Hi there Adriana, I think you have a really great idea. Please get in touch with me if you ever see this!lol
RE: NON SEXUAL SERVICES - Personal Concierge, Professional Travel Companion, Private Tour Guide, Wing Woman , Stylist etc
Dear Sophia Roseand anyone else interested : )
Sorry for this late response. I actually checked in to post some information about my experience and saw your request by chance. The girls here were very welcoming and helpful to me when I came here looking for help, so I just wanted to give a little help back if I can to anyone interested. I don't know if any of this helps but I will check in the next few weeks to answer what I can...
Firstly I will say that I am no longer pursuing personal concierge and non sexual companion/assistant work as a career. The reason for this is I found a wonderful person who convinced me otherwise and I no longer need to work. This man was originally a curious friend I shared a lot of my personal life with. Eventually the friendship became romantic and my new boyfriend was unhappy and intimidated with this type of work - even though it is non-sexual, I guess in the majority of the public eye it is seen as more than that. When I refused to stop concierge work (a girl needs to eat) he offered to cover above what ever I would make allowing me to pursue other interests and goals I have - actually this happened before the romance started. Probably financial support via a love relationship would not suit every one (and tell you the truth at the time it was not at all what I was looking for myself), but for me it has actually offered more freedom to achieve what I want and really enhanced my life and happiness. So my first bit of advice would be to be open with people about what you do and be firm in your intentions - you never know what might develop… Just another note: I was brutally honest about my needs and feelings to my then just friend. This may scare some people away, but I think it is the best way - for both parties - for anyone who finds themselves in that situation.
IN MY EXPERIENCE:
1st Concierge work and related types of intimate non-sexual work is difficult work to come by. While everyone instantly understands more traditional female roles: wife, secretary/personal assistant , girlfriend, escort, etc, there is somehow not a familiar place yet in our vocabulary for this type of work - although it somewhat more common in the US as a job for both men and women. Oddly however, most men I have ever met seem to need a person fulfilling this role(s) in their life. The trick is mostly how you represent yourself. Part of the problem I found in finding work is potential clients just don't know what you are offering and they become confused and possibly put-off. Since concierge and travel companion work (generally the two labels I decided on) are quite complex and include a lot of different services within themselves, I think having different cards printed may be the best approaches. Also for your own peace of mind be clear in what you are offering and how you present yourself - you will have A LOT of men assuming you are just offering sex in a clever disguise, or asking for sex - no matter how much you try to make it clear, no matter how elegantly you present yourself and all your lovely services.
TYPE: This is actually a job where the older woman has an advantage. My opinion is that most ages over 25 would be more successful at this. (I am in my 30's but look very young and I think I would have had more work if I looked older.) I think unfortunately though most men are looking for a "vanilla" sort of girl. i.e. More on the conservative or plainly dressed pretty secretary type - probably Caucasian - who can dress up to look sexier when necessary. In any case if you present yourself sort of as a blank canvass in the beginning you can always adapt to client needs later. That goes for personality as well. Anyone who can afford your services will be successful and used to being in charge. Privately many clients may be relieved to have someone take charge. But publicly being more on the demure side will generally serve you better - at least in the beginning of a job (again just my experience) . Although this work is quite intimate in many ways it different to sexual work. Much of your work will be subject to the public gaze and governed by what others think, so someone who can make a good impression - or at least not make a bad impression - will find it easier to get more clientsin many cases… I'm NOT saying I like this at all or think it's fair (it sucks and I myself don't fit into this "vanilla type"), but that's just the way it is - sadly most people choose magnolia walls....
MARKETING: I found word of mouth is the best way. I did not find a website or advertising helpful at all. Although you have to find a client for word of mouth to work in the first place - maybe offer to do an assignment for free or very cheaply the first time. I had MANY offers from men just looking for a travel companion with all expenses paid and nothing else -On the other hand offering to work for free may back-fire, since people usually are connected to those similar to themselves you may not get further work off of a freebie - just open yourself up to hassle from someone looking for a girlfriend…. Secondly I found self promotion the best - either directly to potential clients or via companies who offer luxury goods and services to suitable clients:
Make some pretty business cards up and hand out to potential clients. I think these MUST be professionally printed and not hand printed on a home printer (there are a lot of cheap printing on demand companies now who do them very cheaply and it is easy to set up on-line). Companies who sell high end products: yacht suppliers/builders, golfing equipment, ski equipment, luxury property developers & real-estate agents, specialist wine merchants are all good places. Lifestyle companies who service the wealthy may be interested in taking you on their books, although I never got around to trying this myself - just remember essentially these are in effect organised concierge companies themselves. Finally networking if you have the stomach for it. Good choices are: high-end bars, resorts, and trade fairs/conferences for professionals (many conferences and exhibitions are open to the public - you can often get a free ticket if you apply in advance).
**For Private Tour Guide services specifically (business people often are in town only for a day and need someone to "show them around") Someone who is friendly and pretty with a good knowledge of the local area can make a good living at this. Also "Tour Guide" is a more understood and acceptable job/label. You can approach hotels (go for the small up market boutique hotels where you can talk directly to the owner). Museums, travel companies, tourist information centres for this - it will need to be very clear you are offering private TOUR GUIDE services, not "illicit services". Although not all of these sort of establishments will take you seriously or be happy to meet with you, it is already an established and understood "respectable" job - in fact I have been on assignments where the client also hired such a person to take us around. A company where you can meet with the owner/decision maker is best. Also you can just make a general Tour Guide serves and add your photo and a bi about your self on a website (the time a website will actually be helpful)
FEE: My recommendation - £450/$675 per full day (£45/$68 per hour over four hours) Under 4 hours I charge £75 per hour with 3 hour minimum. Be careful openly listing single hours as that will give the wrong impression. For overnight short term travel (like a long weekend) you should charge more and for long term travel (like the whole season) or a long term straight concierge appointment you can offer a discount. Travel costs and expenses (meals etc) should be covered by the client. EVENTS COMPANION, TRAVEL COMPANION: You need to pay for your own clothes and grooming, and you should have a good selection of various types of clothes to suit the assignment but if a client asks specifically for you to wear something you don't have (provided you offer a good selection), then they should pay. They should also provide/pay for room and board. This may be a mute point, since many clients will want you to stay with them in their quarters in the case of Travel Companions. Awkward one. Sorry not much advice.
PHOTOS:
Have some professional pretty but tame looking photos done. Some refined sexy looking ones can be included. Don't show too much skin and look friendly and approachable. The exception is bathing suit photos- some people will ask for these, just don't have your hand down the front of your bikini with your legs spread and your mouth open, if you know what I mean. LOL
HERE IS MY FACEBOOK PAGE:
http://www.facebook.com/adrianacompanion
I will leave this up for a while for anyone who wants to have a look I had moderate success with this. Unfortunately the majority of contacts where still looking for sex (or marriage?) and it was VERY time consuming to manage… Feel free to copy any text. The more common this is as a job the easier it will be for those of us who want to peruse it.
NOTE: (I found myspace and making a private website far more trouble than helpful. Having a separate website for each area of service you offer might be effective but I did not try this myself)
**JUST TO SAY: this is my 2nd attempt at giving advice and my personal experience. My 1st ended up being a novella and had a billion links. I wanted to cut it down in order to be appropriate as a post here (not sure how long/short posts are supposed to be), but unfortunately lost it in my attempt also to be discrete (I think I hid it in my computer's trash bin - stupid I know). So This entry is much shorter and general. For anyone interested I will check back for the next couple weeks when I can to answer anything I have an answer to.
My Facebook page might be more helpful -again I will leave it up for several weeks and anyone who wants to copy it for their own use is welcome to (with the exception of any of my photos of course LOL - thanks)
HOPE THAT HELPS,
kisses Adriana