So, I'm new to Austin and Texas.  I'm young but have 3 years experience as a provider...here's where things get complicated.  I've never been an Independent provider before and never had to deal with  the day to day hassles and  I have no one to show me the ropes so I'm playing this whole situation by ear.  That would  be all fine and good EXCEPT so much of this business tends to rely on people vouching for each other to get into the more exclusive areas and I have no one to vouch for me! What can I do to meet people with enough clout on these boards that a good review from them would assure my entry into places like preferred411? I am open to all options from anyone willing to help!

I wish I could post using an alias so I could write "I'll vouch for you Emily Elizabeth!" and sign it "Clifford the Big Red Dog." But, I can't.

Do you have any reviews on TER or any other site from your agency days? Is your former representative well known? With a good reputation or a bad reputation? Are any of your former colleagues well reviewed?

Do you have your own stage name & can you keep it or is it caput?  Try going to every escort review site & plug in your former screen name, e-mail & phone.  See if you have a bio somewhere you can link to.

You will need a separate phone from your personal phone.  You'll probably want to sign up with one screening service that works in your area.  You need someone (a provider) to explain screening to you...  there are more than 1 way to screen.  You must protect yourself FIRST.  

Best wishes,
skb

Thanks so much for your help skb.  

EmilyElizabeth is my new stage name- the old one would be more trouble than it's worth to keep I think.  I don't have a personal website of my own yet...I saw some on here and the layouts looked cheap and tacky and aside from that I really don't want the whole world being able to browse my pix related to this type of work.  Are there any no bs, members only types of pages other than preferred411(which I'm working with to become a member)in the austin area?? I need it to look NICE and also provide some privacy as I don't want my family or friends seeing it.

So far for screening all I do is not take private calls, make sure the guy's id matches the name he gave on the phone, meet in a public place first and never let them see what car I drive or know where I live.  Am I missing any big things or being overly cautious?

My clientelle consists primarily of older, married men and they don't frequent the review boards but I've asked two or three to sign up here and give me a review.

What else should I be doing?!

Thanks again,

Emily

First of all, you need to be patient. Every one of us was a newbie at one time. Although you're not a complete rookie, you are new here. Some of the things you can do are to get involved on the Dallas board, on the general board, and here on this board. Post your weekly ad on the Dallas board. It's not the most active, but that could be a good thing. It means that your ad will stay on page 1 longer. If you continue to participate in the discussions, guys will begin to get curious, and they'll start to recognize your name. We all go through this, and it will take some time to get that first review.

Be patient, and good luck.

LMFAO. I do GFE and was looking for a girl next door type name and yea, maybe I didn't think it through very well! Then again, of the clients that recognize it they all get a chuckle and that's a good a place to start as any, right?

As for the agency it was based in New Orleans and ran by two gay guys...we all lost touch after katrina but they were good people and I left on good terms. I took a hiatus from this type of thing for the last 3 or so years(found a sugar daddy) but that's over now and it's back to work! I never met any of the other girls at the agency although I know of one tranny that worked there called "Frankenpussy" but that was only behind her/his back.

If I post my ad on the board here will it be available to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that have the internet or is it a paying members only get to view the ads type thing? Also, if I post a pic where it says pic url below the posts on this forum that isn't at all private right?

and anyone can view them. VIP only gets you the added features. The other thing to keep in mind is that for any gentleman to write you a review, you do have to have some sort of web presence. If you don't have a website, you must, at least, have an ad on one of the escort malls that is accepted by TER. A link to your Preferred411 profile is sufficient for this.

Once you do have reviews posted, only VIP members can view the actual written review, but your ad and/or website are accessible to anyone.

Since I haven't jumped through all preferred411's hoops yet are there any other accepted sites that offer an iota of privacy for the provider that will be accepted by TER?

How about a private myspace profile?

Just keep in mind that, since it's part of your TER proflie, it will still be accessible to the public.

You are looking to get back to being a provider, but you do not want anything out on the web. To many people here, you must have a web presence, and be accessible to every "Tom, Dick, and Harry" out there. What you need to do is look at some of the websites of woman who are active here. Blur your face, do whatever is necessary for your privacy, but without a web presence, it will take a while.

You can certainly blur your face in pictures.  Some ladies have some pictures P/W protected & you must be screened first.  I'm not privy to screening & it should not be discussed on a public board anyway...  but maybe some TER ladies will give you some help.  You will need private free e-mail accounts...  so that'd be a good way for a TER lady to mentor you.  

As said, it does take some time to get known & accepted but it will happen.  You'll do just fine.
skb

Without a web presence that provide hobbyists a idea of your looks and figure, you will not earn well in this business. Experienced erotic photographers can produce pictures for you that hide your identity. Photographers can photoshop out identifying features like moles. Photos done right would make identification by even your relatives nearly impossible. BTW, if one of your relatives sees your ad on your website or in TER, the person has as much explaining to do for you as you have to him or her.

photos, meaning either with your face blurred or the photo cut-off just below the eyes so that you can remain more descrete.  Take a look at some of the popular ladies web sites to see the techniques they use for photos.

Good luck.

Your ad would never get approved with a Myspace link.

Ok sooo I have bit the proverbial bullet and made myself a webpage type thing.  Granted it only has one actual photo of me up but I am willing to send a few more after any interested party fills out the contact form.  I think my theme could be off putting as it involves a satire of religion but I am still working on my REAL website and this one is just for the meantime.  Then again, if someone is likely to be offended by my page it's not likely they would be interested in my services anyway no matter what format I put my info on.

All the hoops people make me jump through are borderline ridiculous but I think I'm catching on.  I booked a pro photographer for later in the week and I will make the pix available on my site but password protected.

Thanks everyone and let me know if you have any ideas!

a minimum of 3.  They need not be explicit, but from different angles.  There are very many internet stolen photos out there...  used in a Bait & Switch...  I want to see a few photos that convinvce me the photos are of you.  
skb

I have over a dozen private photos on the site and will give the password out to access them(proving that I'm the same girl as the one posted in the meet me setion) after someone fills out the contact form.  I just want people to fill out the contact form cuz  it seems like that would slow down pic collectors. THe fact that I mention on the site that I have several more pix that u can see after the form isn't good enough?

damn you ask alot of questions for a rookie.


Just kidding. Try signing up for date-check.com as a screening service. It's better than p411 from what I heard

Don't ask me how it's done, but you might want to consider "watermarking" your pictures with a website or name or something to cut down on people stealing or copying them for unapproved uses.

Referring further back up the comments, it seems you want to be known but unknown. Guys want pictures, and authentic ones (blurred faces OK but clear images preferred). One of the first things I check for in the TER reviews is "real photo" and "photo accurate". ("No" gets flushed immediately.) Also, a lot of guys don't like hidden or members-only pics unless there are enough freebies to get an idea of your appearance. I think you'll have to find a comfort zone with enough of the right kind of pics to evoke replies without "outing" yourself to people you'd rather keep in the dark.

Lastly, is that portrait-like photo really you on the test pages? From your expressed concerns, I'm thinking no. But if it is, WOW!! I'm hoppin' the next stage coach for Austin so I can confess!

Verily, verily, I say unto you, good luck!

LOl, yes, that photo really is me and I'm flattered you think I'm cute enough that if it wern't me I would have chose it to represent my "look". I have redone my whole website...got rid of the church/religious theme and I'm going with girl next door. Oh and I added a lot more public photos of myself even though I'd really rather avoid it! LOL So go check it out and tell me if it's better or worse now please?!

I've also heard good things about date check. Thanks, I'll definitely take your advice!

Dear EmilyElizabeth:
I was wondering have you read the internet escorts handbook by Amanda Brooks.  You should also google her she has a virtual reservoir of relevant information that would be at her disposal. You can also email her if you have any questions that are not answered in her handbooks.

Hmmm no, I haven't read her stuff but I will definitely add it to my reading list! Thanks for the suggestion!