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Screen before you sign
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August 16, 2000: 12:32 p.m. ET
Protect yourself, do thorough research on potential customers and vendors
By Jane Applegate
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Basing your purchasing decisions on personal contacts and a gut feeling may be dangerous to your business.
KnowX.com is a new Web site that allows small businesses to prescreen their potential customers and vendors before signing any contracts.
"Suppose a client wants me to use a printer in Iowa I've never heard of or worked with," said Susanne Lucas, co-proprietor of Lucas & Lucas, a Connecticut-based copy writing and design firm. "I'd want to know about the company's background, how long they've been in business, and whether anyone's ever filed suit against them -- all before I've checked references or asked for samples of their work."
On the KnowX.com site, small business owners can find out whether or not their client has a professional license; they can research contractors, tax preparers, lawyers, professional counselors and health professionals.
Users have access to millions of public records and published sources. The minimum cost for a search is $1. The user can purchase a Detail Record, (minimum cost is $3.95), a Multiple Record Reports (for $15), or a Comprehensive Business Reports (maximum cost $84).
"It's so easy to get burned," said Mary Mountford, president of Marketing Research Group in Trumbull, Conn. "These days, not much happens face-to-face -- it's just a phone call or an e-mail; it's better to do a little homework."
(Jane Applegate, a syndicated columnist and author of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, covers small business for CNNfn.) 
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