The Bumpy Story of Entrepreneurship By Way of Domain Names
The Bumpy Story of Entrepreneurship By Way of Domain Names
A Life Worth Living | Jul 29, 2023
The road to entrepreneurship is a long and bumpy one, full of false starts, half-baked ideas and yes, random domain name registrations.
I thought it would be fun to share my wide-ranging (and at times, quite puzzling and weird) collection of ideas going back to 2011.
Please let me know if you can relate. (I’m serious, I want to be sure I’m not a little crazy)
2011
ignitionnyc.com - While living in NYC, I partnered with a friend of mine to try our hand at event promotion.
djhdmusic.com - While I’ve DJ’ing since 1986, I never really pursued anything major. Given an influx of new gigs, I thought I might need a domain. To listen to my recent mixes, head over here.
knowyour.dj - The idea hear was to build a mobile app along the lines of Pandora (remember them?), but for for electronic music.
Fun fact, this was the genesis for what would become my podcasting journey.
2012
shopthe50.us - I was thinking it might be a good idea to capitalize on the wave of “Buy American” products.
2013
germanshepherdpuppiesclub.com - Remember when monetizing super niche websites with search traffic was a thing? Yeah, there’s probably a reason for that.
crowddancer.com. TBH, not sure what I was thinking here. 🤷♂️
knowyourcomic.com + knowyourband.com - I mean, the unproven concept above was bound to explode so double down, right?
fitnessbandshq.com - Self explanatory.
darryhuran.com - Some bizarre idea to create a DJ alter ego…
runlilarun.com - My foray into mobile games, which did lead to me discovering that ‘podcasts’ were not just DJ sets but people talking!
grassfedoptions.com - Trying to eat better, and possibly blog about it.
ifishense.com - It took me a few min to figure out WTF I was doing here, then it hit me, trying to be clever... "efficiency" get it? 😬
2014
aboutification.com - Wow, it’s all coming back to me now, this was an idea for a business to write About pages for people (got 1 paying client)
podcastkosmos.com - I mean, why stop at just one podcast. How about a whole cosmos full of them!
broadcast3000.com - I’m not sure if Andre 3000 was the inspiration here.
webinarjunkies.co - Webinar fanatics, unite!
podcastproductivity.com - I’m not sure if this was to be a podcast about productivity, or about how to be productive with your podcast.
productivitysauce.com - Mild, medium and hot versions coming soon.
scribesimply.com - A writing service I presume.
prdcnf.com - Riding the wave of websites with no vowels, I had the bright idea to launch a productivity conference.
2015
podcastjunkies.com - OK, I might finally be on to something here.
podcastjunkiesbook.com - If you thought the show was good, wait for the book! …and keep waiting…
downtownproductivity.com - OK, I might have been on a productivity kick.
fullcast.co - Oh hello! Future home of my new podcast agency. FULL-service + podCAST production, get it?
fullcast.fm - My backup plan.
lightand.love - Keeping the vibe high ✨
mypodcastrobot.com - I mean, what else would YOU call an automated podcasting solution?
pjnk.es - I’m a big fan of clever short URLs, which look nicer in social marketing. This one is for Podcast Junkies. Helpful tip, try not to let these expire or you’ll lose them like I did! (see: pcjk.es 👇)
2016
myjikji.com I was practicing Buddhism years ago. Jikji roughly translates to ‘anthology of Zen buddhism teachings, which you can read more about here. I must have been thinking about a community around it. 🤷♂️
podfunnel.com - Working on a SaaS tool for podcasters.
podcastlevelup.com - Podcast course idea.
surfyourfunnel.com - Marketing funnel promotion.
2017
silverlakepodcast.com - I was living in Silver Lake, CA, why not a local podcast?
ifoundmyvoiceharry.com - My plans to become a prolific speaker.
iwantyoutobuythis.com Weird marketing idea, ‘nuff said.
yourvehicleisyourvoice.com - Podcast network anyone?
podcasterbookgiveaway.com - I was thinking to partner with other podcast authors to promote my first book, Around the Podcast Campfire.
horseparent.com - Someone I knew at the time was working with parents of kids taking horse lessons and the wheels started turning.
podcastproductionalliance.com - Thinking maybe I’d get my fellow producers aligned.
2018
twitchjunkies.com - Like podcast junkies but for Twitch fanatics.
podcastingforenterprises.com - Self explanatory.
podcastlaunchpressrelease.com - Service to launch PR for new podcasts.
basicpodcastediting.com - SEO-friendly URL to attract businesses.
clarionconference.com - Another conference idea bubbles up.
clarion.academy - … and a place for said conference attendees to gather afterwards.
slimejunkies.com - This is what happens when you get sucked into a Gary Vee rabbit hole. #dontask
2019
audioproductionalliance.com - I thought we tried this already.
podcastbots.com - Some sort of automated email service.
mariannepodcast.com - Me doing what I could to support Marianne Williamson for president.
verticalfarmingpodcast.com - I’ve shared this story in an earlier letter, but the short version is that I was gifted the book, Abundance by Peter Diamandis. The chapter on vertical farming led me to start my second show.
2020
podcastbazaar.com - My idea for a podcast marketplace begins. May not be the best name…
podcastbooksclub.com - Testing out some no-code tools, I create a list of podcast authors.
podosphere.net - OK, now that makes MUCH more sense for my earlier podcast marketplace idea.
verticalfarmingweekly.com - Another platform to promote the Vertical Farming Podcast. Currently at 1200 subscribers!
pcjk.es - This is what happens when you let pjnk.es expire 👆
2021
harryonclubhouse.com- During the Clubhouse wave, this was the easiest way to send listeners to my bio.
thepodosphere.com = I finally my no-code knowledge from my OnDeck class to launch an MVP.
anypodcastrecommendations.com - A site I came up with in a few hours after repeatedly seeing people on Twitter ask, “any podcast recommendations?”
2022
awakeningtoatlantis.com - Atlantis is a huge rabbit hole for me. One of my newer friends Robin Maxwell has written an epic 5-book Saga called Gods of Atlantos, based on the actual writings of Plato on this topic. It’s a must read. I figured this would be a good name if we created a podcast to promote it.
lakehousepresents.com - New to Minnesota, I made friends with a few local DJs and we put together a small collective. That promo gene never goes away.
2023
djhdbeats.com - New home for DJ stuff.
indoorhomefarms.com - Through a connection made with a regular listener of the VFP show, who I met at an indoor farming conference, we started looking into a marketplace for people interested in growing produce indoors. The idea is to leverage my existing VFP audience.
podcastblueprint101.com - After way too long, my new intro course for absolute beginners is now available. More details below.
I'm sure there will be a few more in my future...
Where Do I Go From Here?
Will some of these end up turning into the next unicorn? I can’t say for certain.
What I will say is that sometimes you have to go with your gut (or head) on these decisions. Learn to trust it but also mix in a bit of heart feel as well.
That heart-head combo is powerful when put towards activities that will better the life of the our fellow human beings.
It’s time to get our shit together and collectively make a better impression to our new galactic neighbors, now that everyone else has figured out that they’ve been here all along 👾
🙏 with gratitude,
Harry
What I Created This Week
🎧 Vertical Farming Podcast sponsored by Cultivatd
🎧 Podcast Junkies sponsored by Focusrite
322 Ben Albert - Courageous Conversations: Vulnerability and Growth in Podcasting
🙋♀️ P.S. When You're Ready...
Here are a few of ways I can help…
✡️ Download a free copy of my Voice Expansion Blueprint. The most powerful way to transmit and elevate your voice is with a podcast. This plan will outline for you the pillars of success needed prior to the launch of your show!
🎥 Watch my free video, 5 Key Pillars of a Profitable Podcast that every business owner needs to know prior to launching their show.
🎙️ Enroll in Podcast Blueprint 101. My newly updated course that walks you through everything you need to get your podcast off the ground! Subscribers get 50% off with the promo code “PBHD50”