I came across Jamie’s work while visiting Domaining.com.  For those of you not familiar with Domaining.com it is a site that showcases the latest headlines via RSS feeds of all the major blogs.  I often go to this site to check what is going on with the industry.  While visiting the site I noticed DotWeekly.com several times a day actually.  I further looked and found a great domainer blog with tons of information and tips.  After familiarizing myself with them I also realized that Jamie was a fellow member of NamePros forum, my favorite forum I must add.  Not only was he a fellow member but come to find out he was voted member of the month (MOTM) for August 2008.  MOTM is a very nice award to get in my opinion.  What’s better than being recognized for your hard work by the peers you chat with every day.  I think with everything he has done for the community it seemed like a good fit for an interview. 

Q: How old are you Jamie?
A:  31

Q: What is your educational background?
A:  13 years in a “classroom” and 31 years total of learning. The best education one can get is in the real world.

Q: What did you do before domaining?
A:  I worked for Procter & Gamble for 5 years before while also owning and running a sign company with my wife Heather. I have always been into business and loved the fact that I could own my own. At the same time working at P&G and owning the sign company, I ran across the domain industry and noticed the potential. I took a buyout package from P&G and never looked back.

Q: Why did you get into domaining?
A:  I saw huge potential. Each and every domain name is unique in it’s own way. Everybody talks about the internet and uses it. Without domain names, there wouldn’t be an internet.

Q: How long have you been domaining?
A:  2005 but I purchased my first domain in 2003. I wish I would of discovered the value of domains then, but I also remember my days back in high school adding “.com” to everything that I said! That was in 1995!

Q: How many domains do you own?
A:  I always seem to be in the 500 range. 90% are .com’s with about 8% .org and 2% .net .

Q: What is the most you have made on a single sale and what is that domain
name?
A:  This is kind of a loaded question. Nearly all of my domain names that I have were purchased for under $100. The most I have ever paid for a domain is $2,100 with the second being $1,550. So most domain names that I sell have a high ROI. The domain that I made the most on, I cannot disclose, but it was in the $xx,xxx range. I did sell BuilderLoans.com for $8,000 which I purchased couple months earlier for $200.

Q: What are the top five domain names you have for sale right now and at
what price?
A:  Swanton.com is a domain that I really like. It is currently on auction right now at Sedo.com for $3,000. This domain has a lot going for it! It’s a double GEO domain (Ohio and Vermont) is also a pretty popular Surname. First registered in 1995. I didn’t want to send it to auction that cheap, but I wanted to see what it will sell for.

RMB.org It just a Great Domain! The oldest domain that I owned at 14 years old. I don’t really want to sell it, but it is listed at a good price at $6,850

LockedSolid.com just happens to be a domain that I think has Huge branding potential. With identity theft and so many scams going around, I really like it! That one is listed for $5,880 but it does get a lot of interest.

Irrigators.com is another little gem that I really like.

Managed.org This one speaks for itself and another domain with huge potential. $4,800 on that one, with a good deal of interest.

Q: How much money would you estimate you make annually in this business?
A:  I did low six figures last year.

Q: When did you start DotWeekly.com and why? Was it for the ad revenue,
because you enjoy writing about domaining or both?
A:  DotWeekly.com was something that I wanted to give a shot at the start of 2008. I really enjoy helping people and that was the reason behind me starting the blog. Did I ever think it would take off the way it did? No. DotWeekly.com now takes up a good part of my day, which was very unexpected but I would hate to stop offering my help for free! I will see how it goes overtime, but  right now it takes up a lot of time.

Q: What types of domains are you buying?
A:  Deals! One word .org’s. Strong two word product or service .com’s. Brandable and small business type domains in .com.

Q: What strategy(s) do you use? Parking, Flipping, Full Development or
Mini-Sites? Maybe another I am missing.
A:  I stick some domains into the bigger auctions from time to time. I do park most of my domains, but would love to get into development more, but it’s hard to find a good developer and it chews up cash pretty fast as well.

Q: If you could give just one piece of advice to the domainers out there
what would it be?
A:  Think outside the box! I preach that all the time. Don’t be a follower, set the trend.

Q: Lastly, congrats on NamePros.com MOTM, how does it make you feel and why
do you think you won?
A:  Thank you! It makes me feel great and gives me a little bragging rights I guess. I just like helping, so even without the member of the month award, I would still be happy. I am not sure if I “won” anything, but it does make me feel good that people appreciate my help.