It's a bit of a stupid concept though, isn't it? A man bought a domain name called "shippingsupplies.com" so he decided to get into shipping supplies and now he's a zillionaire?
So, assuming, as the article suggests that people buy a catchy domain name first and then build a business round it, which isn't one they're already involved in or know anything about, how does that conversation go?:
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MAN: Hi. I've decided to get into the shipping supplies business. I need to borrow £250,000 to buy some trucks, containers, a crane and lease a premises down by the harbour
BANK MANAGER: I see. Hmmm. A quarter of a million is quite a lot of money. Have you any experience in shipping supplies?
MAN: Well.. not exactly..
BANK MANAGER: And have you any of your own money or any startup equipment, that you can bring to the business?
MAN: Well... not exactly...
BANK MANAGER: I'm sorry. But, under the circumstances, I really don't think the bank can take the risk...
MAN: But I've registered the domain name "shippingsupplies.com"!
BANK MANAGER: Why didn't you say so? [rolls wheelbarrow full of cash out from behind his desk] Used notes OK?
MAN: Thanks very much [exits stage left]
[Bank Manager's secretary pops her head round the door]
SECRETARY: Your two-thirty, Mr. Jones is here.
MR JONES: [walking in and shaking hands] I've just snapped up the domain name "executive-airline.travel" and I wanted to ask you about a loan...
Like any other bootstrapped business you’d start off small so that you don’t need to ask anyone for a loan. In this case, that might mean partnering with a distributor of shipping supplies and doing drop shipping direct to the customer or something similar.
In college, I worked for four different restaurants. It always blew my mind how perfectly reasonable people would take their entire life savings and invest it into a restaurant at the age of 60, 65, even 70.
They really and truly thought they'd just show up with a checkbook, and then the restaurant would churn out solid returns, year after year.
On top of that, they often placed their children on the staff. Children who had no interest in working in a restaurant, the children of wealthy parents who knew that their parents couldn't compel them to show up to work.
