So much comes with December. Winter begins. The calendar year comes to an end. In December there are the holidays and the impending doom of taxes. In December we get one last chance to do our best before another year goes and a new one takes it’s place. It’s a great time to assess what you’ve done and what you will do next year.
How did this year go? Did you learn anything new? Was this the year when everything clicked and you finally found your groove? Was it more like the year that everything stopped making sense? Did all your sponsors stay in business? Was your web host able to keep your site online for at least most of the time? Have you made any good friends? Have you made any good enemies?
When you begin to add up all the sales commissions and side jobs will you be able to say you made a good income this year? If you can say that you made your entire living from this wonderful business then you are a smart and hard working porn pro. Even if you only made enough all year to pay one bill you still did pretty good.
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You were able to get somebody to buy something from you and all you need to do is refine what you did right. An unfavorable review of your year might bring you to wonder if you’re cut out for adult online. You would not be alone but you shouldn’t give up. There are many others who are experiencing great years this year that had bad years last year.
There are also those who were at the top last year but at the bottom of this year’s heap. That moment when we "get it" comes at different times for different people. This next year may be the year you "get it".
Outside forces brought a lot of drama this year. VISA decided this was the year they were going to do something about third party processing and adult sites. Have you been able to bring your processing account into compliance? Did you decide to put off those plans you had to open that paysite or start that sponsorship program because of the VISA hoopla? Were you able to
establish a US presence in order to keep your current biller?
How about those cute little emails some of us received from Acacia? Have you gotten yours yet? Do you feel that these patent punks aren’t the first that will target the adult Internet? Did you ever get around to reading about the Cyber Security Enhancement Act they slipped into the Homeland Security Bill? Does it’s loosening of surveillance permissions alarm you? Did fate come in and throw you for a loop? Or were you wise and calm because you knew what to do to keep the wolves from your door?
Do you wonder what next year will bring? Will our only porn friendly credit card company zap us with even more silly regulations? Will they put the kibosh on recurring billing altogether? Will they expand their US regulations to other countries? Will somebody develop a better payment solution that bypasses VISA? Will anyone actually be sued by Acacia or any other rats that crawl out of the woodwork?
How about that government intervention? Will the different countries of the world continue to take oppressive steps to curtail Internet porn? Will this coming year be the year that we replace terrorists as the new world-destroying evil? Or will we become secondary victims who get swept up in the machinations over peer-to-peer networking?
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"That moment when we 'get it' comes at different times for different people. This next year may be the year you 'get it'." |
Then again, maybe you had a great year. Maybe next year looks even better as far as you’re concerned. Could it be that you’ve practiced and read and listened and learned? Did you finally come to understand your market, your traffic and how to make money with your knowledge? Have you found the perfect mix of content, audience and hosting? Was this the year you were able to afford to buy the software, traffic or advertising it takes to give you that extra edge? Did this year mark the point where you stopped being referred to as a newbie? Did you make associations with those who could help you and advise you? Did you make real-life friends at the last adult convention? Have you at last gotten comfortable on the message boards? Was this the year where it all began to gel? Have you had a year you can be proud of?
At any rate the year you had is almost over. If you didn’t do so well, do better. If you did well, keep it up. Take the blessings this industry gives you. You work in the only online sector that’s operating in the black. You are involved in a field where you can work from home and are your own boss. You are involved in a medium that reaches the world more intimately than ever in human history. And so will you be next year.