My Random #DommeThoughts

I felt compelled to write a post today because of a link that has been forwarded to me, of a forum discussion on MaxFisch, and I was asked for my opinion. Since I am not a member on that forum, I will make a post here. The topic of this discussion was whether the BDSM session prices will go down after the quarantine. The link to the discussion forum is below:

http://www.maxfisch.com/thehang/ubbthreads.php/topics/1751558

Here are my 2p about that: 

Whenever I am asked about pricing and pricing strategies, I always make an example of a Prada bag:

Will Prada bags be 50% cheaper after this lockdown? Because, you know, Prada needs to make money... And pay store rents...And, you know, new bag makers are entering the market every day... And, you know, because there will be a recession? Will they be 40% cheaper? 30% cheaper? 

Or will they remain roughly the same price they’ve been for last 50 years, inflation adjusted, and leave the localised market if it becomes not cost-effective? 

Now, my personal prediction is that Prada bags will cost the same they have always cost. But you’d be able to score a bag, capable of carrying things just as much as a Prada bag, in Primark for £1. 

Did the ‘invention’ of Primark make Prada drop their bag prices? Did Primark make Prada go out of business? Lose business? Did Primark steal Prada’s core client base through poaching and undercutting? I think we all know the answer to those questions...

There are Ladies who charge north of £1K per session, and did, are doing, and will do splendidly well while running a waiting list, and there are those who couldn’t find a client for £50 even before SESTA/FOSTA, COVID-19 and the Incoming Recession were in existence. That has always been the case, that will always be the case. There is no judgement being passed about it, this is just the reality of things.

Many answers in the thread seem to have their expectations and estimates based on the perception that all Dommes have just one source of income, are chained to a radiator within their post code, and only ever do RL sessions. Out of the top Dommes that I know, not one has only one stream of income. Most of us have diversified if not into other businesses and investments then within the s3x industry itself, through clips, online sessions or fan sites years and years ago. 

Yes, Domme Business is different to Bag Business. But as it is a BUSINESS there are more similarities than there are differences. And those Dommes who were good at Business and Marketing before quarantine are good at it during and will continue being good at it after quarantine, during recession, after recession and up until their eventual early retirement.

There is also some hope noticeable in the posts that there will be a huge influx of “new dommes” on the market because of unemployment as apparently there is no entry barrier to the industry. I hate to burst the bubble, both for the prospective dommes, and for their prospective clients, but Domination is not the first port of call for the unskilled and the unemployed. Far from it. There was a mention of a surge after 50 Shades of Grey as an example. What the kind gentleman who mentioned it has forgotten is that it was BEFORE SESTA/FOSTA. I myself have started when the only entry requirement for a Pro Domme were 5 pictures and an ability to string three sentences on a BackPage ad. That time, and that site, have long gone the way of the dodo. Seen Bonding? I am still waiting for the “tens of thousands of new dommes” to materialise after that...

To enter the profession now, you need solid knowledge of Business Admin and Marketing, hefty skill set of creating, curating and maintaining a website and all the costs involved in that should own skills be insufficient, heavy advertising costs to place that website on the advertising sites, creating and maintaining highly marketable online content, both free and for paid platforms, maintaining half a dozen of social media profiles on various platforms while constantly dodging censure, shadow banning and downright deletion of accounts, not to mention looking good and well-presented, being confident, and having the necessary toys and/or access to dungeons. And A LOT of hard work. Which, in the time of a recession, will not bear much fruit at all. And no, you do not get a business loan from a bank for this line of work. Most of those who are forced into s3x work by circumstances do not venture into Domination, now even more than before, but stick to traditional fields, where a pink thong and some baby oil will often do the trick.

But what about the Recession, then, and the “shrinking of client base”? Now, that is clearly written by someone who is expecting the middle class to literally die out. I can explain this with a simple chart:

This is how I see the distribution of wealth and income now, and after the Great Quarantine of 2020. The world will indeed become poorer, much like during the Financial Crisis of 2008, through lower middle class and working class sliding down the income ladder.

Those who are wealthy and affluent now are not going to wake up in two weeks and find themselves on the dole, or looking for a job at McDonalds. Why? Because they are usually very highly skilled, high earning individuals and have diversified income, investments, savings, pension funds et al. Yes, their stock portfolio might (and I say might!) take a hit. But it will not suddenly make them destitute. It just means that, for 2020, they might make a bit less money. But, 80% of a million is still 800K, and 80% of a thousand is 800. See the difference?

Now, let’s talk about me, for a minute, and my own business model, pricing strategy, cost control and target market/client base: 

I chose to move to a low income, low cost of living, high quality of life country. By choice, and for those very reasons. But I neither work on the “local market” nor for it! I charge five times what the average price per session is here, and my daily rate is higher than an average national monthly income. Exactly one of my current clients lives in the same country, and he pays me my rate. The rest of my clients are foreign, and either fly in to see me, or fly me out to join them in their endeavors elsewhere, and yes, they all know they can find someone much cheaper. 

But “cheaper” is not what they are after. Those buying Bentleys don’t price in a Seat Leon, just in case. ALL of my current clients are my regular clients, and they bring me much joy even in these dark times! If they enjoy being my subjects even half as much as I enjoy being their Mistress they will remain my clients for years to come. And those who couldn’t afford my rates before the pandemic won’t be able to afford them after. 

But how will the Great Quarantine of 2020 and the Incoming Economic Depression affect me and my business? Let’s see! 

I personally do not know  whether I will be able to see my clients this year, because even if the isolation orders are lifted, no one has cancelled the disease itself. I might get ill. They might get ill. Up until a vaccine or an easy treatment is invented all travel is in a precarious state, as are all sessions. At your own risk, as they say! I’d risk it for my regulars to a degree, but there are limits to everything, and I certainly wouldn’t want them to risk their lives and health for a session.

That said, we do not know what travelling post-quarantine will even look like. If I am required to spend 2 weeks in a lock down every time I have to take an international flight -- I am unlikely to be flying anywhere at all. If it goes back to pre-quarantine simplicity then it is a different story and I will be back to posting my Michelin starred client dinners from different cities in no time. But what if not?

Well, here comes the trick: remember I was talking about the diversified streams of income? While most people were busy with Netflix, I have used my quarantine time in to push for passive income, offering a product that is significantly cheaper than my RL sessions and client fees, but aimed at a much wider target market segment. 

I am proud to say that currently my cost of living gets covered by pure passive income in 20 calendar days. That is, I can fall into a coma for a month, and on day 20 of me being in a coma, all my bills and expenses will be covered, and I will wake up to 10 days of profit to get me to a SPA and treat me to some nice meals and still have some left over. And this is passive income. Online sessions are an entirely different thing, in addition to passive income.

What does that mean? It means that I do not NEED to have another RL session at all, EVER, even at my rate, if I do not wish to. I can retire. And if I cannot travel, I will happily spend my time developing and scaling up my online and passive income sides of business further, while sipping cocktails by the sea, in the safety of my own terrace and avocado tree. 

So when people ask whether sessions will become cheaper after this Quarantine, I just smile. Thing is, you WILL be able get cheaper sessions after this. But you could get them before this, too! There are, there have been, and there will always be cheap providers. Of everything. And if you are into “cheap cheap” you will always be spoiled for choice.

But it won’t come from established and business savvy dominatrices. Top ranks can afford to step away from the RL sessions altogether, for the risks involved, or only see their regular and trusted clients, at same rate or higher. Mid-range and upcoming will be likely to raise rates while diversifying to compensate for potential loss of foot traffic. And the cheaper ones will join the newcomers in the race to the bottom.

You know that saying, if you have to ask how much something costs -- you cannot afford it? :) Still goes! 

And that is exactly how this year felt. I have spent today thinking how to describe this year. Was it bad? With all honesty, not sure. It was very good in some aspects, but awful in others. Was it difficult? Perhaps, but certainly I know people for whom it has been vastly more so. Was it challenging? Actually, not more than any other year. Even Her Majesty the Queen has described it as “bumpy”! But as the clock draws closer and closer to the end of 2019, and believe me, it feels like it is not going fast enough, I think the best way to describe it would be a simple yet profound, one syllable word: “sad”... 

This year has been marked by a lot of pain of loss. The one true humbling pain, the loss of a loved one. Most people I knew lost someone this year, to age, debilitating disease, accidents, or even just to a relationship break-up. But life goes on, and those of us still here will learn to live with this pain, diminishing it through kindness and sympathy, and learning to appreciate more and more the friends and the family we still have around us. 

A lot of bad things happened to so many good people this year that it is easy to see how it could have challenge one’s faith in the Greater Good. But a year has nothing to do with it. Sometimes life is just like that, and it is unfair. A lesson we all should have learnt when Bambi’s mother died... But in other ways, at other times, it gets better, and we grow, we support those around us, and become ever stronger. 

It is easy and tempting to succumb to the overwhelming sadness, and to get into life-loathing and self-pity. But it is a poor hobby, and not a solution to anything at all. Yes, we lose some. Yes, it hurts. But it is important to be grateful, even in the times of pain, for those who are still around. Better to have loved and have lost, as they say. Likewise, it is better to have had one’s life brightened, emboldened, inspired and enriched by those whom we have lost than to have never met them at all! (Something every pet owner will tell you!) And the best way out of this sadness of loss is to make yourself grow and make those now gone proud of us! Somewhere in the world of Quantum Physics their atoms are looking at us! :) Let’s make ‘em smile! 

2020, Bring It On! 

Another week has passed, and as my followers know, it has seen me book a few more sessions and tours, celebrate an anniversary with one of my subs, and attend yet another magical dinner...o was it two?! 

This upcoming weekend, however, is very special to me. I will be trialling a new concept, which I may implement in 2020, depending on how it goes and how I like it. The working title of it is “The Tourist Experience” and, being in a trial stage, it is not currently available to book.

The Tourist Experience is a variation on the Private Tour concept. What I see it being is a day or an overnight trip into the Spanish countryside, arranged by me, but, of course, reimbursed with staggering generosity by the attending clients. It is best suited to those who are in Madrid on short assignments for work, or who live in Madrid and would like to get away for a day. A fancy lunch or a dinner, an exquisite hotel, comfortable travel, within short distance of Madrid. An adventure you wouldn’t have taken on your own, but something fun to do as a company of two.

This weekend is my first official trial of it. I shall keep you posted on Twitter... I have a delightfully good yet evil feeling about it! 

Hehe, wish my subbie luck! He will need it! 

Good evening from Madrid, my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, FetLife and World-In-General Kingdoms! Ha!

First and foremost, as you can see, the reports of my untimely demise, alien abduction, Mafia kidnapping, health distress and wotnot are hugely exaggerated! I am, thankfully, most alive, most well, and until today’s afternoon, was most busy!

Some of you, who follow me a bit more closely than the others, will know that during a somewhat emotionally heavy summer, with familial deaths and illnesses, I have taken things a bit more slowly to give myself some time to think of the meaning of life, and death, and my own values, goals and aspirations, and that I have introduced quite a few rather radical changes to the way I did my work, and implemented them in main, non-Beta mode starting September.

And dare I say that has worked like magic and paid off ten-fold! Since then, my feet have barely touched the ground: I have been to Barcelona twice, to Paris twice, to Denmark, to Switzerland, and hosted a few of spectacular days in Madrid! It does not seem much were it on per-year basis, but it was all during last 7 weeks!

I must say, even I did not expect things to go this well or to turn out this fun! For the first time ever, in my “this” life, I’ve got to attend a real Business Conference, and to play a “normal businesswoman”, which was absolutely hilarious! I have been to more Michelin starred restaurants in the last 7 weeks than I have been in last two years! And now, mainly because of that, I weigh more than I did in last two years, too, haha! And if that wasn’t enough, I even got to see the Large Hadron Collider in CERN!!!

Though, fun as it was, it also meant that I was extremely busy, if not on the Private Tours, then preparing for them. This created quite a bit of backlog of messages and emails that I need to answer, booking requests that I need to process, video clips from my tours that I need to upload onto my fan sites (most of them are not suitable for social media!) As I write this, it is 19:26 on a Friday afternoon, November 1st, and until Tuesday afternoon, this will be the least demanding 4 days in my calendar since September, and I am not accepting any new bookings for dates earlier than Nov 11th, so I hope to catch up on a few things until then! Wish me luck, and stay tuned! And may the Force be with you!

Hello, and welcome to my new sub-blog! I have been searching for a non-intrusive form of delivering updates about my life and schedules and wotnot for a while, and as it stands, I still prefer a blog to a Newsletter. That might change in the future, but for now I shall make occasional posts on here about my plans, past adventures and upcoming tours, and you will be able to type in an easy bit.ly link and taken directly to my latest post. Without the need to subscribe to anything. So, Welcome to The #DommeLife Diaries, or bit.ly/K8_News !