When I first became a professional companion, I really didn’t know zip about this business. I had about as much knowledge about it as the average layperson, which is to say, I had some very, very inaccurate ideas about how it all worked.
Escorting in the US: The Wild Wild West
One thing I noticed was that the escort agencies in the US (especially in Louisiana) are, by and large…I’m not sure how to say this nicely…a little…unpolished? Seriously. Google “escort agencies in New Orleans” and then compare that to, say, “Models Escort Agency” (“High Class Escorts in Sydney”) and “Select Sydney Escorts” (“A Discreet Personal Service Just for You”), both located in Sydney, Australia. Big difference. Apparently, in places where escort agencies aren’t shady operations but legit businesses that must produce a quality experience in order to compete, they put a little more effort into the image they project to prospective clients.
See, I didn’t even realize independent escorts existed. I figured everyone worked for escort agencies, and that was that. So, I googled around, found an escort agency in New Orleans, contacted the manager, and started working.
My Humble Beginnings: Escort Agency Work
I have to say, I wasn’t cut out for escort agency work. I really, really don’t like sitting around waiting for someone to call me to let me know that I’m expected to be somewhere, dressed to impress and ready for fun in 30 minutes. And I definitely didn’t enjoy forking over a large portion of my pay to a “manager” whose entire job description consisted of answering the phone.
After a few weeks with the escort agency, my patience was reaching its limit. While chatting with my friend MinxyLydia, an independent escort in London, I lamented the lack of control I had over the situation. I remember she said something along the lines of, “Well, why don’t you just go independent? Then you have total control, and you don’t have to give any money to anyone.”
At this point, I’d discovered that not all providers are associated with escort agencies, but the only “independent escorts” I knew of were charging next-to-nothing on Backpage, and I knew I did NOT want to go down that road. “Um…I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the situation here isn’t quite the same as it is over there (in the UK),” I said.
What a cocky little know-it-all I was.
Things are, of course, different in the UK (Lydia wrote a great piece on this topic last year). But what I didn’t know is that there are tons of independent escorts out there working for themselves, choosing their own clientele and deciding when they will work and what they will do with the money they receive…even in the US!!
“I need to be with an agency,” I told Lydia. “I need the protection they offer me. How else am I gonna know if I’m about to meet up with a psycho?”
That, my friends, is why most women in the US choose to work for an agency. Most providers in the US are so afraid of predators, and spend so much time tiptoeing around laws they don’t understand, that they assume they’re safer if someone else is in charge.
DIY Escorting: Going Independent
But that’s not the case. Sure, it’s a lot more work to do your own screening, advertising, correspondence, etc., but ultimately, it’s worth it. I mean, when most of the “agencies” in the US are simply some average Joe answering a phone and saying, “Yeah, this guy doesn’t sound like a Bad Guy. Anyway, it’s not like my safety is at risk…”
…then ya know, I’m willing to put in the added effort it takes to run my own show.