How to Tear Your Hamstring and 10 Other Ways to Have an Incredible NamesCon

If you haven’t decided whether you are going to NamesCon now is your last chance. If you make money in the domain industry and want to make more there is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be going. Other than not having the extra money, not having someone to replace you in your workplace or home, or family issues, you are not making the time to go to something that could greatly increase your income. My opinion of course.  If you met me last year you remember I tore my hamstring playing indoor soccer with a bunch of the guys.  It was one of my favorite days of the year, and also my most painful..  It took me 4 months of rehab, 4 times a week, to get back to running.  Another 6 to get back into marathon shape.  And I would do it again, but I’m not.  There are still some great times to be had without tearing a muscles.  Here are some of my tips for a successful NamesCon convention

• Food is scarce at the Tropicana but there are a few good places to grab a quick bite over at NYNY. I go and get breakfast Crepes most morning at the Crepes place around the corner from the sports book in the NYNY. They also have a pretty good pizza place right as you come in the door from MGM. It’s fast and actually pretty good pizza. And my favorite is the Deli that is in that same area. Never had a bad Reuben there. All pretty quick and cheap by Vegas standards. If you like to eat and are up early enough, my favorite breakfast in all of Vegas is the buffet at Paris. Anything you can think of is there. Very good

• If you are newer to the industry , make yourself memorable.   Wear silver shoes.  A crazy jacket.  Buy an incredible domain name for $100K and put it on your badge.  Hand out business cards made of asteroid metal.  Do what it takes to stand out.  You will get so many Oh Yeah, I remember you in later conversations.  I went with the name Domain Shane.  I figured it was memorable enough and it rhymed.  At the time I only knew two people with a nickname.  Mr. Pink and Chef Patrick.   I followed their lead and it worked well.  To the point where we have people that share my first name having to find their own identity.

• Don’t hand out a list of names. Another person wrote this in their tips and I couldn’t agree more. We all sell names but a card and a verbal description of some of your names is suffice. If you buy a booth then hand out a list like crazy. That’s what booths are there for , to sell. If you hand out a sheet in the middle of the hall you have taken a casual meet and greet and turned it into solicitation

• If you want to give your name some exposure. Turn it in to the Domain Sherpa Live Review show. Mike may call your name out and let us review it. There will be hundreds of buyers in our audience and regardless of what we think, there may be a person in the crowd that thinks its fantastic. I should probably ask Mike if he is still taking name

• Sip so you don’t slip. If you’re not a big drinker like me you’re going to get crushed in Vegas. People are remembered at conferences for all kinds of things and their drunken behavior seems to be everlasting. I drunken dirty danced all night with a girl at the Playboy mansion and now the wife of what was a friend, thinks I’m a cheater and of low moral. Morals may still be in question but the other never happened. And it still doesn’t compare to a domainer that brought his girlfriend to a conference and not his wife, now ex wife. Don’t be that guy. Have some fun but keep it in check. I got a little excited at my first big conference and learned from it. I’ll save you the hassle of the dirty dance

• The conversation at the corner bar and the back ballroom bar at the Tropicana are worth their weight in gold. When I come home for the night I always check that back ballroom bar and see who’s back there. I heard more incredible stories about domains in a few hours at that bar than I had heard in years. People are a bit more relaxed (and tipsy) so they tend to open up more. Earlier in the day the corner bar with the music can get pretty fun. Its where a lot of people meet after dinner before they go out.

• Speaking of going out. If you want to have a good time and probably lose a lot of money there is always a group of us that play a little craps and laugh until our stomachs hurt. It tends to be Michael Cyger and I leading the group but Morgan Linton isn’t scared to have a good time at the craps table as well. The best part about it is craps tends to be a slow burn game so if you play conservatively you can play for hours and not really make or lose anything overall. And you drink for free the whole time. DO NOT bet sports with me.  Andrew Alleman can attest.  I have single handily changed the outcome of games with my bets. I turned the Houston Astros in to contenders and the Washington Nationals into a disappointment with a few friendly bets.

• I think you should support the conference and stay at the Tropicana but the most important part is that you attend the conference. I don’t think the crosswalk being repaired is that big of a deal but then again I walk around for a living. Undoubtedly staying at the host hotel makes for an easy to get to base.  You can forget something in your room or stash something up there and walk hands free most of the day. Stay wherever you feel most comfortable and enjoy the show. I prefer a big, clean, room with a comfortable bed and a steam shower. The conference and nightlife can be pretty tiring and the last thing I want is a small, smoky room, with lots of noise. NamesCon is like a vacation to me so I treat myself well. If I can waste $18K on dot WS then I can get myself a nice hotel room

• Save some money to give to WaterSchool. It’s the reason for NamesCon. NamesCon started as an idea to have a bunch of friends get together in Vegas for the weekend since there weren’t any other conferences around that time. Richard sent out a few invites and when he realized there were quite a few people interested he thought it would be a great to have a nice party where we raised money for WaterSchool. But it kept growing and growing until he decided to have a full fledged conference. And it all started because of WaterSchool. So save a hundred or two, or more and make sure to thank Richard by giving to his passion on WaterSchool Night.

• I gave this tip last year and a lot of people thanked me so I will do it again. One, take AirBorne every day. Double up the instructed amount. Two, take either Hammer Gel Capsules or a product called S-Caps. If you take these and alternate with water you will not be hung over. The capsules are made for endurance sports but they happen to replenish all the things that cause hangovers. It has worked for me for years.