Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
How did you get into the business?
I simply continue to follow through for my clients, maintain integrity in my dealings both personal and professional and look forward to doing business with you at one point or another.
After a wonderful run working in the entertainment business as an event planner and marketing associate for a major mainstream studio, I reflected back to a time when I was in high school doing a religion class project (yes, I’m a Catholic school girl) with a bunch of 16-year-old boys who thought they were “getting my goat” by popping in a porno movie instead of the religious movie we were supposed to be watching.
At that point, seeing how lame they were and that I could appreciate the art of porn, I knew that, with my open mind and business accumen, that I could play a big role in some way in this business had I ever chosen to enter it. So, 2005 is here, the time for me to break in, and sure enough, while companies like Playboy and Hustler were hiring for basic jobs, I came across a post on Craiglist for Adnet Media Group. After several phone conversations and three in person interviews, Alec Helmy took a leap of faith and entrusted me to head all ad sales for XBIZ (which, at the time was a simple one magazine and one website company).
Six years later I am still in this business and am more confident than ever that I have the right elements in place to really make a difference in the way business is done and therefore, MogulPool is in development to highlight my clients (currently XBIZ, AdultCentro and L3 Payments) and other upper-eschelon businesses in this sector.
What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?
I have always been interested in people. I love meeting and learning about people and their backgrounds, and this has always helped me in sales. It’s tough to say what specifically to attribute my skillset to, but I would definitely say that my attention to detail, awareness of client needs and wants, and ability to maximize their exposure and budgets are all results of working in the movie business on such a large scale. The rest of my qualities are innate and I’d say I was born with them.
What do you see as the challenges of working in the adult online business? How do you overcome them?
I wouldn’t say that I personally have challenges working in the adult online business because I am not running a program or dealing with banking and traffic matters. In the six years I have been in this business, I have seen one running theme: the adult online business moves fast —a person can be knocked off the top of their game in an instant and never get back up. All too often I see and hear of indivudals who were at one time influential who stepped away for one reason or another and tried to come back —those same people who once commanded respect cannot even get meetings with the people they once partied with. So, a challenge for everyone (including myself) is staying relevent and aware. To overcome that, one would have to make a conscious effort to maintain professionalism and follow through on every level. It is entirely up to each of us individually.
Does your work life affect your personal life?
A year ago I would have said, “no,” as I kept work and personal life completely separate. However, a year ago, my life changed when a gentleman in the business and I fell in love with one another. Now, my work and personal lives are intertwined to some extent that really fuels and empowers both of our businesses and appreciation for one another.
Do you have a personal motto or mantra that you live by?
I don’t have a personal motto or matra per se. I simply continue to follow through for my clients, maintain integrity in my dealings both personal and professional and look forward to doing business with you at one point or another.
