Women in Domaining (Part 2)

By: RH

Women in Domaining (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our 5 part series, "Women in Domaining." Today we will profile ladies that work at two of the most popular registrars in the industry.

First up is Bari Meyerson/Enom, from her days at Moniker, Bari has been known for her excellent customer service and attention to detail.

My “domain career” began in October 2006 when I accepted a position as a Sr. Account Executive for Moniker; a top 10 domain name registrar. With a sales background in online payment processing, I quickly became fascinated with the intricacies of domain names. Guided by my mentors Monte Cahn and Victor Pitts, I became intrigued in all things associated with the domain industry.

Before becoming part of the inner circle of domainer’s, I viewed a domain as simply a word and nothing more. What I quickly learned was that these letters that begin with WWW were part of a very powerful and lucrative market of buying, selling, domain monetization and website development.

Two weeks into my job at Moniker, I attended my first TRAFFIC conference, where Moniker was conducting a live domain name auction. I was stunned by what I had seen. Millions of dollars exchanged for domain names! It was incredible! Over the next 5 years, I learned as much as I could. Although I no longer work for Moniker, what I learned is invaluable.

In May 2012, I joined Demand Media as part of their Business Development team where I’m responsible for growing/managing Enom’s existing domainer client base as well as targeting domain investors. In addition, I’m focused on identifying strategic opportunities around domain parking, premium names, and value-added services. So far, it’s been yet another incredible chapter – with lots to learn!

To answer your question: "Do I feel that domaining is an equal opportunity industry for men and women alike?"

I do feel that domaining IS an equal opportunity industry for men and women. When I attended my first DomainFest Global conference in January 2007, I was impressed by the number of women that attended. I had conversations, meetings and closed many deals with women! I quickly realized that the “domain game” wasn’t only for men. In September of that year, I (personally) purchased my first domain name.

You can reach Bari here

For more info on Enom click here

 

Next up the Name.com Trio, Caroline Temple, Ashley Forker and Melissa Dafni are all integral parts to a registrar that has a very unique culture. Name.com (an advertiser) navigates the domain industry in its own unique way, from its own reality show "The Dot" to TrenD which gives insight into pop culture with a domaining spin in a series of daily videos. Let's hear from the ladies and get their insight. (We did not ask them what it was like to work with comedic legend Jared Ewy).

Ashley Forker - I work full time as an industry professional for Name.com leading the charge for a lot of our marketing efforts. I've been around for a couple of years now so it's safe to say i dig the industry. We have a heavily skewed male customer base so at times it can be difficult for me to step out of my shoes to get the message right in terms of how it resonates among an (international) male crowd but that's one of the only obstacles I have to overcome as a female and it can be a pretty fun challenge. 

From within these walls at Name.com I am without a doubt treated fairly and equally. I believe if you hustle and make smart investments as a domainer the industry is equal opportunity for both men and women. That said, networking events can get tricky.

I think a more interesting question isn't so much is the domain industry an equal opportunity for men and women but simply, why are there not more women in this industry? My thought is that historically it's very technical and with that there are more male developers and web masters in the space than females. At the end of the day everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and if you can figure out how to leverage your strengths and fill your weaknesses success is inevitable, no matter who you are.

You can reach Ashley at ashley here

Caroline Temple - Background:  Went from a career in Property Management to working for a Domain Registrar - Name.com.  Name.com took me under its wing and taught me everything I know about domains.  They started me in support - I realized I like working with the domainers so I transitioned into a Domain Concierge role - and then became interested in Affiliate Marketing so I transition to the Affiliate Program Manager.  Been with Name.com since 2008!

I do feel domaining is equal opportunity!  I'm not a domainer myself, but in supporting them I've never felt discouraged or that I couldn't do it myself.  I'll admit sometimes  men would be surprised to have a woman on the phone, but they've always accepted my advice and support without judgement. Until you asked the question, I never really thought about it.  I guess it is interesting that you don't hear about more women as domainers - but I don't think that's because we've been discouraged from participating in the industry.  It'll be interesting to see once the new gTLDs drop if you hear of a few women domainers taking advantage. 

You can follow Caroline on Twitter here

Melissa Dafni - Like many people, I kind of fell in to the domain industry about 7 years ago. The company I worked for owned a rather large domain portfolio and it had gotten to the point that they needed someone to take control of it and manage it and so I was moved into that position. While I have since changed companies, I am still doing much of the same. While I do have my own small domain portfolio, it is more specific use based. As managing domain acquisitions and sales both for my company and for our customers is my job, to do more actually violates my position. In essence, I am an oddity in the domain industry. I am a full time domainer, but none of it is for myself.

I think domaining is very much an equal opportunity industry for both men and women. Like many other tech fields, women do have to work a tad harder to be taken seriously and are often assumed at domain conferences to be merely a plus 1, or I have heard of some cases thought to be "Booth Babes". The industry is male dominated and so there is a propensity to assume that women aren't there for business. But, that is rapidly changing. I see more and more women coming into the industry every year and they're making their mark. I know plenty of women who have solid domain portfolios and the negotiation skills needed to move them. One of the best things about the domain industry is regardless of how old (or young) you are, where you're from, or what sex you are, if you're willing to put forth the effort, you can do well.

You can contact Melissa on LinkedIn here.

You can follow her on Twitter if you like here.

Check out what is going on at Name.com on the Name.com Blog

Comments

[D]

Bari is the best, the only reason why I have an account with Enom.