How did you get into the business?
Inadvertently! I was living in Canada at the time and I hooked up with a small marketing company selling various herbal supplements online. One of the supplements was a penis enlargement pill. Evaluating the best market for such pills inevitably pulled us toward the adult market, and ultimately the online adult industry.
The kind of work I do is able to be done remotely, which in turn allows me to work from wherever I want in the world.
What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?
Working for Paxum has been a dream come true so far. I adore the people I work with, and I love bringing in new business. Helping new and existing clients to use our services to their best advantage is incredibly satisfying. My background is varied; I was born and raised in England where I worked with animals for a time before landing a position working in the Inheritance Tax division of the Inland Revenue (U.K.’s tax service). During that time I also worked online part-time for NBC’s Talkcity as a chat forum moderator. After moving to Canada I also did a lot of volunteering for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Habitat for Humanity, assisting with a multitude of office tasks and various fundraising events. Throughout my career I’ve learned how to develop lasting business relationships with both clients and colleagues. Quite frankly I believe that ability, along with consistently delivering the best service possible, are the key assets I bring to my role at Paxum.
What do you see as the challenges of working in the adult online business? How do you overcome them?
I find the same challenges in the adult online industry as one would find in any business; attracting and keeping customers, maintaining good quality service, growing your market reach, branding, and constantly improving your service/product, etc. Besides those obvious challenges, I’d say one of the biggest challenges I have personally faced was being a parent and working in the online adult industry. I don’t mind people knowing what I do for a living, and my daughter has always been aware, but with a child in school where judgments from other parents, teachers, and children can seriously affect normal development, I found I had to be cautious about exposing my line of work. My daughter is now almost 22 though, so thankfully it’s no longer a personal challenge.
Does your work life affect your personal life?
Very much so, but in a good way. The kind of work I do is able to be done remotely, which in turn allows me to work from wherever I want in the world. As long as there is a solid Internet connection where I happen to be, then I can get online and I can work! I’m typing this to you from Mexico, where I currently live on the Riviera Maya. I suppose I have a bit of wanderlust inside me since I do enjoy living in different lands. Thankfully my work gives me that freedom.
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.