay per click search engine placement, giving away information, generic search engine placement, type-in domain name, whatever.

Step 7. Don't be offended when your agent won't have your name or contact information on their web site. As long as you are honest and fair with the commission, you'll always get the deals that result from the enquiry.

Step 8. Always pay your commissions promptly and witrhout complaint. Whereever possible, pay commissions on a residual basis to provide a real incentive for the agent to stick with you.

If you do all of this, here is what a good agent will do for you:

Reward 1. Be enthusiastic about your business and learn as much about it as you!

Reward 2. You'll get free promotion via a highly optimised and sales oriented web site.

Reward 3. You'll get extra business that you would not ordinarily have got.

Reward 4. You'll have an extra sales resource that if treated correctly, can grow your business beyond your wildest dreams - and if you don't, so what? It didn't cost you anything to find out!

Now, what happens when you find this miraculous person who can turn in extra sales and profits for you? How much should you pay them?

There is a simple answer to this. If it's a professional service you're selling, the costs of providing that service might be very low. The profit on the sale of the service will be very high. I recommend 50% of the profit in cases like this.

On the other hand, you might be selling a product that doesn't carry much margin. 15-20% of margin might be more acceptable.

What about high value consumer items like home improvements? For this, the commission would have to be a minimum what you would pay a direct sales person on a commission-only basis plus some more.

Why pay extra? Simply because you have no cost of sale, so the profit is greater. The agent in this case is taking the risk on your behalf.

So, these are my thoughts on how you should consider working with an online partner who can bring in new business online.

But, one question remains....

How do you find somebody who:

• Understands & Is Fully Expeirenced In Professional Selling
• Can Learn Your Business Inside Out
• Can Develop A Site That Captures Visitors
• Is Able To Promote The Site Effectively
• Has The Communication Skills To Write Copy That Sells
• Can Convert Visitors Into Clients
• Is Trustworthy and Able To Deliver.

Difficult isn't it?

Do such people exist? I know of only one in the whole world so far. You're reading his blog.

For this reason, I can be extremely selective about the companies and people I work with (not for, you'll note).

DJC for sale

I am taking the rare step of selling a selected few of my domain names at the moment, as interest in UK domains in particular seems to be increasing.

Three letter names have always been popular and carry a natural premium.

I only own one of these prime names and it happens to be my initials, DJC - so if you're interested in acquiring it, please see djc.co.uk for information.

Be warned though, I'll probably change my mind soon, so act quickly if you want a rare 3 letter domain name from my collection.

A Message For Teacher

From left to right: Michael-Carter.com, Ben-Carter.net (he's young and the .com had gone), Jon-Carter.com, David-Carter.com in Mexico 2007.

My 15 year old son Jon came home from school today and said that that his class had had a technology lesson where they discussed domain names!

Have domain names made it on the the UK national curriculum at last? I was impressed. For a moment.

Proudly (I think), Jon explained that his dad has hundreds of domain names and then proceeded to show the teacher and some of his class mates this site, along with some of my others.

Ironically, his enthusasm was met with a "No, it's not your dad, it's just someone with the same name" comment from his teacher.

If this individual ever pops back and has a look at my site and stays long enough to read this blog, I hope that she reads this following comment.

Look away of you're not Jon's teacher, as this is a personal note:

"Jon Carter, my son has had the domain name, jon-carter.com since he was 3 hours old. That is 15 years.

He knows a bit about domains, the Internet and most of all, who his dad is - because his dad
works from home on the Internet and is there every day to play a big role in his life.

Yes, it is the SAME Jon Carter. My son. Your pupil".