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ORIGINAL: MsSaskia

I definitely echo what the other two women have advised above.  Additionally, I'd ask if you've given much thought to how much money you're able to invest in your venture.  A basic, cheap leather paddle can run about $40.  Canes are about the same.  Floggers are around $60-100 each if you don't go for fancy.  Nipple clamps are $20-30/pair.  Getting just one each of gags, blindfolds, ropes, handcuffs, collars, leashes is going to set you back a couple hundred, not to mention anything beyond the bare bones basics.  Then there's dungeon furniture, a few fetish outfits, lining up photo shoots, having a decorated space to play (is it soundproofed? will your neighbors notice an increase in short-duration traffic?), setting up a website, paying for advertising and getting a cell phone.  Having a lawyer on retainer and hiring a CPA to help you set up as a business and advise you on how much to set aside for (quarterly) taxes (about 25% of your income) is also strongly advisable.  It's funny how having no income on paper means you don't collect Social Security and can't qualify for loans, establish credit or inform future employers what you were doing during that strangely blank time on your resume.  Get a CPA.

If you're new enough to the scene that you don't own any basic toys or wardrobe, you're going to need some kind of training so you can learn how to use, maintain and clean the basic tools.  Regardless, you'll also have to learn how to screen clients (after 11 years, I'm still working on that), learn how to keep clients, and learn how to deal emotionally (and financially) with the no-show artists, mindfuck specialists, stalkers and your own colleagues, who will have no interest in helping you learn the ropes, but will very likely be eager to see you go down since it'll eliminate the competition to have you gone.  Sometimes they even help the process along.

If you're intent on being a solo practitioner because it seems like an easy and fun way to earn money, you'd do better just doing phone domination.  If you apprentice at a house, you'll have a better chance of learning how to get really good at domination, but the money isn't going to be what you'd expect (because houses have to provide way more than just the basics) and you'll still have to invest in wardrobe anyway. 

If you're set on being a sex worker, stripping and prostitution are where the real money is at.  Their overhead is a dream. 

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ORIGINAL: lockmeupplease

Example: one who knows I'm a sub told me that she has a regular who pays her $500 to kick him in the "jewels" and verbally humiliate him.  (For $500, I would have kicked him :).  Another has a regular who pays to have his nipples abused.  Another has a cross-dresser who comes in to have his pantyhose admired.  For whatever reason, these men feel safer in that environment than going to a Pro Domme, and the dancer has a group of bouncers watching her back.