I have always tried to remember Function vs. Goal when making business decisions.  I feel the function of a company is to acquire and maintain a client base.  The goal then is to make money.  The two elements are intersect at only at the bank.  All to often an owner gets these two entities mixed up; believing the function is to make money. Not true.

I have seen rates increasing in Vegas and apparently there is a correlation to how busy or at least the amount of requests that the provider is receiving.  In essence utilizing the rate increase as a means of screening.  I don't get that.  It would seem to me, that perhaps an assistant to screen and verify would make more sense if Function vs. Goal came into play here.

I certainly understand that there are risks that a provider takes each time a new person is booked.  I question the rationality that an increased rate equals safety.  To me it is mutually exclusive.  There are just as many "risks" that have the dough to spend as there are legitimate hobbiests.  So, screening either way is mute.

"...What they feel they are worth..." is an interesting way to price services.  We are not always comparing apples to apples here. It is all about marketing.   "A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one." Henry Ford  If market dictates a price increase...I would rather build a client base than just churn and burn.  Long term decision for long term result.  It seems to me that a fair valued price and stringent screening would equate into the best long-term result.

I appreciate the work these providers do, and by all means respect their choice of profession.  There are way too many factors as to why their profession was chosen, and .... well, I would be rambling if I went on


Just my thoughts, needed to get that out...LOL...but it won't stop me from booking...Safety for the hobbier is just as important as the price.  Bless you all!

Think it is more 'keeping up with the Jones' thinking.  Everyone else is charging at least $xxx so I will too.

And it's not like there is a lot of overhead to deal with either.  No office space rent to pay, no staff, no taxes...

There is a ton of intangible overhead though.  My thoughts were not negative in the least bit, but, rather.....what goes into the thought process in raising a rate?  Is it just because the Jones' raised their rate, or, as I said before, a means of attrition to those less likely to be able to contribute the increased rate?

This has been a board topic that will dominate for the 1st part of this year. Mc Donalds does not increase prices when business is good. They lower prices. Oil companies increase prices and the are loathed for it. It the Hobby, the Provider price increase because business is in abundance does not make sense, unless you consider maximum profit scenarios. There is nothing wrong with profit. I wager most of us are business men and women and we know all about maximizing profit margins. A Provider does not have to use the debateable and questionable excuse of "too many request". Hell, just turn the business down if excess volume is the issue. Providers choose who they want to see and when they want to see someone.  I guess no customer wants to pay higher prices for any service. However inflation and cost go up every year on most price indexes; I guess the Hobby is no different. Just be frank about it. The Hobby is bullet proof regardless of price time indexes. It will always be sought after and provided-the oldest form of commerce in the world.  

And remember " Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service."  (Henry Ford)-king of autos

Ladies, I will still buy a good product and avoid an inferior one.

Yea, a cell phone and maybe a web page...

As for the thought process, I really do not think there is one.  Charge what everyone else is charging and that is all there is to it.  It has been suggested here before that raising rates is a way of regulating business but I don't buy it.  It's just good old American greed and nothing more!

Oh how wrong you are. This is NOT a tax free biz.

Uncle Sam doesn't care what we call it........ as long as we pay our tax.
You can't have money in the bank, own a house or a car , have investments, pay for health care and so much more unless you PAY TAXES !!

How ignorant to think we don't have to pay taxes!!!!

No overhead ?? really ? HMMMMMMMMMM
Driving to the appointment doesn't cost me gas.
Keeping healthy doesn't cost me , doctors bills and health insurance.
Looking good I don't need , clothes ,nice shoes make up, hair , nails , gym membership, maybe even a personal trainer.
For the session I don't spend money on Condoms , oils,candels, lube, toys, stockings,lingerie ...... I can go on and on with more to list.
Cell phone bill, advertising on different sites, up keep of my web site....... oh gosh I am sure there are much more to list but I really don't want to bore you with my OVERHEAD !!!

Some people should really think before they speak !

It is so great that my employer pays for my sick days and contributes to my 401K and that he gives me a bonus and a raise every year because I am a good worker ……….......... NOT !!

So if a lady raises her rates it isn’t about greed!! She will charge what the market will bear and what she thinks her service is worth.

If you don’t like it , well then move on and find some one who is in the price range you are willing to pay.

Interest rates keep rising ,inflation is accruing but us ladies are expected to stay at the same rate forever ?!?!?!?!
Please guys get real !!!

If I recall, a provider on one of these boards itemized her monthly overhead and it was shocking how high her expenses were. Web costs, extra apartment, health care, advertising, etc, etc, the list went on and on.

Granted, you are you own boss, keeping your own hours, but you better keep tabs on expenses and have a good accountant, and save your money. This is one of the reasons I don't quibble with girls over their pricing structures, if they can get it, take it.

NSF

In a cash only business you expect me to believe that you pay income taxes.  Declare every cent you pull in.  Yea right.  

I guess buying a set of bolt ons would count as a business expense.  Can you depreciate those on your tax return?

Thinking and speaking apply to everyone.  You should try it too!

Last time I checked, I think they flag you at the car dealership if you try to buy a SL500 straight up with cash.  I can imagine it to be quite the pain without a bank account or credit history.  I'm sure lots of girls on here are smart enough to sock away money into retirement accounts and such, which would definetly raise a red flag if you are taking IRA deductions without a reported income to match.  Sure they may not report everything, but they still have to report quite a bit.

Just as it is unfair for "us guys" to generalize all providers, it is unfair to generalize all "us guys." I said originally that there are many costs of doing business that "some guys" in this thread are unable to comprehend.  The cost of doing business indeed.  The original post was simply an effort to better understand how rates are determined.  I.E. volume of requests and other factors other than, "they charge what they feel they are worth."  That was it.  So, sorry that some have taken the thread to not so nice comments.  

I do feel that incorporating in an LLC or some other legal schmegal avenue would indeed facilitate many of the concepts that Ms. Spice mentioned...house, 401K (I'd go Roth) and other various avenues flagged by Uncle Sam.

I have no issue with 500 and hour for an "elite companion"....I wouldn't pay my attorney that...lol...but for some fun while in SinCity...you bet (no pun intended).

Cars and banks only if the cash is over 10K.  So...buy three or four cars for 9500 cash trade them in, and pay the balance in cash.  There are always more ways than one to skin a cat.

Yes every cent is declared.

Lets say you have a million in assets, you can't claim to only make $20,000 a year. Yeah the IRS won't buy that.

Money that goes through your bank account and credit cards has to be declared.

Yes of course if you want to put money under your mattress then you don't have to declare that money .........but what good would my money do if it was under the mattress ?? or if my house burnt down???

Or if I kept cash in a safety deposit box or safe and then get caught by the feds/LE ......um does Atlanta ring a bell how that can happen.

Yes some things can be written off on my tax return. But since "prostitution" is not the name of the business we can use, many items can not be written off.

I think before I speak. I wasn't the one saying my biz is tax free and there is no overhead !

taknmytime, my comments were not to you.

My comments were for those who think we don't pay taxes and have no overhead.

My only comment to you as to any consumer for any product........... if you don't like the price, find the price that fits your budget.


I don’t walk into a Ferrari dealership and say- hey I want that car but I think that price is too high. Or complain on why the Ferrari this year costs more then last year.

If your attorney/tax accountant/( insert name of any other service person here) would raise their fees you would have probably two choices. Pay up and shut up or move on .

My hairdresser who I have been with for 8 years recently raised her rate. I had a choice to stay with her or go find someone else .
She is that good that I decided to stay with her regardless her rate.If she went any higher maybe I would have to find someone else.

You have choices. So make them and stop complaining about them .

If self employed people don’t give themselves a raise, who will ??? Do you see my point ??

It makes no sense to turn away business.  You expand (difficult in this case) or raise your prices until you are only as busy as you want to be.

There's a lot of issues on where to set your prices/rates.  If you're completely overwhelmed with clients, you might raise your prices so that those that are more price sensitive drop off and you're left with a manageable amount of business.  If people think the quality of the work is worth the price, they'll still bite.

Here on TER, you can only judge a few things:  is the provider providing the proper mix of looks and services for the price they expect to be paid.  Granted, in Vegas the pricing is higher than most parts of the country but when you have to deal with flakes (on both sides, clients and providers) and your client mix is generally tourists/out-of-towners, it doesn't lead to a consistent base of regular customers.

So if a lady raises her rates, it probably means she feels she can make just as much money (or more) and not be too busy (can we all agree that burnout is a bad thing?).  If she's not getting enough business and/or not making enough money, maybe she needs to lower her rates (or offer the occasional special) to compensate for her current workload/income.

All based on supply and demand.

Bob

Now that makes perfect sense. Thanks Q

I am officially out of this thread.

Peace, t

"Cars and banks only if the cash is over 10K."

???? ok here is the update if you put in the bank over $10,0000 at one time the bank has to report it to the IRS.
If I put in the bank lets say $3,000 a week that doesn't mean I don't have to report it to the IRS.

Don't know where you are getting this logic of buying 3 or 4 cars at $9500 and trade them in ...........cause when you trade in a car you get less then what you paid for . So that would mean I am now losing money. right

Then pay the balance in cash ?? well with the cars I buy the balance would still be way over $10,000.

So how exactly does your theory work ???

As much as I would like to see prices remain lower, part of me sees a value in higher prices. A provider who is charging a minimum amount has to see more clients in order to make the same target yearly income. I personally would prefer to see someone who only makes a couple of appointments a day. In fact one of my all time favorites only made one date a day. She maintained that it allowed her to properly focus on that one person and it was better for her own mental health.

Mr. Alias...I like that.  Perhaps I can adopt it.  For good reason.  I have provided a link that may be helpful.  Life is full of gray area, and, always buy 2-3 year old vehicles...depreciation on a new car will kill ya...LOL

The more things stay the same. Weren't we having the same debates 8 years ago when these boards first started showing up?

A ladies price's are set based upon two factors, what she values her services at and what the market will bear. Its that simple.

the most important thing is to claim at least the money you spend and is trackable - car, rent or mortgage, insurance ect...if you don't claim this money, you should not sleep very well as they will come eventually to settle up or worse.
cindy is on the right track!!  the trading cars in thing - i won't even touch  i would keep cash deposits less then 5k not 10k.  For a provider to be in this business and make 150k plus and not claim anything will end up in trouble at some point, unless they have a husband or boyfriend they live with that makes more and pays all the expenses.

Very interesting post and replies.  Raising prices is a reality in this world.  but there are different reasons for doing so.  One is to make more money - obviously.  But the question is, will raising prices affect your clientel?  If you raise prices, there is a likelyhood that you will not have as many clients.  However, that can be a good thing.  With higher prices you may not have as many clients, this means you may not work as hard, but still make as much money.  Is there a problem with that?

Cindy was right - Uncle Sam doesn't care how you make your money, he only cares that you pay tax on your earnings.  I would guess that Cindy and all of the other fine providers here have as much overhead as some of the rest of us have in our businesses.

Well then, we will just have to agree to disagree.  I guess it is just difficult for me to separate my real world business expenses and overhead from your pretend business expenses and overhead.

I can attest to the existance of "creative" business expenses.  However, websites, escort ads, condoms & bloated cell phone bills are very real parts of a lady's expense picture.  One can argue the legitimacy of some things (hair, nails, etc), but at the end of the day, it really has nothing to do with her rates.  Most of the ladies don't set rates to cover expenses, as much as they do to earn a living.  And, until any of the guys here want to suck dicks for a living, I guess they're entitled to earn whatever they can.

They can't be as good as Nikki so why should they get to charge more? Of course if they're crazy busy they should chage more. That's what I do in my practice. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna pay premium prices for someone I've never met.

I'm sure a lot of guys feel the same way you do. Obviously Nikki could raise her rates and still be overwhelmed, but she must have her reasons for not doing so. I bet a lot of providers wish she would bump them up so they don't have to put up with the comparison.

Although expenses can get up there (1 lingerie outfit alone is at least $100. and then can't be used again if described in a review)you are right, it doesn't have to do with the a rate increase. I think what it boils down to is quality vs. quantity, some girls may think that if  someone is willing to spend more, than they must be higher calibur themselves. I mean what  would any of you prefer if you were a provider, 2-4 appts a day, or 1-2 a day for the sames amount if not more?
Please know I am not trying to ruffle anyones feathers by posing such a question, and i'm not saying girls who charge more are right or wrong, i'm just saying.
As for the tax thing, any provider that is at all responsible pay taxes, definitley not 100% of all money like some would have you believe, but we do pay taxes none the less no matter what either side thinks or says.

In case my post was not understood.

I didn't mean that ladies raise their rates because they have expenses. My comments regarding expenses and taxes came because some people think we have no overhead and that our biz is tax free.

As for taxes I can't speak for anyone else. all I know is what I make and what I pay.
How do you know what % others pay ?