The sex industry is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world today, and in today's struggling economy millions of Americans find themselves financially strapped. This is why many have turned to the sex industry to bolster their bank accounts.Although the sex industry is typically frowned upon for its immorality, it still draws in customers willing to spend whatever it takes to explore their fantasies and workers enticed by its perceived glitz and glamor and the allure of “easy” money. One portion of the sex industry is escort services, where men and women are paid for their time. Some escort services operate through a simple exchange of pay for companionship. In other cases the companionship entails much more than a date. Either form of companionship has its risks.
Many escorts work for themselves, which includes finding and booking their own clients and taking care of their own finances. Because they are seen as a type of merchant that provides services, an escort merchant account is useful for keeping track of payments and receiving funds. Escorts that work for an agency have these issues taken care of for them, although many agencies take up to 50% of their worker's profits for each “date” they go on. In one example, an escort earned $400 per hour, and her dates lasted from one to four hours each. Although it seems that she would have been making good money, 50% went to the agency. That means that while she made $1,600 for four hours of work, she actually only saw $800 of it.
In addition to the issue of payment, there are also issues of safety. There is only so much that escorts who work for themselves can do as far as background checks and gathering information concerning clients goes. The process is a bit easier for escorts that work for an agency. The agency performs background checks on each client before they send the escort out on a date. When the worker arrives, they check the customer's ID for verification, and call the agency before and after their appointment to help ensure their safety. Even then there is no guarantee. Customers can become rough or belligerent, and the escort is generally alone with the client. In those cases the escort is advised to leave as soon as the client becomes aggressive, but there is still no guarantee that they will get out safely.
Even though escorting is seen as a big money business, the issues that surround it are often not worth it. Escorts don't make as much as many people assume they do and their safety is always in question. This is especially true for those that work for themselves and those that are hired to go on trips with their clients. In addition to this, hose that favor the relative safety of an agency are typically cheated out of a great deal of their money. Although the sex trade is a big money machine, the wheels don't always turn as smoothly as workers think they will.
About the Author
Hello, I’m Blair Thomas and I'm an electronic payment expert and the co-founder of eMerchant Broker from Los Angeles, the #1 high risk processing company in the country. I enjoy hiking, dining and discovering new music. When I'm not working in the electronic payments industry, you can most likely find me producing and writing music. Add me to your circles at Google +...