Before I confuse the hell out of all of you, keep in mind I have designated about 20 people "the smartest domainer" alive at various times on this blog. The only thing that could make them "stupidest domainer alive" is not to accept my invitation to speak at Gratitude (hint to dynamic duo with the two 8-figure deals this year).
The SMARTEST domainers alive in my view include Steve Jobs, Frank Schilling, Kevin Ham, Scott Day, Kevin Leto, Rick Schwartz, TJ Demas, Michael Mann, Elliot Silver, David Carter, Jeffery Reynolds, David Sams, Ira Zoot, Joel Stealth Man, Mark Ostrofsky, Colin Pape, Dan Cera, Monty Cahn, Nat Cohen, John Berryhill (aka "a certain consultant who..."), Aaron Mathews, IBYS, Roy Messer, Dan Warner, the ghost behind DotzUP, Leland Hardy, Costello Brothers, Mike Berkens, Page Howe, Matias de Tezanos, Gary Kremen, Ron Jackson, etc. etc. etc. Perhaps one day I'll even put myself on the list. A day that gets closer by the Dr. Scholls moment.
I mean from properties to watermelons to chairs to GOD to men to vodka to palm springs to new york... these guys have it all.
But today we will address the smartest of all smartest domainers, the one I write about most often even though he steers so clear of me it's as if he was afraid of catching some disease: Kevin Leto. Kevin spent over 10 years in the pay-per-call industry. And that industry was all about unique content and powerful marketing. All that wealth of knowledge he used in building his sites now as he has become a full-fledged developer doing GREAT work, not the kind of work Julia and I have been critical of.
As in telecom when Kevin had to create new programs ideas much like creating TV shows, that people would call, so now Kevin creates innovative content ideas for sites. No surprise, like Kevin.. many of the smartest domainers alive (Nat, Rick and more) had roots in and played a key hands -on role in the 1-800 success story. That was the original interactive direct response medium. Where unlike a SuperBowl ad, it's not creative if it doesn't sell.
Kevin's blog is a gem; one of the best-kept secrets on the web. You can read it here. In the latest post "ma and pops, going, going.. gone... " Kevin argued....
The newsstand I went to just closed up.
The sandwich shop across the street just closed up.
The smoothie store I bought my refreshing smoothies at closed up.
The travel agency next to my mail center store just closed up.
The shoe repair shop just closed up.
Damn, pretty soon all we're gonna have left is Wal-Mart & McDonalds.
Retail is taking the worst downturn I've ever seen locally.
But Kevin consider this:
ProstateCancerSurgeon.com led by a single Miami surgeon just opened up and has 500 members on a NING forum exchanging life-saving ideas, tools, resources and information exchange. 230,000 other such groups have been started on NING with 1000 more a day being added.
A Realtor just acquired PenthouseProperties.com from us and can sell penthouses for other Realtors anywhere in the world using sub-domains.
And how about Lowell.com, TropicalBirds.com or Burbank.com? Gotta hand it to whoever developed and continuously improves those.
Or what Jose has done with Healthcare.com.
The ma and pa spirit of passion and entrepreneurship is very much alive and simply manifesting itself in different ways online.
Ma and Pa are alive and well and they are the Chief Home Officers and subjects of My Daddy Works in His Underwear.
If the current economy has taught you anything, it's that you can't count on anyone to provide for your future well-being but yourself.
Since I started Grand Names I have never made more friends, learned new technologies or of opportunities or have had more satisfaction solving real problems with smart business solutions. More then just a domain brokerage site run by robots and scripts, we are a community; a family of friends where together we can achieve what no single entity could do on its own.
I call it the power of many working as one.
The time to take control of your future is now. And the place to do it is here - on the Web. There has never been a better time for the little guy with big dreams.
And it all begins with the right name.
But it continues only when you invest in names as a potential business, which as my friend and another member of the smartest domainers alive fraternity, David Carter points out, is exactly what they are.
Whether traditional ma and pa or online, there is one comment thread in every success story- PASSION. The success of these businesses are driven by passionate people and the value they create. Passion and enthusiasm in an organization are the fuel that runs the engine. When people are excited about what they are doing, when they are passionate about their purpose, they become committed to your organization's success. That type of passion and enthusiasm in an organization is contagious. When the boss has it, the employees have it. When the employees have it, the clients have it.
The ma and pas as well as the emerging new online businesses built their brands on these core values of passion which allowed their companies to grow through personal relationships, word of mouth and delivery of excellent service.
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