hello ladies,

I have been in the industry for quite some time now, mostly agencies, but I'm thinking of branching out onto my own.
I know the work load will be more and it can all consuming and I was wondering what advice you can give me?  Is launching my own website is a necessity? How do I verify clients, which sites are reputable and how to ask him for cross check references etc? Where should I advertise?  And lastly what are the start up costs and what type of frustrations to prepare for?

This is greatly appreciated any feed back would be awesome 

Heya L_y_l_t
I have also been in the industry a while now and like you was with agencies and put off going indie for so long but now I wish I'd have done it sooner. Got fed up with agencies and now been indie for about 2 months, best thing I've ever done! I make soo much more money now and I'm in control of everything unlike with agencies that send you off here, there and everywhere. 
In terms of advice, all I've used to advertise so far is AW which has got me plenty of work so far. Not needed anything else and I also gave my regulars from the agency my work number so that they could still book me but through me.
I had no major start up costs, AW is free and I use my credits on there from my private gallery to advertise as available ect. The only upfront cost I had was ?65 for a hotel but earnt it back and more.
I find the only major frustration is when some clients just text and text all the time like you're their gf and to some extent although it pisses you off you feel obliged to text back even though they're getting on your tits. Obviously with agencies you don't get that but I'd say that's probably the only major draw back.  I absolutely love being indie and like I say, earn a lot more. Hope that's helped a little. If you need anymore info let me know x

The other thing to do, given your location, is a search here for 'America' or 'USA' etc.

There's not much on the main SAAFE site about the verification and reference services, for example, because they mostly exist thanks to the USA's prostitution laws. They have been mentioned here though...