SAAFE forum
General Category => Questions and Answers => Topic started by: Sarah5677 on 01 November 2023, 02:51:20 pm
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I will soon not be able to tour anymore and will be in the same location working
I’ve heard many say it goes quiet after while. Wondering other peoples experiences with only working in same area
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I’ve tried this twice.
Once I had a work flat in a city near me and it dried up after 3 months at which point I gave it up and went back to touring. The downturn also coincided with a rate increase so that might have been a factor. I also didn’t like the fact I was living there instead of going home.
I’ve also worked from home for 4 months and was consistently busy.
My advice would be to just try it out and see how it goes for you but choose a rate that you’re happy with and don’t hike it up after a few months.
On a positive note, you will get more regulars.
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Yeah i definitely won’t be able to tour anymore so hopefully things stay okay. I mean least I won’t have touring costs but I’m nervous but will give it a ago
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I’m the opposite. I always stay in one area as I’m lazy and I find moving around time consuming and usually more costly. So last year I stayed in west London for one year and currently I’m in north London for another year ( my contract is 12 months ). I get times when I am quiet but I think most of us get that. I’ve noticed I’ve built up so many regulars staying in one area. Weekly I’d say 60% of bookings are regulars and 40% new. I would like to try and tour but I’ve had times where I spent so much on a hotel and then I actually make a loss. The only thing is my regulars from west London don’t really see me now as it’s a bit far for them to come to north London. From my experience, if a client likes you they prefer you to stay in one place. X
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I think it can help to not always be available. If you work for 4 weeks, rest 2, for example. I think the factor of not being available and accessible always helps.
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I’ve been in Bristol 8 years always busy . A lot of regs but passing trade here too
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I'm always in one area. 95% of my clients are regularly and I very rarely experience dead times. I love it. Just like any business, building up regulars is key. I would never go back to touring or agency work. Best decision I made. I hope it works for you x
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Thank you for the replies. This has given me hope.
I will be permanently based in Glasgow from January so hopefully I can build up regulars and stay at least steady.
Think I’m so used to touring I am just nervous of it going dead but this gives me hope x
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Thank you for the replies. This has given me hope.
I will be permanently based in Glasgow from January so hopefully I can build up regulars and stay at least steady.
Think I’m so used to touring I am just nervous of it going dead but this gives me hope x
You'll be fine!
You're going to be in a big, busy place with lots of punters and you won't have hotels and travel to pay out for - it might take you a while to block all the local idiots (and I still haven't managed it, but I'm in Central London) but once you're all settled in you'll remember how nice it is to be able to not be endlessly packing and unpacking and worrying about bring kicked out of hotels and so on. I did seven years of it and I couldn't even think about it now :)
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You'll be fine!
You're going to be in a big, busy place with lots of punters and you won't have hotels and travel to pay out for - it might take you a while to block all the local idiots (and I still haven't managed it, but I'm in Central London) but once you're all settled in you'll remember how nice it is to be able to not be endlessly packing and unpacking and worrying about bring kicked out of hotels and so on. I did seven years of it and I couldn't even think about it now :)
Thanks amy, I agree.
Thus touring has took a toll on me. I’ve gained so much weight. I’m always burned out. Stressed some days loosing money. Trying to catch my tail.
Catching chest infections of hotels.
I can’t wait to finally just wake up and work from home stress free. And work less hours. X
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I've been in the same area for over 10 years and I'm still busy so it can work.
I did try touring a few weeks ago and it was a disaster and not something i would do again. I actually made less money as had extra expenses on top of my normal and then the stress of being new somewhere and getting loads of timewasters and just the packing and unpacking. Never again.
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I'm always in one area. 95% of my clients are regularly and I very rarely experience dead times. I love it. Just like any business, building up regulars is key. I would never go back to touring or agency work. Best decision I made. I hope it works for you x
Absolutely the same for me too. It takes months to build the client base that suits you, but if you persevere it can work very well and avoids much of the hit and miss of the jungle out there. I also keep a separate number for reliable regulars these days. They are not all local either, I have regulars that travel a couple of hours or more each way.
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After thinking about this I realise I have come full circle. Well into double figures re years doing this. I started working from my home then worried as I was seeing up to 30 clients a week and neighbours aren't stupid. Then I rented a flat ( another sp sub let hers to me as she had 2 rented properties). It was very discreet and worked very well for a long time. Touring was not for me but I did the occasional couple of days in other cities. Again it worked well but I wasn't keen on it as my work was sufficient at home.
I have also used hotels in my own city when it was necessary and never had problems.
That was all a short version of it all but currently I am once again working from my own home, a different one to the original and it's ideal for convenience and discretion.
What suits one may not for the next lady obviously but sometimes trial and error is the only way.
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I think working in one area as long as it has a good population and enough passing trade is better than touring. You have the chance to build up regs and less costs than paying for hotels especially as many are really expensive compared to 2 years ago.
I have worked years ago like this and did well with both new and repeat custom provided it's a good location. I don't want a permanent attachment and only work part time in this now but if i did not i would choose it over tours as touring is much harder now, some tour's can be losses or just rubbish.
So give it a try you could do fine.
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Thank you so much for all the replies I really appreciate it. X
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I've worked from home for nearly 8 years :) Always suited me, but then I've always been low volume and have never wanted to see loads of people.
There are no overheads really doing it this way, that's the attraction for me :)
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I've experienced both staying in one location as well touring.
Personally for me, staying in one location permanently (Central London) put me in a very bad financial position to the point where I was even struggling to pay for my rent (I also didn't like working from home).
Since I started touring, everything got much better and I finally got out of my financial trouble and started making profit again. Obviously touring can be very tiring an hard work sometimes as it requires a lot of planning ahead but I believe it's more sustainable in the long run.
But again, this is my personal experience and everybody is different. I also tend to prefer seeing new clients over regulars, that's why maybe working from home didn't work for me
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I've always worked the same area for many years and it's worked out well for me.
I have a good amount of regulars, sadly not as many now as pre Covid but they are what has kept me going through these more difficult times.
Saying that, it does take time to build a regular client list.
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Hello
I offer outcalls in one area and do in calls once a month in the same area. So far it’s proved to be very popular as I’m not always available and people like to wait. I’ve got a few regulars doing it that way. I tour once a month at various locations. Usually just 1 1/2 days. I’m not one for doing long tours. Because I reside in the back end of nowhere tours are a mission for me but I try and combine with meeting friends.
I do ok, I don’t mind working hard, TWs can literally be the main downside. I have good spider senses to work out when a guy is messing around xx