10. Be Wary of the Cost.

Regardless of how successful you become, and how supportive your friends and family might be, this ain’t a free ride.

This is a sub-branch extended from a larger blog set I have written laying out tips and advice for Onlyfans Creators, but also independent Escorts, Performers, Sex Workers and whoever else getting started in the Adult Entertainment Industry.

This advice comes from a Content & Brand Production & Marketing perspective. This is not about doing the job itself.

The core post can be found HERE.

Obviously this info is better coming from actual veteran creators, but I have had a few clients now transition out of the industry, and I’ve heard a lot of others also voice the negatives.

Some things you may need to take into account here:

A dramatic drop in libido, and general love life.

I used to work in the Games Development industry, and after a full day of working on games, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was play games.

I’ve heard this multiple times now from veteran clients, and it’s only really the most hyper-sexual ADHD creators who do not ultimately drain themselves out and fall to depression.

Think of it like substance abuse, because the mechanics are actually the same. The brain only creates so much dopamine at a limited rate. The more you dump those endorphins, the less the brain has to offer for the next hit. If you are not giving yourself time to recuperate, then a prolonged drain will obviously have negative effects, to the point of hindering your very ability to enjoy things.

Food will literally not taste as good, jokes will not be as funny, sunsets wont feel the same, because your body has simply drained the chemical means to do it.

You don’t want this to hinder your time off, so try scheduling breaks. Recuperate during the meta-administrative days where you are all in on making the business go. With the potential monetary gains to be had with this gig, you might also be able to afford taking whole weeks off at a time.

Make critically sure that you sleep well, and DO NOT starve yourself. Make sure to eat a good amount of protein and healthy fats. Reduce the sugar and alcohol and narcotics in your diet. This will help enhance your natural radiance and camera interaction anyway, which is obviously what you want.

The sheer amount of work you need to do.

And oh man, there is a lot more than you think. The top level clients I have worked with are working all the time, whether it be on beauty routines and exercise, on planning and creating content, on production skills and set up, on engaging with audience, working with sponsors and partnerships, finances and business meta, and so on and so on.

There also comes a feeling when you run your own business that there’s always something more you need to be doing, and it’s hard to just let yourself rest. You’re not alone in this. I have that in spades, my clients in other industries do as well.

Don’t be assuming this is going to just be a side gig you can do when you’re in the mood. Maybe you can work some streamlined process out for yourself, and that’d be great, but as I’ve said, this is now a buyer’s market. If you want to hit, be prepared to work.

You get the worst Humanity has to offer, and they will come at you with spite.

Many people consider those in the sex industry to be the cause of all of society’s woes. They resent you. They target you. They want you placed beneath them so as to nullify their own toxic self-perceptions.

And they are on both sides of this industry. This industry is full of sharks, and they want every last cent they can swindle, to claim every indulgence they can win from you, and to gain every feeling of power for which they can use you as the muse.

You are a target. People literally blame you for all the world’s problems, and hold you up as the prime example of it. You’ve heard repeated times how societies speak of ‘whores’. That will not go away, and the stigma will always be with you. You likely don’t care about that, but it’s good to keep in mind and identify where it may legitimately hinder you in life.

Even good, genuine people are scandalised by this, and don’t know how to deal with this. Just your presence alone, and the knowledge of what you do, can bring out some unexpected behaviour from others because people still don’t quite understand it or you. They don’t want you around their kids, they think you’re more up for it, they think they can get more crude with you, or even that they are ‘expected’ to do so.

Yeah maybe your friends might all trumpet you as a hero (on the outside), but remember, a lot of other people in this day and age are socially insecure by default. Even in normal circumstances they’re still awkward. Now throw you into the mix, and they’re freaking out on the inside. They don’t know how to handle it, they’re trying to show they’re cool with it, and they overcompensate and say something really off-colour that genuinely insults you in front of everyone.

Be ready for that.

Now I’ve heard a lot of under 25’s spouting on about how “sex work is totally normal these days!”

Well… No. It’s not.

I’m just saying be ready for that. Open your eyes, be realistic, do your research, gain multiple perspectives, listen to the veterans, listen to your gut, make damn sure you’re ready for this and keep yourself protected.

This game is temporary, and there’s no escaping that.

There are middle-aged creators, and successful ones. There are. The ones I find most successful seem to be the swingers who openly collaborate, and that open ‘lifestyle’ approach has a magnetism to it that audiences enjoy and live vicariously through. But very few of even them are doing this right through to retirement.

Now I know this is probably a long way away for you, but it’s coming. Regardless of your demographic, you are going to become less and less attractive as you age, so will therefore attract less and less of an audience, less and less of a return. The sooner you get your head around that, the sooner you can formulate an exit plan and have that in your back pocket, ready to go. I’ve had a few clients now try to transition out. None I would say were too successful at it, because they had been doing this for their entire 20s. They had never gained any grasp on how ‘normal’ people work, and they’re realising how much they’re actually behind the starting line.

Or at least that’s their perception.

The first thing I would advise, and as I at least tried to advise them, is don’t try to cut cold. Make it a progressive transition. Whatever civilian career you’re looking to start in this career’s place, you’re starting at the bottom, so pick your total output up to 120% to allow for the new to establish. Ease down the Sex work 10% to focus on the Civilian work 30%. As the Civ work picks up to 50%, the Sex work can come down to 70%. Keep it this way till you know that that 50% is stable, and I’m talking for several months at least. Then you can start bringing the Sex work down to 50% and making yourself comfortable.

When the civilian work lifts to about 70% on its own, that’s when I reckon you can toy with cutting the former career loose.

A harder thing though might actually be figuring out what you want to do. This is where creators in their thirties tend to have an advantage, as they tend to have come from other established vocations that they have more of a chance of returning to. They at least have a better perspective on how that other world works. Those doing this from teens or early twenties however literally don’t know what they’re getting into nor what they can offer.

I would advise this:

Take note from the beginning of non-industry crossover skills.

You’re going to be learning and practicing a hell of a lot more than you think. By working this Onlyfans thing, or working as an escort, or through doing other sex work, as you are ‘a small business owner'.

As I’ve said, I have a lot of experience across a lot of varied white and blue collar industries, working both in-house and freelance. I’ve seen the people who work in these industries. A proactive and resourceful Onlyfans creator or escort who sets up and runs their own business, who manages their finances, collaborates with specialists, builds a successful social platform, researches and employs analytics to adapt and adjust their strategy and processes, knows how to identify and accommodate target markets and niches, and so on, and so on, is far more capable and adaptable than literally the majority of people out there who just get a job, rise through the ranks, and have that stuff done for them.

I have worked with ‘senior-level’ staff of mid and large companies who have risen through the ranks upon first gaining an entry-level job. I am routinely far more impressed by my indie author, course creator, influencer, entrepreneurial, artist, small business and independent clients, than I am with them. They have everything done for them, they make the minimal effort required to maintain their role, and when time’s up, they clock the fuck off.

I worked in-house for a place last year, while maintaining client work on the side. I was doing 14-16hrs, 6, sometimes 7 days a week. I would then go in on Monday and all I would hear was how the ‘weekend is never long enough’, by people who would then just return to doing the next to nothing they’d do during the work day, while ever complaining about being under the pump. I meanwhile actually got shit done, because that’s how I do, and I’d go home and get right in on my second job to get shit done there too.

10% of people do 80% of the work. After a few years of success in this career as a small business owner and independent creator, you will easily be one of those 10%. And you will be able to run rings around 80% of these guys. Do not be intimidated by it. It’s just a matter of auditing the skillsets you’re developing, and wording it right on a CV.

Keep aware of the myriad of skills you will be accumulating through this, and look into where they lead. Not only might this uncover avenues for you in this industry, but there ‘will’ come a time where you want to transition out, and you will have all of the above to fall back on when that happens.

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