Choosing which services to offer is the first major business decision BDSM pros make when going independent. ‘Services’ can include which activities we engage in sessions (from the sensual to the sadistic), which sorts of clients we’ll cater to (singles, couples, groups), and how long we’re willing to play (half-hour quick fixes to days-long captivity). For most of us, though, ‘services’ will all fall within the range of domination or submission. Most don’t consider teaching BDSM skills to be within our purview, but pros as professors should be more common.
I decided to start offering private lessons when weighing my options as a submissive, figuring that a class in domming might benefit both myself and the wannabe dominants out there. I didn’t have any official qualifications, but I had a built-in client base, and I knew I could teach them the same way I learned from my fellow pros: by catering to their specific skill levels and interests with hands-on instruction in a casual atmosphere. I threw a sexy spin on the whole thing by donning a slutty schoolgirl costume, and I realized I now had a unique service to offer. In the past few months, my flirty, one-on-one BDSM lessons have been remarkably popular. Here’s why teaching works for me, and why it can work for you as well:
1. It’s an excellent safety precaution. Being able to teach the men who want to dom me how to do it safely and effectively (and to my liking!) has given me a peace of mind when going into session. It’s even made the sessions themselves more enjoyable!
2. It helps pull in a different set of clients. About half of the clients who schedule a lesson with me don’t want to dom me or sub to me afterwards. These self-professed faithful partners come to me to learn skills to take home to their wives and girlfriends, including how to negotiate for what they want. They claim they wouldn’t feel comfortable sessioning with a pro, but they enjoy the opportunity to learn how to spank from a pretty young woman.
3. It keeps me refreshed and up-to-date on all of the activities I offer. As a pro switch, I can go months at a time without doing certain BDSM acts with a client. Teaching someone the practicalities of whipping allows me to stay in practice.
4. It lends credibility to my brand. When clients see that I’m an educator, they’re assured that I know enough about what I’m doing to be safe as a dominant.
5. It looks good on my resume. Like many pros, I don’t plan on staying in this industry for life. Whether I end up working in an adjacent field, like sex education, or something more distantly related, like social services, ‘adult educator’ looks better on my resume than ‘dominatrix’.
6. It’s a great way to spread safe + accurate information and fight misconceptions. Sex education is sorely lacking in this country, and kinky sex ed is even rarer. There’s a lot of secrecy, shame, fear, and danger surrounding BDSM, and helping people understand that their kinky desires are normal and can be approached in a conscientious manner helps to fight misinformation and stigma.
