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WIA Profile: Misha

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.

What is your role and responsibility at your company?

As creative director, my main role is to oversee the look and feel of all our core web products.

As creative director, my main role is to oversee the look and feel of all our core web products, which is our main Danni.com mega-site along with our other primary web properties in the Danni Model Network: CrystalKlein.com, EricaCampbell.com (our solo model sites), GirlNextDoor.com (our amateur site) and, of course, MishaOnline.com (my own Glamour/Erotica site, which was absorbed into Danni’s last year). I also do the photography for the DanniGirl of the Month along with shooting for the DMN sites. With our director of web products, I also lead the web, design and online marketing teams in everything from maintaining these sites to new site projects and developments and, when possible, oversee creatives on some of our ancillary projects. We are currently in the middle of a major Danni.com members area migration with a brand-new design, so most of my time has been focused on that recently.

Give us a typical Monday at your desk?

Mondays are, as expected, extremely busy here. We have weekly management meetings on Monday mornings with a core group where the different department heads interact on all that is in the world of Danni. Then it’s a matter of managing the web team on the past week’s projects along with setting up goals for this week. Throw in a barrage of creatives that need approvals, from site designs to gallery templates, photo sets to DVD covers, and mix in a slew of emails and phone calls, and you get the picture.

What do you think is your greatest challenge or asset being a woman in the adult industry?

Being a woman and a professional photographer is one of my biggest assets, especially in the adult industry. The models I work with are more open and trusting when it comes to getting in front of the camera, and the pictures that come from the sessions are really hot.

What strategies do you use to maintain balance in your life?

I try to maintain balance by keeping work at the office. Sometimes shoots get in the way, but when I go home, it’s all about family and personal time. I love to work out, as it helps relieve stress, and playing wife and mom at home really keeps life in perspective. I’ve got two kids and a husband — that in itself sometimes feels like a full-time job, but it keeps me going and motivated.

What advice would you give other women who want to enter your field?

The lifestyles and connotations sometimes associated with the adult industry aren’t always the best, so my advice to any woman (or man) entering this industry is to make sure this is what you want to do. Also, it never hurts to find good mentors who can provide insight and experience.

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