I remember the first time I advertised my services online. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know what "my services" were way back then! Kind of funny, but I thought more in terms of what I was willing to do and what I was not so cool with instead. When you really get down to it, that's kind of the most significant factor in creating your "menu", as it's sometimes called.

by Ashly Lorenzana

Your menu is quite simply the things you are comfortable with offering, whether that's full service, BBBJ or whatever else you prefer.

Back when I put up my first ad, I would have felt kind of silly calling myself an "escort", or any of the other terms that essentially mean the same. I was painfully aware that I didn't know what I was doing or how the whole thing worked.

I think my confidence probably showed up once I had two or three regular clients who I had seen a few times each. Then I felt like I had a better grasp on the rules of the game, so to speak. Ever since then, I have proudly called myself an escort when asked what I do (by most people, of course).

So what does one have to do in order to breakout into the escorting business? The answer will be different for each person, in much the same way that we all have our own "menu", if you will.

Some girls are very organized about their business. It's not uncommon for some to rent a discreet meeting place where they visit with their clients. Oftentimes they establish set hours and are only available for "calls" during those times.

Obviously ladies with children or other things going on in their lives are more likely to be structured about their escorting work. I've heard of more than one mature provider who not only has kids, but also works another "normal" job as well. Talk about juggling work and home life!

It really depends on what your goals are in life, when you think about it. I've heard of women who start escorting for a specific reason, like putting themselves through college. In those cases, it's kind of a means to an end rather than a "job" or even a "career".

Many women I know of in the business also have a great deal of fun with their work, in a variety of ways. When you are marketing yourself and the company you provide your clients, it can be a blast coming up with creative posts and doing professional photo shoots.

I know that when I started out, it was very helpful to simply observe other escorts and "hobbyists" in online communities. It took a little while catch on to all the terminology and etiquette. Being a fairly straightforward person by nature, I thought it was a bit silly at first but I understood the need for it.

Once I was familiar with the common terms (GFE, BBBJ, etc) I felt less ignorant and more competent.

Luckily when I began escorting, I had a sort of mentor I suppose. My mother is also in the business, and I can clearly recall a conversation we had a couple months into my escorting adventure. I had been using my middle name or sometimes even my first name, and she pulled me aside to explain that NOBODY does this. According to her, it was a bad idea.

She told me I needed to choose a "stage name". I thought that was pretty funny, but I had no idea what in the heck I would call myself. Personally, I thought the names my mom used were a tad bit cheesy and couldn't imagine introducing myself with such a laughable name.

For the first year or longer, my mom decided to go by the name Raven. I guess that was okay. Then she changed it after a couple of years, which seemed like bad branding to me even then.

Her new name? Ivana Lottacock. C'mon!

Sorry, but that was a terrible play on words if you ask me. All I could do is shake my head.

I wanted a name that was normal, like it could have been my real name but it just happened to not be. I finally settled on "Mona", just because it was short, simple and there were no other girls in my area using that name at the time.

It just kind of stuck, I guess. Mona became like my alter-ego, she is a very real side of my personality even today.

Back then I didn't really worry too much about privacy or revealing my identity. To be honest, I still don't worry much about that sort of thing. But I realize there are many women that are concerned about these things, so choosing a stage name may not be such a bad idea after all.

At the end of the day, what makes you an escort are the interactions you have with your paying clients. There are not many other requirements. You can basically choose to work in whatever way best suits your lifestyle.