A Question For All Tickling Entreprenuers....

[Rasputin]

A very successful friend of mine once said, "If you love what you do for a living, you'll always be successful."

This leads to my question for everyone who has started a tickling related business, whether it be a website, fetish club, video company, etc.

What made you decide to start your business? What kind of risks did you take to make it happen? What kind of financial committment did it take? Do you exist strictly off your earnings from your tickle enterprise, or is it just extra money on the side, or even a money losing endeavor? How many hours a week do you spend working? Who do you employ and how do you get them to work for a fetish related company?

These are just some of the questions I have. If any of the above provoke more insight from you, or you have additional input, feel free to expound. I think there are a lot of critics who say "I could do that better" or "That company should do this", but don't have any idea as to what is involved. It's time to give them your perspective.

Business men and women of the TMF...share your experiences!!!

Rasputin

 

[Rasputin]

"Hello? Hello? Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me....."

😕

Come on...this is a great thread! Anybody can feel free to kick in their thoughts and ideas.

Chime in even if you've thought about starting a tickling related business, because that's basically what I am thinking about doing.

Now, my thinly veiled alterior motive is exposed like a stripper's feet in her strappy sandals.

Rasputin

 

[Phineas]

okay, okay.

😀

Actually I'm not in a tickling-related business, although my company *is* doing a tickling game. At one time, though, I *was* going over preparations to start a new video company because of a neat gimmick I'd come up with.

Now, as to your questions...

What made you decide to start your business?

Prob'ly the same thing as everyone who wasn't in the business from the get-go; they looked at the existing product and said "I can do better than that", or to fill a perceived gap in the needs of the customer base. Ticklish Situations was conceived as the ultimate answer to all these cheesy little Shockwave tickle games that keep popping up on the web; they're technically inferior products, usually badly constructed, but since they're about tickling people go nuts over them. I wanted to do something that would really set the community on its ear; a full-blown game that you could actually play, not just click on an image of a foot and hear a looping sound file.

The video company I had conceived was going to cater to the Asian fetish market. In case you haven't noticed, a *lot* of guys here like Asians. However, there aren't that many of them in the tickle-modelling biz. Trouble is, models don't come cheap. They cost hundreds of dollars per hour. I, however, had a way around this; I travel to China periodically with my wife, and it's very easy to find stunningly-attractive prostitutes in China who'll work all night for very little in the way of American money. So I figured we'd hook up with five or six prostitutes per trip, maybe cost an extra hundred dollars or so, and voom; cheaply-produced, high-in-demand tickling videos.

What kind of risks did you take to make it happen?
What kind of financial committment did it take?

None, really. That's the beauty of needing no startup capital. My games use free development tools and I do all my own art. Participating models understand the shoot itself pays no money but they will earn royalties. As it's not a long shoot, there's no reason *not* to.

Do you exist strictly off your earnings from your tickle enterprise, or is it just extra money on the side, or even a money losing endeavor?

Everyone I've spoken to in this business says the money is terrible. They certainly don't make a living off of it. I fully expect TS to either break even or lose money once I start enticing models with the proceeds from my wireless sales.

How many hours a week do you spend working?

Not as much as I do on my other endeavors. When I'm in marathon mode I can work ten to twelve hours a day for several days before dropping, but most of the time it's in two- or three- hour spurts in my free time.

Who do you employ and how do you get them to work for a fetish related company?

BnT isn't a fetish company, although we produce a fetish title. So far, all participants have been friends, and I've never actually used the word "fetish"; I bill TS as a parody of reality game shows. It's worked so far.

 

[qjakal]

Odd...

Your opening paragraph " ....A very successful friend of mine once said, "If you love what you do for a living, you'll always be successful."... is the opposite of what I've found to be true in my experience. If I work at something I enjoy, (for example, I love books, but after working at a bookstore I likely would no longer see them in the same fashion) it becomes a job and hence loses much of the initial pleasure it evoked. I try to be careful now NOT to incorporate things I love into a work environment and lose that sensation. Just my 2 cents and experience. Q

 

[Rasputin]

Allow me to expound....

I don't think he meant you need to find a career in something you love, i.e. your bookstore analogy. I have a hobby that has the potential for career opportunities. However, there's no way I'd want to make a full time career of it. That's because when you mix "hobby" and "work", you get "wohrbokby". I'm not really sure what the hell that is, but I know it doesn't sound very good!!!!

I think more what he meant was that success will come from a career that you love. Example: I loved my old job more than my current job. At the old job, I didn't mind when I came in an hour early, or worked over two hours, or made after hours calls on accounts. I didn't mind because I loved the job. It didn't seem like work. That's part of how I was very successful. Now it's not quite as romantic with my current job. I like it...it definitely has it's great moments, but it's not love. So when I have to do extra work, or do something above and beyond the call of duty, I'd damn well better be compensated for my time. I can honestly say I have been almost as successful at the new job, but I definitely have to work 3 times as hard to get results. That's because it feels like work because I don't "love" it.

Anyway...just thought I'd share a NyQuil induced rant.

Speaking of rants, ever notice how a thread that has a thought provoking thesis gets four replies, including 3 from the author. However, a post entitled "Kootchie Kootchie Koo" can get 50 replies? Different strokes, I guess.

I think that explains all the friggin' reality TV shows

Rasputin