Is this the right economy to invest in porn?

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

I'm often asked how to start a video production company or "get into porn" and that question either comes from dilettantes with nothing better to spend money on or eager people with overcharged sex drives.

I usually say - don't do it! and tell them that we were a bit lucky in our success.

But seriously folks, in today's marketplace, if one were to choose an area in which to invest, would any of you advise people to invest in a start-up porn company of sorts?

You know that we all say the porn and alcohol are resistant to fluctuations in the market - that people who are depressed by their financial losses, financial burdens and doubts about the future, will turn to drink and women (or in our case, drink and men) -

So... Q: Will we see a slow down in sales or a huge boom in our business and would this be a good time to invest in porn?

I'm just wondering...

[HunkMoneyLuke]

there are much more lucrative areas to invest in right now, like dating.

[Adam Mason]

Personally I would have to say no. This is the time keep your cash under the matress, not all over it!

[HunkMoneyLuke]

...This is the time keep your cash under the matress, not all over it!

I have to disagree with you on that one! Downturns are when you can make loads of money if you invest properly. You can get some real bargains that will excel and make you loads of money in the upswing.

[Adam Mason]

I agree Luke... I was referring to a porn start-up only ;-)

[dzinerbear]

There's so much out there right now that everyone is competing for the same slice of the pie. I'd say if your buddy wants to get into porn, then he should create something totally new.

We have more than enough straight guys jacking off, straight guys getting their first blowjobs, jocks, twinks, and even bareback sites. What we need are some really innovative sites with some unique content.

We need a good wrestling / gay sex site, glory holes, outdoor sex, shower sex, bath tub sex, something ... anything ... with a little more imagination. But a shower sex site probably isn't going to make buckets of money, but it will have a loyal following.

And even with that unique content, if your buddy doesn't know what he's doing, it's going to be even harder to make money. I'm only surviving in the current economic crunch because I've been working at this for seven years. If I were just starting out today, I'd probably starve.

Michael

[abostonboy]

I would advise him to invest in real estate. Some damn good deals on that market right now.

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

"buddy" ?

this was a rhetorical question but... we (friends and partners) are launching something different - we're already accustomed to upturns and downturns in the business so we're going with something very unique and very different - so that meets some of the criteria and it will be interesting to see how well it does

we'll be filling you in more in another couple of weeks...

but I do agree wholeheartedly - if I were starting out now... I'd most likely do something else

[gaybucks_chip]

The other thing I would offer is, if someone is *investing* in a new business (meaning, somebody else is going to run it but you're putting up the money), I would run the other way as fast as I can.

I have seen at least a half dozen half-baked entrepreneurial ideas start up using somebody else's money, and not a one of them has returned shit to the investor. A couple of the projects never even released a product, others did really stupid stuff (spending $40,000 producing a DVD that sold 500 copies, or $100,000 on a startup membership website that produced exactly 15 very poorly shot scenes.)

If it's your own money and energy, it's yours to lose... but it seems like there a million wanna-be porn entrepreneurs ready to spend somebody else's money with no realistic means of getting any sort of meaningful return.

[gaydemon]

If I had to start from scratch, then no I probably woul dnot do it in porn again.

But if its investing into a existing site during bad times, sure!

Its just starting something new in porn is hard. The competition is fierce. And from what I see in setting up a small shopping site for my brother, it seems easier to startup and to make it profitable in mainstream than porn.