Escort Agency Talk – 309

Anyone who is self-employed can find himself in a tremendous heap of trouble when his gigs run dry. The same is true for an escort whose bookings slow down or stop completely.
In an economy that can be so volatile, it’s very possible that an escort may find herself in this position and will have to figure out what to do to pay the bills and buy some groceries. But, all is not lost.
Because escorts know this type of thing can happen to even the best of the best, they should prepare for the worst by creating a savings plan before they need one. Some escorts have a strict policy of saving $20 to $50 (or more) from each encounter. Others pay all immediate bills, budget money for regular expenses and put the remainder in savings. Regardless of how you do it, you should attempt to sock away at least six months’ worth of expenses in a savings account so you have it to rely upon in case of times you aren’t able to earn your normal income.
As you are implementing this savings plan, it’s important to alleviate any additional hardships on yourself if your income does happen to decline or stop, altogether. Avoid getting into debt at all costs. If you want new furniture for your home, save up for it instead of going into debt for it. Don’t charge up a credit card for a fun getaway to Jamaica with friends. If you don’t have the cash in hand, avoid going into debt to make a purchase. However, if your refrigerator (or water heater, stove or other essential appliance) goes out and you don’t have cash on hand to buy a new one, you may have to give in to a payment plan. But avoid debt for frivolous items, and pay off debt as soon as possible.
With that being said, sometimes you just don’t have a back-up plan. If bookings dry up and you don’t have enough savings to rely on, you’re going to have to do something immediately. Here are the things you should do:

• Cut your expenses now! Examine your budget and expenses, and eliminate things that are not necessities. That daily double latte’ or cappuccino from the corner coffee shop? Get rid of it. Your gym membership? Cancel it. Your gourmet food addiction or snack? Kiss it goodbye! Look carefully at everything you spend money on ranging from necessities (housing, utilities, etc.) to wants (coffee shop creations, morning pastries, taxis, designer clothing, daily newspaper, etc.) and make an earnest effort to rid yourself of extraneous expenses. Substitute where you can. For instance, buy coffee and fix it at home instead of going to the coffee shop. Read the newspaper online. Fix yourself a sandwich at home for lunch instead of swinging by the deli for an over-priced deli specialty. Look especially hard at your phone bills and cable bills for places you can cut there, too.
• Negotiate with your creditors. If you have debt, contact your creditors to explain your situation. Most creditors will cut you some slack if you let them know you are experiencing financial hardship. They may temporarily reduce your payments or give you two or three months to get back up on your feet. Facing your problem with them is much better than ignoring it. Late fees, delinquent payments and avoiding your responsibility will hurt your credit in the long term, which can cause your credit score to plummet.
• Set aside a bit of cash for groceries and other necessities. Some bills can wait a month or two to be paid. Maintain a small stash of cash for emergencies or things you can’t live without, such as food and medicines. You will find yourself in a bad spot if you’ve paid all your bills, but you have nothing left over to buy your medicine or some lunch meat, a loaf of bread and a case of Ramen noodles.
• Increase your free or cheap marketing. Look for other places to advertise your services. If you’re already marketing yourself on free sites, amp up your exposure with new (different) pictures and fresh content. Change up your website, write new blog posts and adjust your profile on directory listings. Even if you don’t advertise in new locations, changing up your current marketing may be enough to spark some new interest among clients. Pull out all the stops as you market yourself, but avoid sounding desperate. Never insinuate that you are in severe need of clients or their money. This puts you in a vulnerable position.
• Avoid credit cards like the plague! Like was mentioned earlier in the article, you should always avoid debt. But, when you’re broke, credit cards look like an easy solution. They aren’t. If you’re short for a week or two, a credit card might be able to put you over the hump until money starts to roll in. But, continued use of credit cards have caused many to file bankruptcy as a result. Relying on credit cards to pay your monthly living expenses can become quite expensive to pay back, especially when you figure in high interest rates.
• Run a special. Advertise a special rate or discount for a limited time. Market it as a pre-holiday “blow” out….or a winter warm-up session. Give it some catchy name and advertise the hell out of it. Lead with information about it in your blog posts, profile information and other marketing ads. Stress that it’s for only a limited time. When clients catch that your special is not permanent and is only being offered for a few days, they may be more inclined to hurry up and book an encounter with you. (Urgency in advertising causes consumers to act more quickly.) Book as many clients as possible in relationship to the special.
• Expand your working hours. Perhaps, your on-call hours don’t coincide well with client availability. Try to create a more flexible schedule that will accommodate your clients’ schedules better. Instead of only working four hours per day, you may have stretch your workday to eight hours. Or, schedule outcalls at night or evenings when clients are through with their workdays. Learn from your adjusted hours so that you can establish a more consistent schedule after business picks up steadily.
• Contact your regular clients. Call, text or email your regular clients and ask them when they’d like to get together again. If there seems to be hesitation on their parts to schedule encounters, ask them if there is a problem or if there are other concerns that you should be aware of. It would be extremely odd if none of your clients are willing to schedule an encounter with you, especially if some time has passed since their last visit. If there is a problem, maybe you can fix it once your client has told you about it. Be open to criticism and willing to listen to your clients’ input. You may learn something that will help you build your business back up. Even if you can’t retain your current clients, you may obtain insight that will help you with future clients.
• Rent out your incall. Even though the idea of welcoming another escort and her clients into your incall may not particularly appeal to you, you may not have many other options. Work out a fair agreement, including rental rate, and advertise the offer on forums for escorts in your area. If you know of other escorts in your area, talk to them about your proposition and ask them to pass it along to anyone they think might be interested. Once you find a renter, lay out the ground rules and settle on the agreement. Even though it may be a headache to schedule around another escort, it may be worth it to have a portion of your incall rent or mortgage paid without worry. Keep in mind that while you may be desperate for money, use care when selecting a renter. You could stand to lose valuable items from your incall or experience damage to your place. Ask for references or good input from others you know.

• A quality, used designer bag can easily go for $300 to $500

  Sell some stuff. Go through your jewelry, electronics and other items for anything you might be able to sell for some cold, hard cash. Consider selling some of your designer clothing or accessories. eBay, pawn shops, consignment stores and other locations are great places to unload good, used items. Contact some of your friends or other escorts and let them know you’ve got some goods for sale. A quality, used designer bag can easily go for $300 to $500, which can make a huge difference in your pocketbook when you need it most. Larger ticket items can also help you out during desperate times. Sell your car (and buy a more economical one). Sell you iPhone and purchase a cheaper, used smartphone. Sell your big television and buy a smaller one (or do without — because, you’ve probably canceled your cable bill, too!).

• Look for other work while you’re waiting for things to pick up. Don’t give up on your escort career, but you don’t have to sit and wait for it to happen, too. Pick up a part-time or temp job to help pay the bills. If you have a college education, look for something that coincides with your degree. Even a job as a restaurant server, convenience store clerk or retail associate will earn you a paycheck that you can use to help pay your living expenses and reduce your reliance on loans or help from family and friends.
• Seek out government assistance. If your situation is truly bleak and your escort career seems to come to a screeching halt without hope of being resurrected soon, consider going on government assistance. While this may not be what you want for your life, it may help you keep your head above water by paying the basic bills and putting some food on your table. While on assistance, you can still look for other work and aspire to become an escort, again. But, in the meanwhile, you know you can feed your family.