Since I entered the adult business, I’ve weathered everything from the Great Recession to porn-specific economic catastrophes, always figuring out how to overcome problems out of my control. I started in porn in 2010—at both the height of the financial crisis and the height of tube sites stealing adult studios’ content. Most porn veterans thought the industry would go extinct, and for good reason. Few Americans could make their mortgage payments, so why would they pay $39.99 for a porno DVD when they could now jack off to stolen content for free? But I believed in myself, so I planned and plowed ahead toward my adult industry dreams. Over time, I filmed with big studios, built a large fan base, and began producing my own content. I became one of the biggest performers in the industry.
Not all stars last, though. I’ve seen performers come and go. I’ve survived everything from Mastercard refusing to process porn payments to adult studios going bankrupt. I have conquered each obstacle because I follow five rules, which can help anyone beat a recession. Here are my porn star rules for surviving and thriving during an economic crisis.
Diversification
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Many Gen Z and OnlyFans stars have only worked through a bull market, so they’ve been able to focus on one job. If the economy falls apart, they could be laid off or watch followers cancel their subscriptions. Every adult needs to diversify.
When it comes to porn stars, we could lose a platform at any second. I’ve seen tube sites, clip stores, and cam sites come and go. A platform can shut down at any second, so you need to sell your content on as many sites as possible. You also need to work with old-fashioned porn studios so you have an additional revenue source.
Civilian independent contractors should follow a similar strategy. They should sign with as many clients that they can handle, so if one or more clients kill a contract during a recession, they have other income to pay their bills.
Likewise, younger employees should consider getting a side hustle. If you work a full-time job, you can still find time to freelance. 1099 income allows you to have backup money if you get fired during a recession.
Whether you’re a porn star, a secretary, or a freelance copyeditor, diversify now. Nobody will have a safety net to catch you besides yourself. Diversification is your safety net.
Savings
Of course, you need to also create a safety net in the event you lose all your income. Freak accidents happen, and nobody gets a pension in 2022 unless they work at the Federal Reserve, so you need to save. If you’re a porn star or civilian independent contractor, you need to put 20 to 30 percent of your income away for taxes, then another 20 to 30 percent for retirement. (Maxing out your IRA isn’t going to provide you with shit to retire. You need to max out multiple accounts.) When you work as an employee, you need to take advantage of any 401(k) matching that your employer provides, max out your personal retirement accounts, and also pile away cash into an accessible savings account for emergencies. Saving may sound annoying, but if you save during the good times, you’ll be okay during the bad times.
Adaptation
And you can survive the bad times if you adopt an adaptive approach to work. When I entered porn, we had old-fashioned porn studios and tube sites. I’ve evolved to creating my own content and selling it on the tube sites, clip stores, OnlyFans, and a zillion other platforms. I’ve also learned new marketing tactics on social media accounts, like TikTok. If you’re willing to adapt, you’re willing to survive a recession.
Marketing
Adapting only works if you market yourself to your clients or fans. Marketing may seem obvious, but you’ll be shocked how many porn stars refuse to tweet and use Instagram consistently, and how many white-collar workers delete LinkedIn. Figure out your field’s social media platform of choice and post about your work. You need to put yourself out there, so in the event that you get fired or lose clients, you’ll have an audience of followers ready to send you work.
The Golden Rule
When people ask, “How did you become a top performer?” they expect me to say, “anal,” “a special brand of doggy,” or “something really dirty.” The answer is none of the above. I succeed because I work by the golden rule: I treat others how I want to be treated. I show up on time, I am prepared for my workday, I say please, and I mail thank-you notes. Thanks to my good behavior, I have developed professional relationships which lead to consistent work.
Good behavior is a rarity in 2022. Every time I log on to Twitter, I see a porn star cursing out production companies, claiming they will never shoot for a studio again because they now earn a killing on OnlyFans. Their bad behavior, though, prevents them from diversifying, and if OnlyFans ever bans porn (as they’ve attempted in the past), they would have no back-up plan. What studio is going to re-hire someone who deployed a Twitter smear campaign against them? The same goes for civilians. Even if you think you’ll never serve ice cream at Dairy Queen again, you don’t need to curse people out as you quit.
Be nice to people, diversify, and market yourself, and you’ll be able to save for a recession and adapt when you need to reinvent yourself. Take it from a porn star: I’ve survived more economic disasters than anyone.
