We spent $400K to buy Somewhere.com Here’s why:
Big news:
I recently acquired controlling interest in Somewhere.com and raised $20 million to make it happen. We have changed the name of the company from Support Shepherd to Somewhere.
I now own a web domain that was more expensive than the house I am living in.
It turns out that nobody can remember the name Support Shepherd, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, and even really smart people spell it incorrectly over and over.
Hiring top 1% talent all around the world to save businesses 80% on labor costs is an extremely important job.
We are now investing heavily in the business and brand to become the best recruiting service available today.
We are also investing heavily in our team at Somewhere.
We hired 8 new US based account managers with the goal of answering your emails in 20 minutes or less. There is more coming soon here.
As you know this company has changed my life. 80% of my employees are located overseas across my portfolio. It is a total game changer. The video above tells the story.
If you are considering hiring overseas, just respond to this email with the roles that you are looking for and I’d be happy to make an intro to the best recruiting specialist on my team.
So yes, www.somewhere.com is where our company will live now.
Talent is Everywhere. Hire with Somewhere!
That’s the new tagline.
See the reaction here:
Back to the $400K domain, why did we do this?
As some folks know, I have been serious about premium domains for a long time. As soon as I know that I want to start a business, I go to dan.com and buy a premium domain. Sometimes for $2K, sometimes for $25K and now this one for $400K.
I will never start something with a .net or .co or .us or .io domain.
My advice is simple:
If you think what you are building is going to be a serious business, it must live on a .com domain!
.coms are the industry standard and will continue to be. They are like Malibu real-estate on the web.
We bought the domain for somewhere.com last year. The team and I debated over several options but we thought Somewhere was the right fit.
IMO, a great domain name should be simple and memorable.
It should be one word. Easy to spell. And it should mean something.
The best talent is out there somewhere. You just have to find them. We can help.
This is something that anyone can understand in 2 seconds or less.
Since we announced the rebrand, our web traffic has hit all time highs. Mostly from organic social and organic search.
Leads and customers are flowing in.
We’re on track to have our best month yet.
A lesson on leadership and expenses:
Believe it or not, I almost didn’t spend the $10K on shooting our new video, which you can watch below:
I had a little bit of sticker shock and I almost didn’t pull the trigger.
I now think it would have been a bargain at 2X the price and might turn out to be one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
My bet is that this video alone will help Somewhere do 7 figures in revenue this month.
Why? It’s all about the people.
Watch the video. Listen to their English. Listen to their responses.
These are not EAs and VAs. Some of these folk have real operational chops and I’m confident that a few of the 100+ offshore folks that I’ve already hired across my portfolio will end up running one of my companies one day.
Seeing the candidates on video shows you the quality of employee you can get and how good they really are.
Again, if you are in market and looking to hire, just respond to this email with the roles you are looking for and I’ll personally make an intro for you.
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A note about careers:
Reminder:
Careers (and entrepreneurial journeys) are rarely linear. You expect them to be. But sometimes you end up making little progress for 5 years and then 5 years of progress in 3 months. That’s just part of it.
This feels like one of those periods for me.
I’ve been sprinting like crazy the last 18 months.
I’d say I’ve been more productive and seen more opportunities over that time frame than the previous 5 years combined.
I’ve also learned more / leveled up more in that time frame as well.
I am taking HUGE swings.
6+ new companies started.
A major acquisition of Somewhere.
A book deal with Harper Collins.
750M+ views online.
This is serious stuff. And it’s all happened in the last 18 months.