Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Interview with prosper




The Financial Anatomy of a Porn Star
08/18/09 posted by Prosper Pink    

This listing by porn star Nina Jaymes, inspired me to contribute to the Prosper blog. After all, why can’t the Prosper blog go a bit wild and be financially sassy? Oh, because it’s uncouth for a financial company’s corporate blog to talk about sassy things like sex, drugs, and rock & roll as it relates to finance?
C’mon, this isn’t that crazy. Everyone’s doing it. And if you’re still reading, well then, hey, admit it, you’re curious and maybe like me, you’re turned on by finance and peer-to-peer lending, but from time-to-time you’d like to spice things up a bit around here.
If you’re still with me and in the mood to be financially sassy, then let’s get this Q&A with Ms. Nina Jaymes on.
Prosper Pink: You’re a porn star, model and actress, but you also run your own website and dabble in video production and bulk candy vending. Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur first and porn star second? Why?


 
Nina Jaymes: I would most likely categorize myself as an entrepreneur first. My earliest recollection of wanting to own my own business started at the age of 12. My ambitions were to be a supermodel and own a state of the art health club. I still secretly would like to own a health club someday. Being an Adult star started out for me as a way to pay the bills. I actually started 7 yrs ago after I had been laid off from my job as a Flood Insurance Processor. I was laid off 3 yrs in a row, and frankly I was tired of going on job interviews. So I thought there must be a better way. So I turned to my computer and found a way to make money from the comfort of my home doing cam shows. I thought why not! After a few years of cam shows I needed more of a challenge, excitement, a little adventure and needed to get out of the house, so one of my cam girlfriends told me to sign up on a online modeling portfolio site and I started getting shoots of adult nature. Originally, I was just looking to do mainstream modeling or acting shoots. But after the offers started pouring in for ADULT, I figured I might as well give it a go.


Prosper Pink: The proliferation of free porn images and videos has been steadily eating into the adult entertainment industry’s profits. You – many would say wisely – charge a membership fee for access to much of your website content. Are you feeling the pinch from free-content providers or is your membership growing? How do you stay ahead?


Nina Jaymes: In any business industry there is always a way to get around paying for a product or service. Wouldn’t you say? A free content provider is just another way to get your name out there. That is just something you always have to deal with. No matter what, we still make money or else we wouldn’t be doing it. And yes, even the recession has hurt the adult industry. But for myself, I have always followed my number one rule. Stay diversified and versatile and you’ll always come out on top! (no pun intended) hehe


Prosper Pink: Can you relate to the analogy of porn stars being like pro-athletes in terms of having a finite period of time to make money off their profession? How do you financially plan for this? Have you thought about what you will do next?



Nina Jaymes: That used to be the case. A few years in the Adult Industry as an Adult Star and then you retired and moved onto something else. Hopefully, you were smart and saved money or started other business ventures. But times have changed. There is a HUGE demand for MILF’s, mature porn. As I started at 30 years of age I consider myself a late bloomer. But with my entrepreneurial spirit I always have a plan. If plan A doesn’t work I have a plan B. I plan to work in the adult industry in some capacity for many years to come, if I don’t crossover to mainstream completely with modeling and acting. I am interested in being behind the scenes with production and directing etc.etc.  I also plan to start franchises and invest in real estate within the next 5 - 10 years. So I think I’ll be okay. I have always thought about what I’ll do next since I was very young. I am constantly looking towards the future and coming up with new ideas everyday! You have to be creative and ahead of the curve no matter what industry you work in or you will be left behind.


Prosper Pink: Porn stars frequently say they enjoy and even get great pleasure from their work, but most women outside the industry have a hard time believing this. I think most men think the truth lies somewhere in-between. What is your perspective on this topic?



Nina Jaymes: It depends on the type of porn you are shooting in all honesty. There is more sensual porn and then there is hardcore. But naturally, every woman is different, so I can’t speak for everyone. I myself prefer the more sensual side of it. Other girls like it rough. To each HER own.


Prosper Pink: When I approached my guy friends to see what questions they would really like to ask a porn star, some of the same questions kept coming up: (1) How much do porn stars typically get paid and what drives the pay scale? And do women get paid more than men? (2) Have you ever fallen for one of your cast mates?  Is this common or rare in the industry?


Nina Jaymes: (1) There is no across the board salary for Adult stars when you factor in her marketability.  They have their own production companies, products, clothes etc etc. Adult stars are like brand names now. It’s not all about just doing porn. You name it!
Most of the time women do ALWAYS get paid more than the men but there are some exceptions. There are a few male adult stars who have made big names for themselves and are on a more competitive pay scale as the women are.


Nina Jaymes: (2) Most of my cast mates are considerably younger than I am. So I don’t really have that issue. But there was this one guy I did a shoot with who was also in his thirties. And both he and I were so into it we forgot the cameras were even there.
I can’t really say if it is common or rare? I would have to say it is pretty common due to the stigma of dating an Adult star. Only another Adult star can relate.


Prosper Pink:
Is there anything else you’d like to add?


 
  Nina Jaymes: I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be featured for a loan on Prosper. The simplicity of the loan process is what made me decide to apply for a loan from Prosper rather than a traditional financial institution.


 
 
Prosper Pink: Thank you, Nina, for being so gracious and financially sassy.
Follow @ProsperPink on twitter
Become a fan of Prosper Pink on Facebook


 
Notes offered by Prospectus
Links for Nina Jaymes:
Nina’s Listing on Prosper
www.ninajaymes.com
www.facebook.com/ninajaymes
www.twitter.com/ninajaymes
www.myspace.com/ninajaymes2007