How do i start up my own Domain Registar like Enom, Godaddy, Namecheap etc. ?? Where & who can i get it from how much it cost etc. ??

This has been discussed many many times.... Do a search. But if you don't have about $125,000US on hand, it's not really worth considering. If you're in a position to consider it after your search, feel free to PM me if you have questions and I'll try to help.

The easy way to go is to become a reseller first. http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/wwd_landing.asp.

I agree, check out a godaddy reseller (Wild West Domains). I had one for about nine months and it is a great way to get your feet-wet. If you can make money with a reseller account then start seriously planning your own registrar IMO.

good luck
Jay

All application form you can find at ICANN site
You will need a good software to manage domain registrations and enough money for start-up

This is discussed many times before. There is very little money to be made in this business, most companies offer other services like hosting, ssl to offset the little profit they make from domains. As others have suggested become a reseller first and if it works for you being accredited is always an option

if you contact logicboxes, they will actually explain it all to you, and help you through the process (if you use there software)

but yes, unless you have a nice wad of cash, its not going to happen, i think 125,000 is a good starting point, but when you add on staff, hosting, site design, etc etc etc etc it will soon add up.

and bear in mind that even as an accredited registra, i think .coms are still about $6 + a 0.25 fee...

as a directi reseller, you can get it for $6.49 so your only really saving 25 cents :s

There are even a few large hosting companies who could afford to be a registrar but still remain resellers. That should tell you it may not be worth the expense.

Why, just use cheap company like directi

Logicboxes and even OpenSrs(if you are a tucows reseller) will help you through the accredition process if you are serious about it. As others have stated be prepared to have plenty of capital available.

It is extremely difficult. Try to get a reseller site started first.

Originally posted by domainscabin
Try to get a reseller site started first.

Agreed

Directi and Tucows are not the only ones who will assist in accreditation. I can't name names (because I own one of the companies) but there are others.

There are two issues:

1) Do you have the $125K or so it'd take to do it

2) Do you want to write it yourself or have a turnkey system that you just plug in and it works

I'm not sure how turnkey the directi and OpenSRS solutions are, but there is a fully-turnkey solution that's been in live production since '02.

Once you're over the financing hurdle, the rest is comparatively easy.

Mods: If I've said things that I'm not allowed to say, please edit as appropriate and accept my apologies.

Originally posted by Domainitor
Once you're over the financing hurdle, the rest is comparatively easy.



Not really, there is a thing called a business plan and the actual process of eraning revenue/profits to stay afloat

dmaven, yes, absolutely. Having a sound business plan and then actually running the business so that it makes money are essential, but in the business world the business plan is a requirement for getting funding together, and if you've gone to the trouble of making a business plan, you know how you're going to run the business to make money....

Unless, of course, you're sitting on $125K and don't need external funding, in which case, what did you say your credit card number was? ;)

Originally posted by Domainitor
and if you've gone to the trouble of making a business plan, you know how you're going to run the business to make money....


I do not think I agree 100%. I think most registrars in this space do not know how to make money. We will see as the drop game changes.

Well, that's a horse of a slightly different color. :D

If you go to the ball park to play, say, baseball, and in the middle of the game the rules get changed, you've got to be creative enough to deal with it.

Business plans aren't "carved in stone" and the successful business operator has to be paying attention to new competition, changes in the marketplace, and so on, and has to evolve along with those changes.

Having said that, though, I think you're right: Watching the landscape change and witnessing Darwin's principles at work will be interesting. I imagine that the pseudo-registrars that are in it strictly for the drop game as it exists today will silently go away. There'll be bumps as those registrars fail and ICANN has to deal with the re-assignment of the domains held thereby, but in the end I'm hopeful that the industry is that much more solid and the playing field is populated not so much by opportunists and more by true service-oriented registrars.

$125K ? with some options out there you can startup with as low as 10-30K easily.

it all depends on the business plan and how to make profit afterall as 80% (if not more) of the current accredited registrars are into the drop game :)

You can start off lower but you still need to have the 70,000 in capital plus insurance etc. 10-30K maybe AFTER you have met the minimum registrar requirement

I agree with dmaven: You need $70K liquid minimum, then you have to cover the costs of office space, office equipment (phones, fax, desks, chairs, etc., etc.,), personnel to deal with phones, servers, at least two datacenters (perhaps one is your own space, but you need "geographically separated" nameservers, so that's another space), and so on. If you're an ISP, a lot of that's perhaps already covered, but in that case you may be paying your personnel with ISP funds that "should" be registrar funds -- they're getting paid, just from a different bucket, so the accounting's a little, uh, wonky.

Operating expenses for a 'reasonable' period of time (as defined by your business plan) can add up. The "drop game" is nice gravy, but it won't cover all of your reasonable expenses.

Once the accreditation comes through you've got access to that $70K that was sitting in your bank account, but if you want to be operational right away so that you can start up your cash flow, you would have been spending money all along. $55K, in my experience, has been a good cushion. Of course, your mileage may vary....

Originally posted by Domainitor
Of course, your mileage may vary....

lol

Great thread.

Could someone in the know post an overview of turnkey registrar management software?

We found two so far:

Logic Boxes - interesting pricing model but we don't really like the interface (used by directi and others)

Registrar in a Box - not sure if this site has been updated recently

Any others? Are any of the existing registrars licensing their interface and backend software at a competitive price?

Any input will be appreciated.

eNom does too, they have a solution called RegistrarPDQ

The two biggest hosted registrar providers are enom and tucows. Some dabble in it but only those two host millions of names under management for other registrars