When I was a babyhoe (new to the industry) I took myself down to Respect QLD to find out everything I could before I put my first ad on cracker and other advertising platforms for escorts.
The woman I met with asked me what I knew about the laws in Queensland (QLD). I was honest and told her I was almost oblivious to the fact that escorting was even legal in QLD. She took the time to go through the most important QLD laws that I’d need to be aware of:
- I must work alone if I’m working from home
- It’s illegal to provide any service without protection
- Advertising laws are fucking ridiculous and seemingly arbitrarily written by pearl clutching law makers
- It’s illegal for me to keep ANY form of weapon for safety (e.g. mace, bats, knives etc)
Then Miss A asked me what I was going to charge. “Well I’m not sure, $150 an hour? Is that too much?” I’ll never forget the horror on Miss A’s face when I came out with that. “Oh no! That’s too low, you’re stunning you need to charge far more!”
"Then Miss A asked me what I was going to charge. “Well I’m not sure, $150 an hour? Is that too much?”
Right. I needed to charge far more. But not having thought too much about it I had no clue what far more should be. I spent a few hours on escorting sites writing down the rates of escorts in my size range and area and averaged it out. Yeh, seriously, that’s how I decided my rates early on.
Back then I had no idea of the costs associated with running my business. If I made $1800 in a day I claimed it all as profit and set none of it aside. I spent it on lavish nights out with my friends. I’d work 16 hour days five days a week, then on the Saturday I’d get all of my girlfriends together, we’d all go shopping for new outfits, get our hair, make up and nails professionally done, then book ourselves into some ridiculously priced hotel and start drinking – all financed by me of course. At the time, the majority of my friends were just married, starting their families, paying off brand new mortgages or struggling with student loans, and there’s no way they could afford a night out. And look,
"I bought phones, laptops, and furniture, pissed all my money up a wall and would be out drinking and partying with my friends every chance I got. I was a hot mess"
I loved being able to shower my friends in luxury. I bought phones, laptops, and furniture, pissed all my money up a wall and would be out drinking and partying with my friends every chance I got. I was a hot mess. Even when I was making my highest wage as a sales executive for a financial corporation it didn’t even come close to the kind of money that was flowing through my bank accounts back then. I absolutely was not equipped to deal with the responsibilities of running my own business and managing copious amounts of cash.
Within two months I was burnt out and thanks to not following the advice of every hooker I spoke to, I was also pretty much living week to week because I was too foolish to save my damn money. And I had a slight issue looming: my tax return.
What? Hookers do their taxes? [Well yeh, we do.](https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/In-detail/Deductions-for-specific-industries-and-occupations/Adult-industry-workers---claiming-work-related-expenses/) But doing my taxes was NOT at the forefront of my mind when I was out living it up. I called around to a few tax agents looking for one that was “hooker friendly” and finally found one I was comfortable with. After an initial 2 hour meeting with him I wanted to vomit. I realised I’d fucked up BIGTIME. Between the income I’d made as a civillian and my hoe income that financial year, I was going to owe a fuckton in taxes. Not to mention that I hadn’t been keeping track of my business expenses. But I had one thing going for me: the detailed records keeping process for booking times and fees made for each one. I’ll leave the rest for another post about how I run my business, but safe to say, that time in my life was a lesson I’ll never forget.
I take my business quite seriously now and plan and research almost everything to do with it – including my rates. I did a deep dive into the world of escorting rates a while ago and I found myself even more confused than I was before I started. There were brothel rates, blow and go escorts, “high class companions”, “down to earth” escorts, “affordable” escorts and on and on. But I couldn’t figure out what the difference was between each escort type - besides one thing: price. Most had professional photos, nice in calls, offered the same services, and for the most part were all genuine and lovely people. So what’s a hoe to do?
"I’ve realised that charging less or more than other escorts doesn’t make me less or more valuable”
I figured out what my business and personal expenses were, worked out how many bookings I’d be willing to do a week to get my base rate, rounded it out to the nearest hundred and that’s pretty much what I’ve stuck with for years now. I’ve fluctuated up and down once or twice for various reasons but this is where I’ve stayed, and I’m happy with it. It’s what I’m comfortable charging. I’ve realised that charging less or more than other escorts doesn’t make me less or more valuable. It most certainly doesn’t dictate the level of service you will or won’t receive from me. It also doesn’t mean that this is the dollar value I’ve placed on my body. But it IS the dollar value I’ve placed on my time and services.
One thing that hasn’t changed over the years though, is the detractor’s. As a babyhoe I received my first piece of anonymous hate mail within a month of my escorting fulltime. I’ll never forget it, because at the time it really upset me and it was a huge blow to my self-confidence.
I replied to the anon with “haters gonna hate” and a cute gif, Showing them and my followers that I didn’t care! I’m a strong independent hooker! But in reality I was hurt and even though I was making an insane amount of money and received compliments daily, I started to doubt whether or not I should continue being a Sex Worker. I quickly learned though that this person wouldn’t be the last. And it didn’t matter how I looked, what I charged, how old I was or what my incall looked like. There would always be those that will try to tell me I can’t possibly be worth what I charge. In the last week alone I’ve had one client tell me I don’t charge enough but also, this charming encounter with a follower on twitter. It took me a while to realise that the old adage of “You get what you pay for” doesn’t apply to the world of Sex Work. Hookers come from all walks of life and our rates are not synonymous with our value as a human being or service provider; nor are they indicative of our appeal to men.
And as the great Dita Von Teese once said:
Addendum:
1. I cant find a reference for Sex Workers being unable to keep weapons. I know I didn't hallucinate this bit of information because Miss A took me through some other household items I can use to protect myself in an emergency. I'm going ask around though and if I find and update I'll post about it.
2. Miss A is a pseudonym I've chosen to protect her privacy
As a taxi driver back in my younger days, I got a lot of work from the brothels in Canberra. The girls were my favourite clients as they were generally friendly, and I knew I was not going to have any problems with them, or with getting my fare. After a while, I found out that a number of places were requesting my taxi because I did not hit on the girls, I did not judge them, and they knew I was discreet.
It was pretty funny when I picked up my biology lab partner at uni from her place of employment, a high class brothel. She looked like she was going to die when she saw me, until I reassured her I would tell no-one in our class. Most of the guys and more than one of the girls in the class would have killed for a chance with her, and we would laugh at their attempts, knowing they could just go and pay for her services, if only they had known.
Stay safe, in all ways. And ignore the haters. They are probably jealous or can't afford you, either way, it is their problem, not yours!
Welcome to SteemIt! I just found this post last night and loved it. Your storytelling is very entertaining and engaging. Went back and read your previous posts, great work. Thank you for sharing your life. Keep it up. I look forward to reading more.
Hello! Thank you for stopping by. This is first time I’ve put any of my writing out for public consumption so I truly appreciate the positive feedback I’ve received so far.
This is so interesting to read! I hope you realised you needed to save some money for tax before the end of the financial year so the ATO didn't chase you down?
That's kinda bollocks-y you aren't allowed to protect yourself. Seems like a high risk job (if tv is anything to go by) so having something if things go wrong would be a good idea.
Lol. Love that twitter conversation. I'm guessing he didn't agree to $700.
I totally wasn't thinking about my taxes at all. Prior to sex work I'd always received a return and never had any issues with my taxes. That was the first year I received a bill (a fucking huge bill😅)
The QLD laws are fucking ridiculous and we're working on having them fixed. There's currently a campaign for #decrimqld that I'm involved in. Hopefully we make some headway.
And alas, I didn't make $700 that day 😭
I am resteeming your post as part of the Newbie Resteem Initiative #newbieresteemday. We are a group here to help those new to the community by resteeming posts to help get some extra exposure, as well as being here to answer any questions you might have. Check out this link for more details (or ask me.) Come Join Us!!! (Newbie Resteem Initiative)
I had to google what reteeming was, but then I went ahead and resteemed an article I found interesting. This article got an insane amount of views and upvotes and I’m assuming that’s because of you. I appreciate what you did and I’m so excited to write and engage more!
As well as being part of the Newbie Resteem Initiative I previously mentioned, I am also a @curie curator. They are a great group on the lookout for exceptional content. I did submit your post and it got accepted which is where a lot of the traffic and upvote came from. You're very welcome. If you want to learn more about what I do with Curie here is another of my posts from about a week ago. https://steemit.com/newbieresteemday/@randomwanderings/i-am-a-curie-curator-find-a-great-post-and-let-me-know-newbieresteemday
And like I said, definitely looking forward to more great stories.
Such a fascinating read - thank you for sharing! As someone who has never felt the common cultural misunderstanding of sex workers, I have also found it rather hard/taboo to even look the subject up to learn more. I look forward to more of your posts and am grateful you shared your work to the @ladiesofsteemit account!
I’m glad I’m able to give some information on the subject in a way that you find accessible :)
What an interesting story! What I get out of it is that no matter who you are, when you put yourself out there, someone is going to criticize you for it. It simply can't be helped. Always remember though is that typically the critics themselves are coming from a place of deep insecurity. They criticize to drag others down. If anything you should feel sorry for them. Anway I love your writing and can't wait to read more. Followed!
I could agree with you more re: it says more about the critics themselves than it does about me.
It took me a while to learn to block out the nastiness, heck now I even laugh about it and play around with them if I’m bored 🤷♀️
The laws regarding carrying weapons probably aren't specific to sex workers. For example in most of Australia pepper spray is a prohibited weapon and it is illegal to possess or use it for everyone. (Except Western Australia where is is a controlled weapon)
You also can't carry knives in Australia without lawful excuse like you are a chef and need then for work. Self defence isn't a lawful excuse. This applies to everyone not just sex workers
Hey thanks for clearing that up for me. I had a feeling that would be the case but I'm not savvy enough to find the correct laws etc. I appreciate you educating me, thank you!
interesting read, good that you've gotten out of that rut!
Preach, Ms. von Teese! She is amazing.
Setting prices is very difficult when starting a new business, regardless of product. I am finding myself having to do a lot of field research, developing a budget and calculating potential overhead costs (such adulting, very confusion). I will be pursuing consultant work, so now I am working out if I will charge hourly or by project. So much to consider, but you illustrate the importance of getting it hammered out now, before jumping in and learning the hard way. Thanks for the very timely advice!
Interesting write-up glad you're out of that gut
You can also check out
https://steemit.com/promo-steem/@danpete/meetup-at-the-university-of-benin-benin-city
Love your honesty and your willingness to speak about a topic most would keep hush hush. I especially love the sense of self-respect I get from you. If you haven't yet heard of the #womenspeakout tag, and groups like #steemsugars and #teamgirlpowa, you might find those of interest. I'm so glad this post got curied! We need more healthy, honest talk about sex. Steem on! :)
I'm going to use some of these tags in my next post! I've been checking in on those tags daily and I'm loving reading about the lives of other strong women from all over the world!
its good to know the other side of a person. I didnt know even that these people are paying taxes as well. Its always amazing to learn. Thanks for the blog @missvee