They give you 30% because you probably live in Europe


They give you 30% because you probably live in Europe
Where I live I regularly see jobs requiring a bachelors degree and experience that start at $10 dollars an hour so if someone posted one a f/t one for $20 they would have hundreds of applicants. Most jobs pay minimum wage and the smaller mom/pop type places will pay under that usually in the 5-7 an hour range. They do cash to avoid paying taxes on you. Wait staff gets 2.13 an hour.
$20 an hour feels slow in this work, but think about the reality. You didnt have to spend hours unpaid commuting, you took a break whenever you wanted, you were not bullied by your boss or belittled by a coworker etc etc. When i make $20 an hour i feel like a failure BUT im far better off here like this than locked in the toilet crying my eyes out for $10 an hour like i was in my last job





Camming isn't the only profession that takes a large percentage of your income. I'm a self-employed Hairstylist and I also pay close to 30% of my income. There are pros and cons to every profession. There is no Utopia or the perfect job.
Let's be real here, camming can give a lot but it also takes a lot.
And for people like myself which society deems as not normal, a freak working vanilla jobs where I'd be discriminated, relentlessly bullied would be detrimental to my health and well being!





With Marina Starr, EVERYTHING's possible!!!
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt
Thanks for the info guys, it's highly appreciated !!![]()
I'm confused about the free chat angle. Everything I've read said never to do free chat shows. How is it possible to make $$$ if you're doing something for free? Do people tip you highly during it? An explanation for this would be awesome. I personally don't care about people knowing. i am willing to post free vids on Pornhub or wherever else for exposure. I am comfortable being a sex worker, and I am aiming to get another 10-15 years out of this. (I'm 21, been in the game since 18. You can see how I'm burnt out... I want to learn how to work in a way that is sustainable.)
The whole working 5 days a week thing can't happen for me. I would be wanting to work 3 days a week max, for 4-6 hours. Perhaps 4 days a week for 4 hours would be best. My other hustle is that I'm a tattoo artist, I'm completing my apprenticeship and begin working for cash in the summer. That's my passion so I don't give a shit if I make 5 dollars an hour at the end of it! It's going to end up taking quite a bit of my time.
My other vanilla job that I had before escorting was cleaning/maid work. I made $20 to start with, and then as houses were tamed I could finish them quicker and sometimes made closer to $25 an hour! All cash. It's still possible for me to make $18 an hour here in MTL with a company. Maybe I just have good business sense, but there are other independent hustles you can establish that aren't sex work related.
20/hr isn't crap, no, but I would rather not fuck myself on cam, be ostracized by society, be shamed for my sexuality, and be treated like meat by random strange men for 20 dollars an hour. The emotional toll is much, much too high for such a small pay check. I do this work to be much more comfortable than the middle class lady.
I hope I haven't offended anyone by saying that. I'm probably super spoiled from 300/hr escorting ...![]()
With taxes, I don't mind. I would be writing off anything and everything I could! I already spend a good sum on keeping myself fit, and my physical appearance maintained. I'm under the impression I can write off: tanning, teeth whitening, gym, hair, nails, makeup, lingerie, sex toys, percentages of cosmetic surgery, etc. Not to mention the technology side of it. Is this correct?![]()
I would also be interested in shooting girl on girl scenes, independently or with porn companies.





Yeah, if you want to work an average of 15 hours per week on cam and come out with at least $1000 for it, you may want to look at other venues. Veteran models with a large following and time into the scene can do that, but new girls? It isn't impossible, but it also isn't likely.
Free chat depends on the site. Streamate only allows hardcore XXX shows in paid areas. Free chat is designed to lure dudes into going paid. Token sites (MFC, Chaturbate, etc.) have an option for paid chat, but most models do public shows once they receive X amount of tokens (so, public show happens after being paid, say $100, or whatever you want). Token sites have a higher income potential, but they require a lot more than 15 hours per week of work and are very, very difficult to break out on. You'll want to look around at the big box site threads on the forum to see what fits you best.
Taxes--sorry babe, but you're asking for an audit with a lot of those write-offs and your audit will likely show them as invalid. Yes, you can write off a home office and the cost of technology (internet, computer, etc.) with receipts, but physical appearance related items are things many women (and men!) pay for just because they like them. Basically, the IRS will argue they aren't 'business necessities' so much as personal indulgence. There are women who write them off, but very few CPAs will get on board with the plan. Point blank, single, childless women working in the cam industry need to be prepared to shell out 30-40% of their cam earnings to taxes, period.
G/G shows/scenes can be worth money on cam and in clip store sales, certainly, but avoid porn companies. They pay shit compared to what you'd get on your own.
Frankly, from everything you're expressing in terms of your schedule and what you want, I suggest you stay off of 'big box' sites and focus on indy camming + twitter promotion + clip sales (pre-recorded videos sold on Clips4Sale, ManyVids, etc.).





Free Chat is where you do the sales pitch.
I hear you girl, and the advice already given regarding expectations is pretty accurate.
I escort at 300/hr, too, and there are definitely times on cam where I'm like "fuck this broke ass shit." But then I think about what other escorts are charging, what they're getting, and how often they're getting it. I do cam as a backup, so I don't have to start offering discounts or (*dread*) half-hour sessions or some other BS that people in this town are pulling. I'd MUCH rather do three hours on cam at $20/hr than do a qv for 100 even if I'm not taxed on the cash. It helps me maintain the value of my escorting persona. Because I can survive on cam money, I take MUCH less shit from escorting clients. Also, because I can survive by my regular escorting clients, I can also tell cam to fuck off when it's glitchy or people are being dickfaces.
Like you, I started at 18 and I was burnt out at 21. I took a couple of years off from the industry, finished school(s), and now I'm in a good position to be mature about how things work, and what I can expect of *myself* as I'm the one doing all the work. But, as far as the work is concerned, escorting and cam are two different beasts, as, I'm sure, stripping and cam are (I've never had the confidence to dance in a club, so I haven't tried it). I was in a really fucked up place when I started camming, and I was not stable enough to escort, and I struggled for a LONG time before I started to average $20+/hr. I was the top salesperson at my last vanilla job, making 80k/yr commission-only, so it's not that I couldn't sell, and with a decade of sex work behind me, I was experienced there, too. It's been about 18 months, and I'm finally at a range that even you'd be comfortable with on cam. But also, I'm fairly addicted to hustling, so sometimes I'll sit excitedly in an empty chat room because *I just know* some guy is gonna come in, and I'm gonna work my magic and have so much fun.
It'll depend on the site you choose. If you start on SM, your minutely rate will be capped at $5.49, so you'll have to spend over 30 minutes in Exc with one client, or whatever adds to 30+ in private with multiple viewers. You'll need one $200, or two $100 gold shows per hour if you go that route. Obviously, you can combine privates and gold shows, but neither of those are easy tasks for *anyone*, let alone someone brand new, with no favorites, no reputation, no tags, no comments, etc....
In my local community, I'm the only escort I know who advertises and charges 300/hr and is also on the front page of a major cam site like Streamate (some ladies are on CB or MFC, but not nearly as successful there as I am on SM, from what they tell me themselves), and I know a lot of people.
It'll be an investment of your time, but if you're dedicated and know what you want out of SW and life in general, you'll get it.
OP - might private party dancing be an option for you? There are escorting opportunities in PP work, too (so I hear), but you could decide to do that or not based on how you're feeling at the time and the demographic of the party.
I'm going to get flack for this, but I've often thought that dancing + escorting is the perfect combination for anyone willing to escort. Use the club or PP to screen, get contact info, then do your thing OTC.
Just mentioning this, though...I know you're burnt out right now!
You might want to do some hard math before you commit to camming. Crunch those numbers! Factor in the startup costs that come with camming (the cost of setting up your room and tech), calculate your projected earnings based on the camgirl norm (I know, you guys, but there is enough info on here to give her a conservative range), and make sure the math makes sense compared to dancing.
I mention this because of your post on this page that sounds like what I was trying to get at earlier (fuck the convenience of working from home...you still want to make good money, or it isn't worth it to you).





Charlie isn't wrong about the conservative estimate gig.
We hesitate to give numbers here because, just like any sales gig, there aren't any guarantees. That said, conservative estimate:
Baby camgirls, no prior experience camming (generally 0-6 months range): $10-$20/hour, on average. This assumes mid-to-high range equipment (external webcam, computer with decent specs, etc). This also assumes you're no longer in 'new girl' status (varies by site, usually lasts 1-4 weeks) and getting that extra traffic boost that comes with that tag.
Intermediate camgirls + good tech + some experience (generally 2/3-12 months range): $10-$35/hour, on average. This assumes your tech is in at least the good-to-excellent range, per site specifications, i.e. high speed internet upload, external webcam, i5 or higher computer. Also assumes you're starting to get comfortable in your hustle and advertising.
Senior/Experienced camgirls + high tech + experience (generally 1+ years range): $35-$75/hour, on average. The cap really does not exist and I know models making $100-$200/hour very steadily, but they are serious outliers and most will ballpark at around $50-$75. This assumes high-end tech (gamer-class computer, hardwired connection, professional lighting, etc.) + knowledge of fetish work + advertising + regular hours + regular clients + some fucking good luck.
I'm pulling these estimates from what I see in newbie posts about earnings + just what I've gotten vibe wise after 2.5 years as a model. There are obviously outliers--those who make far more, far more quickly, as well as those who make far less even with top notch everything. So, to be clear, I think you can earn $300+ in a 5-6 hour session working only a few days per week, but it's not going to be an instant cash cow by any means.
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