This is the story of how $10 of savings cost someone everything they built.
I won’t use their real name—the damage was too brutal. But I’ll tell you the story because if one person reads this and protects themselves, it’s worth it.
The Setup: A Rising Star
Sarah (not her real name) was crushing it. Her coaching business grew from zero to multiple six figures in 18 months. She had:
- 50,000 Instagram followers
- A waiting list of clients
- Speaking engagements booked
- A book deal in negotiation
- Press coverage
- Momentum
She owned SarahJohnson.com (not her real name).
She didn’t own SarahJohnsonCoaching.com.
That $10 domain registration she skipped? It cost her everything.
The Attack
A competitor—someone in her exact niche, watching her growth with jealousy—registered SarahJohnsonCoaching.com.
They built an identical-looking site. Same colors. Similar logo. Professional design.
But the services? Overpriced and low quality.
The testimonials? Fake.
The results? Non-existent.
And when people searched “Sarah Johnson coaching,” they found the fake site FIRST.
The Domino Effect
Week 1-2: Confused customers started emailing Sarah. “Why did your prices go up?” “Why is your website different?” “I paid but never got my course.”
She had no idea what they were talking about.
Week 3: She discovered the impersonation site. Panic set in. She contacted the domain owner. They wanted $50,000.
Week 4: She consulted lawyers. Legal fees to fight it: $80,000+ with no guarantee of success. Timeline: 18-24 months.
Week 5-8: The damage accelerated:
- Book deal fell through (publisher Googled her, found confusion)
- Speaking gigs canceled (event organizers couldn’t verify which site was real)
- Instagram followers started dropping (scam accusations)
- Real clients started refund requests (afraid she was a scam)
- Her actual business reputation destroyed by fake business reputation
Month 3: She paid the $50,000 ransom. Couldn’t afford not to.
Month 4-12: Spent tens of thousands on reputation repair, legal fees to sue the impersonator (who disappeared), and rebuilding trust.
Year 2: Her business never recovered. She’s back working a corporate job.
Total cost of not registering a $10 domain: Her entire business.
The Brutal Math
Let’s break down what $10 of savings actually cost:
The $10 Decision:
- Didn’t register SarahJohnsonCoaching.com
- “I already have my .com, that’s enough”
- Saved $10
The Actual Cost:
- $50,000 ransom to buy the domain
- $80,000 in legal fees
- $200,000+ in lost business revenue
- $50,000 in reputation repair costs
- Her entire brand equity (priceless)
- Her book deal (could have been $100,000+)
- Her career momentum (immeasurable)
- Her mental health (destroyed)
$10 saved cost her conservatively $500,000+ and her entire career.
That’s a 50,000,000% loss on “savings.”
How This Happens to Smart People
Sarah wasn’t stupid. She was educated, strategic, hardworking, and successful.
But she made five critical mistakes entrepreneurs make:
Mistake #1: “I Already Have My .com” She thought one domain was enough. It’s not. You need comprehensive protection.
Mistake #2: “That Would Never Happen to Me” She didn’t think anyone would target her. Someone always will.
Mistake #3: “I’ll Register It Later When I Need It” She planned to register it eventually. Eventually never comes, and then it’s too late.
Mistake #4: “I’m Not Big Enough to Worry About This” She thought she was too small to target. You’re never too small—success makes you a target at any level.
Mistake #5: “I Can’t Afford to Buy All Those Domains” She couldn’t afford $50 in domain registrations. But she could afford $500,000 in losses? The math never made sense.
The Domains That Destroy Businesses
Sarah’s story isn’t unique. This happens every single day.
The domains that destroy businesses are the ones that seem “close enough” to your brand:
Your Name + Your Service:
- [YourName]Coaching.com
- [YourName]Consulting.com
- [YourName]Services.com
- [YourName][YourIndustry].com
Your Business + Legitimacy:
- [YourBusiness]Official.com
- Real[YourBusiness].com
- [YourBusiness]HQ.com
- The[YourBusiness].com
Your Category + Location:
- [City][YourService].com
- [State][YourIndustry].com
- [Region]Best[Service].com
Your Social Media Handle:
- Your Instagram handle with .com
- Your Twitter handle with .com
- Your TikTok name with .com
Every one of these creates opportunity for impersonation, confusion, and brand destruction.
Why Competitors Do This
The competitor who destroyed Sarah’s business did it because:
It Was Easy: $10 and 30 minutes of work It Was Legal: Domain registration isn’t illegal It Was Profitable: They either extracted $50,000 or stole her customers It Was Low-Risk: Hiding identity online is simple It Was Effective: Destroyed a competitor without competing
From their perspective, it was brilliant strategy. From Sarah’s, it was a career-ending attack.
The Impersonation Playbook
Once someone owns your brand-adjacent domain, they can:
Level 1: Passive Damage
- Park the domain
- Show ads (including your competitors’ ads)
- Redirect to competitors
- Hold it for ransom
Level 2: Active Impersonation
- Build a lookalike site
- Steal your branding
- Offer similar services
- Confuse your customers
- Damage your reputation with poor service
Level 3: Malicious Destruction
- Collect payments but don’t deliver
- Generate complaints that attach to YOUR name
- Create legal liability for you
- Destroy your brand reputation permanently
- Make recovery impossible
Sarah experienced Level 2 escalating to Level 3. By the time she understood what was happening, it was too late.
The Prevention That Would Have Saved Her
Sarah could have prevented everything with one simple action:
Register SarahJohnsonCoaching.com for $10.
That’s it. That’s all it would have taken.
But here’s the comprehensive protection she SHOULD have had:
Core Domains:
- SarahJohnson.com ✓ (she had this)
- SarahJohnson.net
- SarahJohnson.org
- SarahJohnson.co
Service Domains:
- SarahJohnsonCoaching.com (THE ONE THAT DESTROYED HER)
- SarahJohnsonConsulting.com
- CoachSarahJohnson.com
- SarahJohnsonSpeaker.com
Variation Domains:
- SaraJohnson.com (one ‘h’ typo)
- SarahJonson.com (one ‘h’ typo)
- SJohnson.com (initial + last name)
Negative Domains:
- SarahJohnsonScam.com
- SarahJohnsonFraud.com
- SarahJohnsonReviews.com
Total investment that would have saved her career: $300-$500. Total loss from not doing it: $500,000+ plus career destruction.
What Engine Shark Would Have Done
If Sarah had come to Engine Shark BEFORE the crisis, here’s what we would have done:
1. Comprehensive Audit: Identified all domain vulnerabilities 2. Strategic Registration: Registered all critical domains immediately 3. Monitoring Setup: Alerts for new registrations similar to her brand 4. Expansion Protection: Registered domains for her future growth 5. Crisis Prevention: Made impersonation impossible
Total cost: $300-$500 Total savings: Her entire career
Instead, she came to us AFTER the crisis. We helped negotiate the ransom down and rebuild her brand—but the damage was already done.
Prevention costs hundreds. Crisis costs hundreds of thousands.
The Real Cost of “Saving Money”
Entrepreneurs are trained to be frugal, bootstrap, minimize expenses. That’s usually smart.
But there’s a difference between wise frugality and dangerous ignorance.
Not registering critical domains isn’t saving money—it’s accepting catastrophic risk for trivial savings.
It’s like not having health insurance because you feel healthy today. It’s like not having car insurance because you’re a good driver. It’s like not having business insurance because you’re careful.
You don’t get insurance after the accident. You get it before.
Stories Just Like This Are Happening Now
While you’re reading this:
- Someone is registering [YourName][YourService].com
- Someone is building an impersonation site
- Someone is planning to extract money from your lack of protection
- Someone is targeting your unprotected brand
The question isn’t if you’ll be targeted. It’s whether you’ll be protected when it happens.
Your Two Choices
You have exactly two options:
Option 1: The Sarah Path
- Skip domain protection
- Save a few hundred dollars
- Hope nobody targets you
- React when crisis hits
- Lose everything you built
Option 2: The Protected Path
- Invest in comprehensive domain protection
- Spend a few hundred dollars
- Make impersonation impossible
- Prevent crisis entirely
- Build without vulnerability
One option destroyed Sarah’s career. The other option would have saved it.
Which path are you choosing?
Your Action Plan
Stop reading and act:
- List Every Critical Domain: What domains could destroy you if someone else owned them?
- Check Availability: Are they still available? (If yes, register NOW)
- Register Immediately: Don’t wait another day
- Expand Protection: Think broader than you currently are
- Never Skip This Again: Every new product, service, or brand = new domain protection
The Message I Wish I Could Have Given Sarah
If I could go back and tell Sarah one thing before this happened:
“That $10 domain isn’t an expense—it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy. Register it today, before someone else registers it tomorrow. Your entire career depends on it.”
She didn’t get that message. But you’re getting it right now.
Don’t Let This Be You
Sarah’s story could be your story. The only difference between her outcome and your protection is whether you act TODAY.
The $10 mistake that cost this entrepreneur their entire brand is the same $10 mistake you might be making right now.
Register your domains. Protect your brand. Save your business.
Because $10 saved isn’t worth $500,000 lost.
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