I Wanna Be A Thousandaire (with no dash)

Before I created my blog, my goal was to think of a domain name that would self-promote itself. Considering this is 2010 and this whole “internet” thing has been around for a while, there weren’t a whole lot of good choices available.

Then it hit me.

I would parody the Travie McCoy / Bruno Mars song “Billionaire” and change it into “Thousandaire”! That way, when my video goes viral, people will know to come to my website and learn about personal finance! Plus your financial journey starts at $1,000 long before it ever approaches $1,000,000. It was the perfect name. The only problem was thousandaire.com was already taken. So was 1000aire.com.

Thousand-aire.com (with a hyphen) was available, and I jumped on it. “Good enough!” I thought.

*Side note – The “Thousandaire” song is written and the rap is recorded. If you have a tenor voice like Bruno Mars and want to be a part of a THOUSANDAIRE PERSONAL FINANCE REVOLUTION, get in touch with me. Seriously.

So now I have Thousand-aire.com, and I feel like it’s good enough.

But it’s not.

I wanted Thousandaire.com. I wanted it real bad. I launched my site with a hyphen and I put up a few videos and blogs and I realized I LOVE THIS STUFF! I’m going to get serious about this website/blogging thing, and a serious website doesn’t have a hyphen in the domain name.

I emailed the owner of Thousandaire.com and asked how much he would sell it for. His response:

“I paid $1000 for it, make me an offer…I’m willing to negotiate.”

My soul died. Sure I want the url, but there’s no way I’m paying that much for it. I assume he wants to make a profit, so he’s looking for at least a G. The only way I can get this thing is if I make a bold move. I respond:

“That’s a little rich for my blood. I’m just looking to make a blog and can go with something else that’s not taken yet. The most I could offer is $200, and I’m sure you don’t want to take an $800 loss. Thanks.”

I hook the line and wait. If he’s ready to just get rid of it, I think he’ll make a counter offer. I seriously was looking to pay $200 max, but if I started at about $100 he probably would have ignored me… I get a response:

“I understand that.  I’m willing to sell it for $350, let me know if you’re interested, it is a unique and memorable domain…”

Wow! 65% discount immediately! (actually he probably paid 10 cents for it and was lying to me, but let me have my moment) Now we are actually in the ballpark. I might get rid of that ridiculous hyphen that completely invalidates my credibility as a blogger and a human being. I respond:

“Thanks for the response Paul. I was really just looking at spending a few bucks on a website, so even $200 was a lot. It is a good name and I’d like to give you a fair price, but I really don’t have much wiggle room in my budget. Would you be willing to let it go for $250? That’s really the best I can do.”

I WANT THAT DOMAIN NAME. I was trying to be a nice guy and make him feel good about selling it pretty cheap. My heart is pounding; I’m gonna get my website!

No response.

I go to bed heartbroken, ashamed. I didn’t even bother to brush my teeth because who needs teeth when you don’t have dreams!? After a long, restless night, my redemption occurs in the morning!

“$300 and its a deal?
We can make the transfer happen quickly.
Thanks Kevin!”

Those words were like an automated external defibrillator for my soul. I spent the morning at work grinning like a middle school boy in Victoria’s Secret. $300 is a lot of money, but I finally have my website!

To make an unnecessarily long and hyperbolic story short, I will be spending the majority of this weekend or early next week moving this website from Thousand-aire.com to Thousandaire.com. I actually believe this is a good expense because my website will be easier to find. Word of mouth doesn’t really work when there is a hyphen in the URL. I don’t care that I’ve only made $8.83 in advertising revenue so far; this is a long term investment.

I believe in myself and this website, and I think it was a valid and necessary expense. I also understand that many people would think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. Financial responsibility doesn’t mean saving all your money; it means spending money on things that are truly valuable and important to you. When was the last time you spent money on something that everyone else thought was stupid, but made you happy?

Shared at this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance

Kevin McKee

Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.