In World War II, the Allied forces ran an intense campaign to prevent people from discussing critical things like movement of troops, ships, cargo, etc. The campaign was highlighted by posters with the headline "Loose Talk Costs Lives," alongside pictures of the enemy sinking ships (because "somebody blabbed").
Loose talk in business may not be a life and death situation, but it, too, can be costly. I was reminded of this last week when a friend shared his idea for a business. It was a good idea, so I suggested he register the domain name. He didn’t do it.
Two days later, he told me he’d discussed the idea with a friend and potential business partner while having dinner at a restaurant. And he called again today. His domain name had been registered the day after that meeting with his friend. And it had been registered by a complete stranger!
I had a similar experience some years back. I was discussing a business idea with a friend during lunch at a restaurant. We’d brainstormed domain names. The next day, I discovered our best domain name had been registered… by a complete stranger.
My friend’s business idea is still a good one, but he’ll have to come up with a new domain name… one that will probably not be as marketable as the original one.
The lessons – learned from painful, personal experience:
- Don’t brainstorm business ideas in public, especially in public spaces like restaurants.
- If your domain name is available, you can register it today for about $9 and save yourself a lot of headaches.
If your domain name is already taken, you have two courses of action:
- You can write to the owner of the domain name and ask if they’re interested in selling. If, as in the case of my friend, the registrant was an opportunist, that’s not going to work. They’re likely out to try and sell it for a large sum – so forget it. But if the domain name was registered some time back and has not been used, there’s a good chance the owner will be interested in selling it reasonably – meaning (if you don’t sound frantic) you will be able to get it for between $50 and $200. (I’ve done it a few times.)
- You can take advantage of a number of domain registrars that offer a service where they will hold your request "in line." If the domain becomes available and does not get renewed, the registrar will register it on your behalf. You probably have about a 10 percent to 20 percent chance that this approach will work in your favor. (I did it when, as in the case of my friend, my domain name was being held by an opportunist – and I was ultimately successful.)
Still the main thing to remember is, and remains, "Loose Talk Costs!"
[Ed. Note: David Cross is Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. in Baltimore. If you're interested in profiting from all the benefits of starting an online business, learn more about ETR's Magic Button program here.]
Similar Articles:
- Righting Copywrongs – "Someone has copied our entire website!" Charles told me. "And," he huffed, &quo…
- Give Your Self-Published Book the “Loose-Leaf Test” – How do you ensure that the information products you sell online give fair value to your customers? O…
- Free Content at Your Fingertips – Looking for material that you can use for your e-books and other information products? There are cou…
- Training Your Employees for the Big Race – One of the most important business skills is almost never talked about. It is speed. In Ready, Fire,…
- How Building Business Relationships will Build Your Business – One of my biggest business assets has been the "big-name" relationships I’ve created…
- Invest Like a Dealmaker – In the 1880s, a merchant named Patterson converted his small company’s cash box into the world’s fir…
- Word to the Wise: Invective – "Invective" (in-VEK-tiv) – from the Latin for "to inveigh against" – is insultin…