Lesson #28 This is a Business!
Written By Titmowse

When you become an adult webmaster you open a business. You graduate from worker to entrepreneur, from amateur to professional. We at Cozy Academy wish you success and hope you make tons of money.

In our experience with new adult webmasters, we've found that most of you get into this industry without planning. So many of you come to us and ask:

"How do I make money?"

"How much money can I expect to make?"

"What kind of porn generates the most income?"

"I've got a hot girlfriend and a digital camera, where's my bling bling?"

"If I buy a Turnkey site, I just have to turn the key and I'm rich, right?"

Trust us when we tell you, the adult Internet business is like any other business. There is no key. There is no switch that turns the money on. You have to approach this venture the same way you would any other non-adult enterprise.

You have to make a business plan. You have to consult professionals like accountants and lawyers. You have to keep your promises, pay your bills and your taxes. You have to act like a grown-up adult and cheating is as wrong in porn as it is in stock trading. An adult webmaster is bound by the laws of his/her city state and country as well as the codes of conduct within the profession. If there ever was a unregulated era for online smut, the era is gone.

Make a Business Plan

In the beginning there was the web and pr0n. At first, only a few clever souls were brave enough to offer dirty, filthy porno for a fee. This was the golden time. It didn't take a lot of imagination or marketing know how to sell sex on the net, back in the day. But the exclusive club didn't last. More and more and more webmasters got into the game and turned porn into one of the most competitive, cutting-edge industries on the World Wide Web. Today's successful adult webmaster knows more about selling to surfers than anyone on Madison Avenue and you need a business plan if you want to compete.

Consult Professionals

Lawyers. Tax lawyers. Accountants. Hosts. Designers. Content providers. Payment processors. Banks. You might not need a shirt and tie but you are going to deal with professionals if you're going to be an adult webmaster. Like it or not, you're going to have to act like a professional. You are joining a profession that is highly regulated on all fronts. The laws and regulations you'll be following are serious and if you violate them you could suffer grave consequences. If you break an obscenity law, you can go to jail. If you are behind in paying your host, they can shut down your site. If you have too many members charge back, your processor can withhold fees from your profits.

Act Grown Up

When you say you will pay a designer half up-front by Monday the 25th, then do it. If that designer completes the work satisfactorily and on time, you pay the rest by the date you promised. If your content provider has yet to send you that special password to download content you've already paid for, you don't bitch about it on the message boards or to your buddy on ICQ. You find the phone number for your content provider, you call during respectable business hours and you calmly ask about the status of your order.

Don't Cheat

It won't work. You'll get caught. No, you can't play the newbie card. If you think you're cheating, you probably are. Knock it off.

Pay Your Taxes

They CAN get you too. The reality is, everything from the content, to the profits to the medium, to the law is about money. Legislators want to control smut but they especially want to control the smut that makes money. Hosts, providers, and IPSPs want money for their services. You want money from your surfers. When the end of the years comes around, the taxman will want a full accounting of the money you made and the taxes you owe. You can fight laws and lawmakers. You can argue and haggle with vendors. You can play the fool with your superiors and peers, but you can't play at all with your taxes.