Just thought I’d cover this.

The other day I wrote a post about how networking got me a free iPod – now, soon after I wrote that post I had 10 – 15 people ask for the person’s contact details.

I didn’t give them out to a single person – not because I wanted to be a dick, but because I couldn’t.

First off, it was because I didn’t know if he was legit – although I’ve not put anything into it yet, it’s easy for people to be suckered into getting scammed by someone they barely know.

Secondly, it was because if 10 – 15 people started contacting him, he’d a) get pissed off, as some people know next to nothing about doing online business and b) be busy – something I obviously don’t want to happen.

If you stumble across a potentially great source for something, do not share it.

For example, the guy that did the header for this blog – people liked it, asked who did it, I shared it with them. I sent him a few referrals, however the next time I needed a graphic artist for an urgent project, he was too busy with other work to create something for me. I’ve seen the same happen with top notch writers, designers, coder – you name it.

Remember, this is a business you’re trying to run.

Sure, I’ve recommended freelancers in the past to others – but the best people I’ve worked with stay with me. I have killer designers that can whip up print quality graphics in less than a couple of hours; writers that will produce content to die for at crazy prices, other freelancers doing similar amounts of quality. I have people that whip me up a website for $20 that I can sell for $500 the same day – would you really share such profit generators with everyone else?

Just like top affiliate marketers don’t share their top keywords, niches and bids, you shouldn’t share your top sources. By all means, help people out – point them in a general direction, give them an idea of what to do, but you should let people work for themselves, network by themselves, rather than giving them the easy way out.

Whether it’s content, graphics or even the niches that you find easiest to profit in, you don’t have to share it with anyone, and you shouldn’t if you don’t want to. I had quite a few pissed off people yesterday, most of them acting like spoiled five year olds – so be it. The difference between making any kind of bank and not doing so is taking initiative. Will you be doing so?

Some of the best places to find these kinds of people are forums. However, remember that you can also look locally – a good artist by hand usually ends up a good artist on the computer, and they’ll be far cheaper too (or even free).

My recommendation is that you not share your best sources – others may feel differently. What do you think?

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