
Originally Posted by
fbsmgirl
When I started escorting, I worked for an agency at $300 an hour. Of course, they kept half of that so I was only getting paid $150 an hour plus tips. I was in a "stuck" situation. When I decided to leave the agency and told the madam that I was going to go off on my own and charge $400 an hour, she laughed at told me that I would never see that in the south because I'm black.
Fast forward years later after working the indy hourly market, at the peak of my own escorting career I was charging $2,500 for 4 hour minimum for fly-me-to-you dates. I wasn't limited to the local hobby scene so the possibilities were endless. I had gone by many names and had many personas but this particular persona was the most expensive. I wanted to go big or go home so I invested heavily. $1,500 for pictures (was originally quoted 3k), $1,000 a night for the hotel room I shot in, $700 for a vedadesigns website (i opted for the template with a customized landing page)...etc You get the gist. Even after I spent all that money on my presentation, I was afraid I wouldn't get any business. I was really really really afraid because here I just spent all this money on a persona and I didn't know anything about this new "world" of escorting. That was when I learned about perceived value. I learned four things: 1. Men will pay it if they see the value themselves. 2. When you have a $2,500 minimum, everything costs more. Think advertising, travel costs ..etc. 3. Some men will expect you to do any and everything under the sun because they're paying you top dollar. 4. You will be slower than escorts charging $300 - much slower. I could go on and on about this but I think you get the gist. In short, all the glitters ain't gold. It's great to be pampered and know that men will pay that kind of money to be with you but you have to deal with some bs even at that level. It also occurred to me that while I had the means to create a persona such as that one, it simply didn't fit my lifestyle. If you think about it, it doesn't make any sense to sit around and wait for $2,500 dates when you want to make money consistently. For me, it was only an ego boost. The idea that I could attract that man to pay me that kind of money only stroked my ego. I didn't care if I got one client a month as long as someone out there saw that value and that made me happy. It's ridiculous but it's the truth.
Your lifestyle and location matters: Most women that enter the escort industry cannot afford to sit around and wait for $2,500 per date, period. Now think about the average black girl that enters the industry. When I entered the industry I was living motel to motel with my child trying to figure out how I was going to eat the next day. $2,500? $200 an hour at any point during that time would have made me rich as fuck but luckily after doing tons and tons of research, I found an agency, started working with them and pretty much worked my way out of poverty. My point is your rates/volume have to match your lifestyle or you'll just be irritated as hell. Consider your local market and your lifestyle, if the going rate in your area is $200 an hour, could you afford to wait around for a $500 an hour date?
Your confidence matters: If you don't believe that you're worth it, no one's going to either. You get what you put out there, if you charge $200 an hour, you're going to get men that are willing to pay you $200 an hour. If you charge $1,000 an hour (and hopefully with the right presentation), you're going to attract men that will give you just that (although it may take longer to build a base). For a lot of black women, it's simply a fear/confidence issue. Society already beats "us" down and then one day you decide you're going to be an escort only to read TER and see "I'm not paying $250 for a darkie". If you already have insecurity issues entering the business, reading comments like this on a daily basis will eat you alive. So it's not just a matter of what men will pay, what your market will bear, it's a matter of how you feel about yourself.
Your marketing and presentation matters: I posted this on another board the other day but most black escorts really don't know how to market and present themselves. You're not going to attract men willing to pay a premium if you look like every other girl on Eros. You're also not going to attract men willing to pay a premium if your pictures are all selfies of you in a dirty bathroom rocking a ratchet ass wig. Lately I've been meeting girls that are like so what do you do during a mute-hour date? Huh? You talk! You're a host. You entertain! If a man gets the sense that you can't hold a conversation, he's probably wanna just seen you for an hour and bounce. He's not going to book a multi-hour date with you unless he just wants to bang your brains out the whole time. And if he's discerning, he's not going to want to see you at all. So if you're a black girl wanting to make top dollar as an escort, it doesn't matter if you're catering to the hourly mid-range market or the high-end market, you have to bring your A game. You don't even have to be pretty. Your personality, conduct, marketing and presentation matters more.
Just my two cents.
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