Did you have any issues with punters coming to your place? After all, all our stuff is there I’d be quite worried about being stolen from etc.

I no longer work from home as my son has moved in, so I just tour now, although I'm looking for a work flat. There are a few threads about working from home if you do a search. But what I did was this:

Send the postcode for my road and give parking instructions (my postcode covered a good 200 houses)
Ask them to go to a specific landmark visible from my window and call me for the door number, this allowed me to check they were alone and not wearing a balaclava
I would then run out and let them in (landmark was literally just across the street)
I bought male toiletries and left them in the bathroom so it looked like I lived with a man. I would also whilst chatting insert a mention of my (imaginary) husband
Anything personal would be out of sight - letters, photos etc
I NEVER left a client alone in the bedroom. If they wanted a shower then I would take them to the bathroom and put the water on as my shower was a bastard to operate
I always had a hairspray or deodorant on the bedside table - they look innocuous but make good self defense items (never had to use them)

But my number 1 security go to was GUT FEELING. How did they sound on the phone - were they asking for "your last appointment" (possible robbery) or about how busy I've been today (ditto)? Were they persistent about asking for the postcode 8 hours in advance? (Bin them off.) Did they ask stupid or indiscreet questions? Did they open the conversation with "Yeah you available?" (Bin them off.)

My ideal customer would call and open the conversation with "Hello, I'm Steve, I'd like to book an appointment with you at 2pm today for a half hour."

Hope this helps

Being self-employed is cool.  To work around other commitments and still be able to earn a living without burning out too much.  Also to be able to take a day off at the drop of a hat if I feel I am extra tired or on the way to feeling overloaded it is really handy.

For me, it's empowering in many ways.  First, it is extremely empowering to be paid as much as I'm actual worth.  That includes my skills, my intelligence, and my physique which I spend much of my free time working out and keeping in shape.  I love setting my own hours and choosing my own clients.  I've been fortunate to carefully acquire and retain wonderful clients that are fantastic to be with and know my true value.  Being paid for SW is an aphrodisiac for me, which pushes me to work hard, while enjoying my work and ensuring my client will want more.  Knowing your money is tied to your body makes you very motivated to eat, exercise, and sleep very healthy.  SW also makes you very organized and teaches time management and how to influence who others behave around you to your advantage. I love the confidence that all of this gives me every day.

It's also empowering to be sexually free.  My daily sex life is both extremely fulfilling and profitable which is a great combination.  I've learned many skills that I might not have otherwise and am always willing to try something new as long as it is reasonable.  SW has taught me at a fairly young age that I could never be happy with a traditional one partner lifestyle, so my personal and professional life revolves around my freedom. From this I found my partner who accepts and encourages me to be the career girl I am at heart.  I'm a lucky girl. 

Finally, SW/escorting/whoring has so many other benefits too.  I've had surgery and contracting work done without labor cost by exchanging our work.  I've traveled on amazing holidays at my client's expense.  I get to be paid for having fun.  I enjoy certain types of regular clients the most, such as polite married men and also low experienced/virgin younger clients that I would never be able enjoy work with or even teaching if I wasn't a professional.  I've also received many gifts (some better than others of course).  I do enjoy the dual life (public vs professional SW), although it is annoying at the same time.  I've met and made friends with wonderful women in our field. 

On the other hand, it can be difficult to take a holiday when you realize the work you will miss, although I've found destinations where I can work a bit to keep my needs reasonably satisfied.  It can be annoying to keep the source of most of my income and therefore my true naughty identity a secret in my proper traditional outside life.  I've developed many luxury tastes and expectations in my life that haven't left me as grounded as I once was.  I also have to work harder at keeping good clients who are willing to pay my rates.  But I feel empowered because I wouldn't change any of this for the world. 

...I don't feel I need to constitute it with abstract concepts like empowerment, its a job, a facet of my life...

Yes, but to my mind, prostitution (of the the autonomously-engaged, indoors-based, independent kind, I must stress) offers "power" in the form of a) relatively easy money (which is usually way above average pay-levels) and b) freedom - answering to no-one but oneself.  Not many other jobs offer these two benefits, IMO.

Yes, but to my mind, prostitution (of the the autonomously-engaged, indoors-based, independent kind, I must stress) offers "power" in the form of a) relatively easy money (which is usually way above average pay-levels) and b) freedom - answering to no-one but oneself.  Not many other jobs offer these two benefits, IMO.

Yes those are benefits, but they are balanced out by detriments, high physical risk, health contingencies (lack of sick pay etc), secrecy for many, vagaries of competition, uncertain income etc etc I feel that we are under a lot of pressure to 'manage' our reputations with these high falutin concepts that don't really mean anything specific (empowerment used to mean power over others but was co-opted by feminists). This job is emotionally labourious enough without the added PR. I don't know anyone else in any other occupation who feels the need to do it. I do get why, though, because the taboo our job carries from people, sometimes our clients included (or perhaps more so), who think we have some kind of easy, corrupt, disorderly, destructive life by default.

The fact we know that most clients try to scrub up well when meeting up.  So if in real life a guy doesn't do this we know we cannot take that sort of crap and don't bother with them.  In a way it stops us needing the bother of somebody.  Also we get constant reminders as to why we simply do NOT need somebody at the same time.

It keeps our sense of man reality nicely under control.

Not meant to offend anyone in a happy relationship however.

Agree. Any romantic mystifications its long since drained from me. I'm all the better for it...