I just posted there for the first time.  

Go Rams, fuck Chargers.

I am not a local provider, so I can not start photo threads in SD. If there is a local provider who will post I will be happy to participate!

I'm telling you guys that since the local site closure the hobby in SD has gone in the tank. Most everyone gone, scared to death. Only touring girls with outrageous rates. No hh no mixers no nothing. I could be mistaken but don't believe there's any law against peaceful public assembly?! Nobody's selling nobody's buying. Just socializing over a few drinks. Live a little, stop being afraid. Now someone please organize a mixer for this fall!!

Ever since that happened, there has been fewer and fewer providers posting here.  Don't know if they have left the city, or just went UTR.

I have attended several & do not think it helps. I still have to pay for childcare.  lol

The site your referring to was nice, but not my bread & butter Johny.

There are a ton of local ladies left myself included.

Its too bad.. There was a real community a couple years ago. And so much variety! Two sites tanked and thats just too bad.. It seems a lot of the same women still advertise but its more spread out instead being centrally posted.

If I have a free night, why spend it "chatting" with 20 ladies when I could spend that time with one BCD all to myself?

Networking doesn't mean instant business, and it sounds like you've went into it with that in mind and were disappointed. I think the claim that it was time you could have spent with clients is a dubious one, but perhaps you're much higher volume than I would think and that is an actual concern.

 
Networking is why TER has any value at all. Meeting other providers and mongers that perhaps you'd never meet otherwise means your personal network is stronger. Connections are a resource. At the very least, it's a night off where you can be around people and speak openly about what you do. I would imagine that opportunity would be nice, all things considered.  

 
I can see a mixer being very useful for introducing new talent and customers to what you're offering in a higher confidence environment than online can provide. Higher consumer confidence means more sales, and guys that might not convert from your reviews or your website might convert in person because they can see what they're getting.  

 

You mentioned that there was a financial hurdle that guys were struggling to overcome. This is a touchy subject, so I'm going to tread lightly here and just mention that this isn't the first time I've heard of price being an issue in San Diego, and you could very well try to be more competitive on price and see increased sales that way.

to copy my sentiment on a prior thread, the subject of rates seems to take 10 posts or less to surface.

Hobbyists allegedly go to mixers looking to negotiate discounts.
Providers say no thanks, but lament the time spent marketing with nothing to show for it.
hobbyist suggests provider is high volume and but should consider lowering rates.
Thread devolves from there...

I'm not suggesting she's high volume, I'm suggesting that if she's too busy seeing clients to go to a mixer that she's probably high volume.

 
Reality is, she's not too busy.

 
I'm also not saying her rates are high or low, I am simply stating that there seems to be a lack of price competition, and competing on price could prove lucrative.

...two guys suggested that I should be for free once in a while to attract new clients. Like their mechanic offer a free oil change. Not sure if I look similar to a car or if my value is the same as a oil change?

I did mostly like the mixers though since I like to get to know people. But what some clients seems to not realize is that there is a lot of admin work when people text, email etc etc. So not having enough time does not mean that we are busy in bed all the time that we are busy...there is a lot of time spend planning, cleaning, daily life etc etc.  So when we have a "free" night then we might want to spend that on something else? It would feel like you will spend your free time "at work" in a sense....

Try to think in the providers point of view...put your self in their shoes and realize it is a real person with a life outside the industry with other choirs and a real life with time that she wants to spend freely...

I only ever went to one in my life and i found it more abour actually putting faces on people like myself. I mean otherwise im just alone in the community without sharing that experience with others, as in yah i have this site but fuck sometimes id love to just bullshit with the guys and ladies in a relaxed environment. And to anyone suggesting that a lady discount then im sorry to those cheap motherfuckers who dont seem to know what hobby youre in. You get what you pay for.