Theo

i'm sure most of you know these things (although often you don't follow them which is another story), but for those that are new here it's for your best interest to take the below things seriously:


Because someone has been around in boards for a while doesn't mean shit. I've seen me getting credit from people (I don't know or remotely know) only because I've been around in boards for a while. It's a big mistake frequently committed. I won't mention names, but we've seen people been around for some time and one day they turned scamming EVERYONE.


Request invoices for the product or services you purchase.

Ask for a % of the money upfront and issue an invoice from your turn.

Treat your on-line business like it's an offline business. The person that will try to avoid the above or act as offended is the person you don't want to do any business with. Exceptions apply, but it's up to you to filter them.

Avoid sending WU. Scammers favorite money system.

You get an offer from a guy or girl you haven't heard before. Do a little research on his name/nickname/domains. Do you see anything fishy? If it's for more than few $ ask around and always take steps that will secure your position as much as possible.

Extremely great offers are limited. Something that looks awesome deal probably isn't . Let others jump first and then you follow if you still have the same impression.

There's no such thing as great opt-in mailing lists for few $

There's no such thing as excellent traffic for few $

There's no hosting company with 100% uptime. If your host tries to convince you for this, they don't know the nature of their service.

Even one bad business deal with someone else that gave me the impression it's your fault is enough to not consider you as person I want to deal with. In 2004 this industry has too many sponsors, content providers, traffic sources, hosting providers, billing companies to limit yourself.




feel free to add your own advice as well