How to Protect Your Best Professional Asset
Want to know the one thing you can do to protect your most important professional asset? It’s affordable and easy to do. Please read on…
Best Business Tips Ever
After I launched my consulting business, I got some good advice from a mentor I met while working at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He was the new Director of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, so I figured he knew what he was talking about.
He told me this:
Keep your overhead low
Never do business with someone you don’t respect
Great tips for sure. However, I’d add another piece of advice to his words of wisdom:
Purchase your name as a domain name and (eventually) use it for a personal website.
Your name is your best professional asset.
It’s not just celebrities, speakers or authors who buy their name as a domain. Anyone who is thinking ahead and has the germ of an idea for something they’ll want to call their own is wise to spend $20 (or less) a year to buy their domain name.
For those who don’t know…
A domain name is a unique web address that identifies a specific location on the internet or the “home address” for your website — for example LauraLollar.com. (shameless advertising). You can buy a domain name for $13.00-$19.00/year and keep it reserved. You don’t have to immediately use it to put up a website.
11 reasons why it’s a good idea to buy your own domain name
Someone with your name or a competitor could register it first. Then you’ll have to take second best by using a nickname, initials or other iteration which may not get you the same search results. And people who look for you may always find the “other guy” first.
If someone else has already reserved your name, you could rearrange your name by putting your last name first or add a word that describes your occupation like “data,” “engineer,” “author,” “music,” or “photo” as a few examples.
If possible, reserve your name with the .com, but if it’s not available, others like .net, .biz or .co may be. You will see other suggestions on the search page when you type in your preferred domain name. You can buy domains through sites like Epik, Hosting, Namecheap, Network Solutions, etc.
Maybe not right now, but at some point you may want to start a small business, a consulting practice, run for office, author a book, teach and publish, etc. Having your domain name reserved ahead of time will come in handy.
Even if you already have a business website with a company name, companies get acquired, rebrand or close down. Your personal name remains a constant no matter what happens to your business.
If you’re a W2 employee, your personal domain and website survives any job changes or career shifts. It’s a way co-workers, vendors or former employers can find you even after a layoff. (Added tip: create a personal business card with your website domain, personal email and phone number on it, then hand it out to the right people.)
Prospects, clients, potential employers and business partners will “Google” your name. Having a site that contains your portfolio, articles and a contact form creates a credible presence. Yes, they can search for you on LinkedIn, but your own website and domain name gives you a leg up on the competition.
Speaking of LinkedIn — we never know when a site will go down, when they’ll change the rules or algorithm. Social media sites can disappear without notice. You own your domain name and can always recreate your website if the worst happens.
Over time and with enough content published on your site, (like articles that prove your knowledge), you will earn better search results than any social media site can deliver. And in the age of AI, you can be found online through queries like, “Give me a list of the most reputable plumbers in the Colorado Springs area and prioritize them according to reputation and length of time they’ve been in business.”
AI can also help you set up a website. Go to your favorite AI site (I use Claude.AI) and type in a prompt like this: “I want to create a website. Can you tell me how AI can build a website for me? Please give me options of difficulty starting with beginner, intermediate and complex.” Watch as it creates the code, then find a tekkie friend to help you take it from there.
Basically you want to play the “long game.” In the age of AI we should all be thinking more strategically, planning for the future, being open to possibilities and prepare — just in case a pink slip is around the corner for you or someone you love.
Funny Story
Earlier in my life when my name was Laura Benjamin, there was an artist who owned the domain LauraBenjaminArt .com. She wanted my domain and called me to see if I would sell it to her. When my husband proposed, one of the first things I did was buy up LauraLollar.com. (I was confident things would work out!) Then, after we were married, I contacted the LauraBenjaminArt lady so she could buy LauraBenjamin .com.
If I’d been smarter, I would have kept the old domain name and just forwarded traffic over to my new domain.
So, these are all the reasons why I’d encourage you to spend the $20 and reserve your name before somebody else does — or buy an iterative version of it.
Resources I Use
The website host I use is Epik .com. I’ve also heard good things about Bluehost. I’d avoid Godaddy. Also, some people say it’s a good idea to purchase your domain name from a different company than the one that hosts your site, so you don’t get locked out.
I built my website using Wordpress, a free, well-known software program. I purchased the Theme (design bells and whistles) from StudioPress, but you can search online for website themes and find many other options.
3 More Things You Could Use
Got questions? I’m happy to do a coaching phone call to help you sort the basics.
I’m writing an affordable Guidebook that walks you through the whole process discussed above. Let me know if you want to be notified when it’s ready. (I promise, no sp*m will come of it.)
And if your group wants a speaker to talk about all things related to creating an online presence, I’d be happy to discuss and see if it’s a good fit.
Contact me for any of the above.