Please Note: this guide is written for gay escorts but is also applicable for straight escorts.

These notes have been written by a guy who's been one of the top escorts for several years and who now runs his own business. They're meant to guide you about the escort business in general. There's no perfect way to be a top quality escort and you'll find your own way to make a very good living or just earn a bit extra. This should help you at least get started and avoid some of the pitfalls.

The first part of these notes is some basic guidance. At the bottom are the 'TOP 10 TIPS' for escorts.

'Don't I have to have a perfect physique, a luxury flat in the west End and a 10" dick?'

No you don't. Escorting skill and a good attitude to clients will take you a long way. So if you're still up for this, read on!.

Working as an escort is very competitive but there's loads of room for top quality guys. To get started you need Commitment, Contacts, and Clients. If you think you can make a living just escorting clients to pubs and clubs or out to expensive meals without having to go to bed with them - you need not read any further and good luck!.

You need to ask yourself a few questions. Do I really want to do this? Or did I just have this idea when I was short of cash or off my face at a party? It's hard work, can be great fun and can earn you loads. But it needs first, commitment to yourself - knowing a bit about who you are and where you are going in life - second, it needs consideration for others who will be your clients and third it needs a certain amount of bottle. Can I really have sex with loads of guys I don't know and may not fancy? Can I cope with the phone ringing all hours of the day and night? What do I tell my family and friends about what I do? Will I get hurt or get diseases? What's the legal situation?

All this sounds a bit scary at first. One good way to decide whether it's for you is to find someone - a friend or another escort - who will talk you through some of this. And, of course, Absolute Male Escorts is a good source of advice and support.

You need to let clients know you are available and what you are offering. You certainly need a mobile phone with an answering service. You also need contacts. Absolute Male Escorts provides a cost-effective, fast way of advertising yourself not to clients worldwide. You can, of course, advertise in your local magazines, but they are much more expensive, give you less coverage and it takes longer for your advert to appear.

You could also start by working for an agency and there are some good ones around. But you need to negotiate with the agency what you are prepared to do and when you are available. The bad ones will try and exploit you - send you to clients who really want someone else, make you work all hours and every day and take a large cut. The good ones will look after you. So choose carefully and don't necessarily go with the first agency you contact. Ask other escorts about the agencies before deciding.

When you are first starting, you can also contact other escorts and offer to do duos with them or take any of the work they get offered which they can't do. But be warned some time wasters contact escorts pretending to be another escort and looking for a 'freebie'. So this may or may not work.

To get a return on your investment you need clients and as quickly as possible! A client is someone who will pay you for your time and your services. Clients come in all shapes sizes and sexes. Sure you may get good looking 18 year olds wanting time with you! But most clients will be older with experience and money to spend. So they'll expect the service that you have agreed to provide. No messing about. Make sure you give it to them. Many of them will be married, may be nervous and will expect complete discretion. Make sure they get it from you. If you muck clients about, word soon gets around and you'll find yourself getting much less calls. There are websites dedicated to escort reviews from clients. If you provide a great service they will give you a good review and you'll get loads of work. The opposite will happen if you mess them about!

2. Make sure you have the clients number and location before setting out; don't agree to meet in a pub or a street corner - they won't show up! A cool idea is to ask for the post code and pop it in the search box on multimap.com this will give you the exact location and tell you the place exists. Try it with your post code now.

3. If you agree to visit a client at a hotel, ask for the hotel's phone number and room number and then call back. This way you know they are real and there is someone there. Don't just rely on having a mobile number. If visiting a private residence make sure you have the address and a fixed line number (not mobile) so you can make sure they are real and if you get lost you can call for directions.

4. Be polite and informative about yourself and the services you offer when clients ring up or e-mail you (the Absolute Male Escorts web pages allow you loads of space to give all your details add all you can to your page and save lots of time on the phone). Having good up to date photos is always a great way to attract clients.

5. Be clear about what you don't offer; don't just agree to do things because of the money.

6. If you make a date, show up on time and if you are delayed call the client to apologise.

7. If you have any doubts that a client is genuine or that you may get hurt, don't go to the appointment but always ring to say you can't make it.

8. Unless the client has asked for something else, be clean and neat when you see a client.

9. Tell a friend where you are going and leave a contact phone number.

10. Take with you what you might need in the way of condoms, lube and poppers - don't rely on the client having them.