Exotic Publishing

New Zealand Legalizes Prostitution

The government of New Zealand has recently legalized prostitution, and has realized the need to issue a guide for sex workers.

A 100 page Occupational Safety and Health Guide has been issued by a government committee whose members realized that health and safety guidelines should be developed for the sex industry, since it is now legitimately a part of the nation's workforce and economy.

A portion of the forward reads as follows:

The Prostitution Reform Bill was passed into law in June of 2003.

This means that the sex industry now operates under the same health and safety rules as any New Zealand industry.

This Guide is intended for sex industry owner/operators, the self-employed, employers, managers and workers. It covers a broad range of topics and is relevant to all New Zealand sex workers, regardless of their location or mode of work.

Like all New Zealanders, workers in the sex industry have the right to come home from work feeling safe and well. This Guide is a significant step towards securing that right.

Employers are asked to ensure condoms in a variety of shapes and sizes are always made available, and to also provide beds that support the back for a variety of services that are usually performed. This is to ensure there is no strain or discomfort.

Sex workers are also cautioned to watch out for occupational overuse syndrome, which is often caused by rapid repetitive tasks or forceful movements. They should also carry a small penlight in case they need to check clients for sexually transmitted diseases.

For a complete "How To" and all you need to know about safety and success as an escort on our side of the planet, read my e-book "How to Become an Escort". It is brand new and packed full of all the tips you can't afford to learn the hard way.

Bringing in the Money

I know many of you struggle with finding reliable and secure ways in which to accept money from your customers without jeopardizing your business.

How does one jeopardize their business you ask?

Unfortunately a lot of banks won't give you a merchant account because you run an adult business.

I know it was very hard for me to keep my merchant numbers when I ran my escort agencies and I eventually had to find other companies that would run my credit card calls through for me.

First the company had to "fit the bill" by using their merchant numbers in the same way an escort agency would, then I had to pay them a HUGE percentage and trust that they would be honest and cut me a check for the money I had made the previous week.

Escort agencies and escorts were so happy when they came across PayPal, but now with PayPal's negative publicity regarding their $9+ million dollar law suit (Read all about it),and the fact that they are closing down all adult accounts, people are turning to more reliable forms of accepting payment.

So, I've worked hard to find you a solution for your merchant account problems and I've come up with a company that specializes in providing merchant accounts not only for mainstream companies, but also for all different types of adult businesses such as escorts and escort agencies. The bottom line is, you need to have total control over your own merchant account.

Even though the rates are slightly higher then what mainstream companies would pay and as you know, this can't be helped because you are in the adult industry, this company still provides competitive rates and good customer service. Customer service really matters when dealing with all types of companies, but especially when they are handling your money.

So, e-mail me directly when you are seeking a merchant account and even if you already have a merchant account, but want to find out if you can get a better rate with another merchant account company, e-mail me and we will see what we can do for you.

It's also a very good idea to have at least one more merchant account as backup just in case.

I guarded my merchant numbers like they were gold and I highly recommend you do the same, because if you do something to upset the banks, you will be blacklisted and never be able to get a merchant account again.

Remember, around 50% of your business is brought in via credit cards and you need to accept all the major credit cards, not just one or two.

You won't be bringing in the kind of money you could be if you aren't accepting credit cards and your escorts won't view you as a professional agency if you aren't running your business in a professional manner.

Historic Courtesans

The Pyramid Builder – Rhodopis

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the pyramids of Egypt remain standing today and according to legend, one of them was built for the famous prostitute Rhodopis.

Originally a Greek slave, Rhodopis lived in the sixth century B.C.

During her childhood she worked in the same household as the slave Aesop, the renowned author of fables. She was eventually taken to Egypt to work as a prostitute.

In what is surely one of history's greatest true love stories, a Greek wine merchant named Charaxus became so enamored with Rhodopis, that he paid a huge sum of money to buy her freedom. Charaxus was the brother of the famous poetess Sappho who wrote a poem chastising him for this deed.

Charaxus eventually returned to Greece, while Rhodopis continued working as a high-class prostitute in Egypt. She amassed vast fame and fortune and according to the historian Herodotus, every Greek soon knew her name.

In addition to these facts, there are many legends about Rhodopis.

One popular tale says she singlehandedly financed the construction of her own pyramid. Another states that a Pharaoh built a pyramid in her honor. Herodotus himself claimed that Rhodopis donated a great number of "iron beef spits" to the shrine in Delphi which was an impressive contribution in those days.

Rhodopis is also the central character of an Egyptian fairy tale similar to "Cinderella". In it, an eagle steals a slipper from Rhodopis and deposits it before the Pharaoh Amasis.

There is no way to know which of these stories are true, but we can be certain that the extraordinary prostitute Rhodopis exerted a profound influence on the ancient world.

"Hooker Heroes" by Blake L. Wilfong

Background Images

Placing a full background image in either your e-mails or on your web pages is one of the worst things you can do, and will really hinder your sales. Trust me on this!

Compared to reading regular print, reading from a monitor is very very hard for most people to do. Adding background images, dark backgrounds or animated objects only makes things worse.

I admit, some of them certainly do look cute and add style to your e-mails and web pages, but your whole objective is to make it easy for your customers to read what you have to say.

If they find it too difficult, it may become a chore to converse with you and you certainly don't want them to feel like that. Worse yet, they may quickly move on to someone else who makes it easier for them and then you lose your customer altogether.

Using white backgrounds with easy to read fonts, proper paragraph structure, grammar and spelling is key to making others see you in a professional and pleasing light.

Monthly Legal Plans

One of the most important services we need when being in the escort industry is legal protection.

While nothing is ever fool-proof, not having a lawyer on retainer is a BIG MISTAKE !

I never had a legal plan I could pay into monthly that would keep me protected. If I had, I would have saved a fortune on legal fees of all kinds. I'm not just talking about needing a criminal lawyer you can call on at the drop of a hat for agency issues, but also any landlord issues (both residential and commercial), my will, real estate (for when you buy your house), family/divorce and even commercial/corporate issues that any professional escort agency may need help with.

Unfortunately a lot of lawyers just love to take advantage of people who are desperate and in need and when they smell adult entertainment money, it gets even worse.

I'm not going to go into all the horror stories I went through with all different types of lawyers I hired, but there are plenty to go around and almost everyone knows someone who has been ripped off or lied to by a lawyer. The reason I'm telling you this is because I found this legal plan that protects me from unethical lawyers and for that reason alone, I feel everyone should have this plan.

When you are interested in protecting yourself, your business, your family (kids and all) and even your escorts, come to me and I will put you in touch with someone who knows the ins and outs of which legal plan is best for you.

So, e-mail me when you want more information. It's never too late to start protecting yourself. Don't make the same mistake I did and leave things until the last minute.