Allen’s E-Commerce Blog

How trying to find a job on a sidewalk can relate to domain names!

Posted by Kevin under Branding, Domain Name News, Domain Names, Entrepreneur, Humor, Marketing Resources & Tools, Money & Finance, My Thoughts On The Internet, News Stories That Interest Me, Online Marketing

An out-of-work banker who became a symbol of the looming financial crisis by trudging Manhattan streets wearing a sign advertising “MIT grad for hire” has landed on his feet - scoring a well-paying job at an accounting firm.

In a more hopeful sign of the times, Joshua Persky got rid of his sandwich board and demonstrated that creative people can bail themselves out without any help from the government.

I came across this news story You can read the full article here

But after reading it a couple things really hit me and how it his basic story applies to the internet, domain names, marketing and so much more. I think the first thing that hit me was having the courage or “balls” as I would say it since I tend to say it how it is rather some “PC” bullshit but anyways this guy had the courage to set aside his pride and take measures into his own hands and do what he needed to do to take care of his needs and his family!

I think a lot of domainers and for the most part entrepreneurs in general sometimes need to check pride and ego at the door and just do what they need to do. Whether that’s taking on a partner because your skill set alone isn’t able develop a web property, running and growing a business properly, marketing efficiently, web programming, cash flow/finances, or whatever it might be that your skill set or situation is missing for your venture to shine. Sometimes making some concessions here and there are needed to get a desired outcome and other times patience is needed for that. This guy did just that… Set up shop on the curb and pimped himself to bankers, accountants, stock traders and anyone in the financial district in downtown new york and had the patience to do it for a couple months.

The second thing that hit me was the simple notion that he “Got it”, You might be asking what it is he got, but us domainers, or real estate investors know this all too well… location location location. This guy parked his unemployed ass on a street exactly where his audience / customers would most likely come through the city streets in the financial district. Now that last sentence said a lot, but I will break it down a little… Location is one piece of the puzzle for businesses, the second thing was traffic which in my eyes was most important. You can have a great location with traffic or without depending on your particular situation/plan and what the location does for you, increases sales? brand awareness, raw materials, talent, etc….

He figured out that in the end it more effective to play the numbers game more effectively than sitting at home pressing the submit button to hundreds of online job applications, mailing and calling with no luck for hours on end. The best analogy would be going duck hunting with a sniper rifle from a long distance or sitting behind some brush by a pond that ducks ALWAYS come to with a automatic shot gun with a 30 round clip, then again shotguns don’t have clips last I checked but you get the point.

Choosing to setup shop in prime location, targeted audience of thousands of bankers, accountants, lawyers, stock traders, investors all walking the streets in the financial district every day who probably know someone who could use a banking / finance guy… How many streets in America or job sites could one find a comparable location and marketing opportunity to expose your talents, products, and or services?

You can’t!

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“In his weeks as a walking classified ad, he got several job interviews.”

“Obviously, I had vigorous interviews, but I think it was [the blog] which sealed the deal,” Persky said.”

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This is the same thing any Web developer, business owner, or domainer faces. For the developer its finding the right thing to develop at a given location in a specific time period of time. The business owner is very much in the same boat as the developer but he also faces picking the right location, having the right product or bait, and having traffic to feed his business… The domainer or e-real estate investor has to pre emptively forecast where people will want to be in the future for development whether for himself, other real estate investors, or someone else. The other argument a real estate investor can ask himself is can I broker or rent this space / traffic to someone else for a profit.

“The publicity I got from the sandwich board encouraged me to set up a blog to document my experience,” said Persky, 49.

A headhunter spotted the blog and brought it to Weiser’s attention.

“Obviously, I had vigorous interviews, but I think it was [the blog] which sealed the deal,” Persky said.

“It feels so great to be back at work. I went through some frustrating times, but every day I tried to be optimistic.”

He posted the happy news on his blog and got cheers from around the world.

Now the father of five - who declined to discuss his new salary - is looking forward to being reunited with his family.

His wife and youngest kids, 4 and 5, had moved to her parents’ home in Nebraska to save cash. But they’ll be returning to New York after the end of the school year.

“We’re looking forward to being back together,” he said. “It’s hard being a telephone dad.

“There is all this holiday spirit around me, all these holiday parties, and I’ve got such a lot to be grateful for myself. It’s like I’m celebrating twice this year.”

Online entrepreneurs should take note it can be done, you just have to position yourself to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

8 really, really scary predictions

Posted by Kevin under Entrepreneur, Money & Finance, News Stories That Interest Me

8 really, really scary predictions
Dow 4,000. Food shortages. A bubble in Treasury notes. Fortune spoke to eight of the market’s sharpest thinkers and what they had to say about the future is frightening.
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Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini
Known as Dr. Doom, the NYU economics professor saw the mortgage-related meltdown coming.

We are in the middle of a very severe recession that’s going to continue through all of 2009 - the worst U.S. recession in the past 50 years. It’s the bursting of a huge leveraged-up credit bubble. There’s no going back, and there is no bottom to it. It was excessive in everything from subprime to prime, from credit cards to student loans, from corporate bonds to muni bonds. You name it. And it’s all reversing right now in a very, very massive way. At this point it’s not just a U.S. recession. All of the advanced economies are at the beginning of a hard landing. And emerging markets, beginning with China, are in a severe slowdown. So we’re having a global recession and it’s becoming worse.

Things are going to be awful for everyday people. U.S. GDP growth is going to be negative through the end of 2009. And the recovery in 2010 and 2011, if there is one, is going to be so weak - with a growth rate of 1% to 1.5% - that it’s going to feel like a recession. I see the unemployment rate peaking at around 9% by 2010. The value of homes has already fallen 25%. In my view, home prices are going to fall by another 15% before bottoming out in 2010.

For the next 12 months I would stay away from risky assets. I would stay away from the stock market. I would stay away from commodities. I would stay away from credit, both high-yield and high-grade. I would stay in cash or cashlike instruments such as short-term or longer-term government bonds. It’s better to stay in things with low returns rather than to lose 50% of your wealth. You should preserve capital. It’ll be hard and challenging enough. I wish I could be more cheerful, but I was right a year ago, and I think I’ll be right this year too.

Click here to read 7 more of the predictions by CNN!

By Beth Kowitt, Jon Birger and Brian O’Keefe

Venture capitalists see opportunity…

Posted by Kevin under Domain Names, Entrepreneur, Money & Finance

Venture capitalists see opportunity… In A Recession!

By Edward Iwata, USA TODAY

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Ever the glowing optimists, venture capitalists here vowed this week that a backlog of healthy young companies — with $100 million-plus in annual revenue and growing — are poised to lift the economy and stock market next year when they get acquired or go public.

Ignore the gloomy forecasts, says Tim Draper, founder of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture firm in Silicon Valley. Many successful start-ups were born or grew quickly during downturns. That includes Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Google, eBay and Fairchild Semiconductor, which launched the technology revolution in the 1950s.

“Each recession provides opportunities for renewal and growth,” Draper said. “The short-term view may be down, but the long-term view is fantastic.”

Draper and others even predict that new products and companies in clean technology, medical devices, wireless technology and other sectors will usher in a new economic era.

Some economists forecast that the U.S. economy won’t bounce back for several quarters. But that didn’t deter several hundred leading venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from spreading economic cheer at the AlwaysOn Venture Summit Silicon Valley at the Ritz-Carlton hotel here.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Internet | California | Microsoft | Google Inc | eBay Inc | Cincinnati | Hewlett-Packard | Morgan Stanley | Warren Buffett | Ritz-Carlton | IPOs | San Jose-based | Camarillo | Draper Fisher Jurvetson | Fairchild Semiconductor | Tim Draper

Touting their products were dozens of start-ups, from Somatic Digital, a Cincinnati company that converts printed material into digital touch-screens, to Altierre, a San Jose-based firm that creates digital price tags for supermarkets and retail chains.

Mike Cheiky, president of CoolPlanetBioFuels in Camarillo, Calif., believes his company’s low-emission fuel for vehicles, homes, industrial heating and electrical generation will slash atmospheric carbon to 1970s levels by 2030. Like many start-ups here, CoolPlanetBioFuels launched on seed money and hopes to raise millions of dollars in early-stage venture funding in 2009.

Initial public offerings in technology are down 94% from last year, with only four technology IPOs this year, said Paul Kwan, managing director at Morgan Stanley. But he noted that credit is loosening, big companies continue to spend on technology and the economy could rebound in two or three quarters.

Kwan said that start-ups are riding out the downturn by building long-term customer loyalty, by analyzing and selling online customer data and by finding “multiple revenue streams.”

Young tech companies, which used to focus mainly on the U.S. market, also increasingly are looking abroad for sales — especially because the top 10 emerging markets boast more Internet users than the top 10 developed markets, Kwan said.

Despite the financial turmoil, investors are eager to pour money back into equities in early 2009, said Lise Buyer, founder of the Class V Group, a consulting firm for start-ups hoping to go public.

Jeff Matthews, general partner at the RAM Partners hedge fund, said the current downturn is “absolutely the worst I’ve ever seen since the mid-1970s.” The upside? Wise investors will follow the example of legendary investor Warren Buffett, who bought all of the stocks he could afford in that recession 30 years ago.

“This is a cycle, a very terrible cycle,” Matthews says. “But this, too, shall pass.”

Online Budgeting & Money Management

Posted by Kevin under Money & Finance

Budgeting & Money Management

There’s an always increasing number of tools and websites devoted to helping you manage your money. Each of these will be unique, but many have similar functions for budgeting and tracking expenses, and some will integrate with your bank accounts. The list includes both free and paid tools:

1. Quicken Online - Manage your personal finances and online banking accounts.

2. Mint - Free personal finance software to assist you.

3. Yodlee - The most comprehensive online banking solution on the market.

4. Expensr - A solid solution for a young adult’s simple finances.

5. Wesabe - Save Money, Spend Wisely and Reach Your Goals.

6. Walletproof - Search for money saving deals recommended by other Walletproof users.

7. SpendView - Analyze your spending in a simple, automated and efficient web based personal finance tool.

8. billQ - An easy way to keep track of your bills.

9. Buxfer - Free online personal finance software for budgeting and expense management.

10. Pear Budget - Start an easy budget for free.

11. Geezeo - Free online personal finance managment service.

12. Mvelopes - Lets you create a household or personal budget.

13. iOWEYOU - Expenses sharing calculator.

14. Billster - Helps people organise their personal and shared expenses.

15. BudgetTracker - An online finance manager.

16. Budget Pulse - An interactive, web-based budgeting utility.

17. Dimewise - Financial management you’ll actually use.

18. Spicy Digits - Managing your recurring expenses is a breeze.