Adult Site Broker Talk Episode 180 with Madam Bella Cummins of Bella’s Hacienda Ranch

This is Bruce Friedman of Adult Site Broker and welcome to Adult Site Broker Talk where each week we interview one of the movers and shakers of the adult industry and we give you a tip on buying and selling websites. This week we’ll be speaking with Madam Bella Cummins of Bella’s Hacienda Ranch. At Adult Side Broker we’re proud to announce our latest project, thewaronporn.com. You’ll find articles from industry websites as well as mainstream publications from around the world. It’s designed to raise awareness of our industry’s plight in the war on porn and the numerous attacks on our industry and online free speech by hate groups, the religious right, and politicians. You’ll find all that and more at thewaronporn.com. You’ve probably noticed our new podcast site at adultsidebroker.com. It has a more modern look with easier navigation and more information on our guests including their social media links. For more, go to adultsidebrokertalk.com. And we’ve doubled our affiliate payouts on ASB Cash. Now when your first sellers or buyers to us, you’re going to receive 20% of our broker commission on any and all sales that result from that referral for life. Check out ASB Cash.com for more details and to sign up. Now let’s feature our property of the week that’s for sale at Adult Side Broker. We’re proud to introduce a successful and growing only fans agency. They’ve been in business less than a year and a half, but they’ve experienced tremendous growth. The company was founded by two brothers. In the last year, they’ve done over $5 million in gross profit. They have over 130 full-time Filipino employees with affordable salaries. The strategy of the company is to acquire large volumes of creators, put them through their automated onboarding process, and then they decide which creators are worth keeping. Out of over $2,000 in the last year, they’ve pared down to the 300+ creators they have now. They focus on 30 to 50 high-revenue producing creators. The top one is generating $120,000 in monthly revenue. There are many high potential creators who currently do between $5,000 to $75,000 a month. These creators can be scaled through detailed focus and know-how, not to mention additional marketing. The founders have created scalable systems and automations through sustainable processes. The whole company is very well-structured. The founders currently only work about an hour a day due to their systems. There’s a great potential to further develop the revenue from each creator, thus multiplying the revenue and profits of the company. The main marketing is TikTok with some Instagram sprinkled in, which leaves amazing opportunities using other media and buying ads, only $13.5 million. Now time for this week’s interview. My guest today on Adult Side Broker Talk is Madam Bella Cummins of Bella’s Hacienda Ranch. Bella, thanks for being with us today on Adult Side Broker Talk. Thank you for having me, Bruce. I’m really excited to be here. It’s exciting to have you. Now Madam Bella Cummins is best known for transforming the struggling Hacienda Ranch brothel in Wells, Nevada into the famed Bella’s Hacienda, one of Northeast Nevada’s most prominent legal brothels and adult entertainment destinations. Despite facing challenges like the AIDS crisis of the ’80s and the recent COVID shutdowns, she’s displayed unwavering determination and business acumen. Over 37 years as a legal brothel owner, Madam Bella has helped to reshape the perception of sex workers in the US by eliminating exploitative elements within the industry and creating a female-led workplace culture focused on trust and teamwork. She founded and funds the Onesta Foundation advocating for the legalization and regulation of prostitution, and amen to that, by the way, providing support and professional development for sex workers in Nevada. Bella’s Hacienda Ranch, the only legal brothel entirely run by sex workers, stands as a testament to a revolutionary leadership and dedication to empowering sex workers. Madam Bella’s impressive legacy extends beyond her business, making her an influential figure in shaping the future of the adult entertainment sector and advocating for the rights and dignity of legal sex workers in Nevada. Bella’s Hacienda provides a safe and lawful option for sex workers to prosperously practice their trade. It serves customers from across the globe. Bella’s offers many exclusive amenities, including VIP accommodations and a selection of exquisitely designed erotic specialty rooms. You can find Bella’s online at bellas.us. And I’m sorry, Bella, that’s all the time we have for today. Bella, you’ve been a legal brothel owner for 37 years. That’s a long time to be doing anything. And Nevada has a unique status as the only state having legalized prostitution. Can you tell us a little bit about Bella’s Hacienda and explain how licensed prostitution works? Absolutely, I can, Bruce. Then do. I will. All right. Good. I’m going to start with this, because it’s probably the one thing that people are the most awkward about talking about, that Bella’s is, it can have up to 14 courtesans. And part of it was built in the 1970s. Another part was built in 2000, 2001. And the idea was to take what I’m going to call it my mentor built and expand on it, not just to make it bigger, but to make a wing where the courtesans were really in a 21st century setting, where their bathroom was in the room and great beds and just great accommodations. And so in designing that, which I was the fourth guy on the crew to build, it’s always exciting. I’m always the fourth guy on the crew. It needed to evolve. Things can’t just stay in what was okay in the 1970s. So how the licensed brothel works, of course, in Wells, is that the city of Wells is an incorporated city. So in order for me to have a license from the city of Wells, the county of Elko that the city of Wells is part of had to decide to have legal prostitution within the borders of the county. So interestingly enough, there are brothels in Elko County that aren’t in the city of Wells. They’re governed by the Elko County Code, where I’m governed and licensed by the city of Wells brothel code. You mentioned Elko, Nevada. That’s a flashback for me. I spent a week there one night when I was 13. Anyway, people still feel that way. Oh, God, oh, God, forsaken place. You know, 50, 52 years later, it still rings with me. My mom and I were on our way to see relatives in Utah, and we won’t even talk about Utah. Anyway, so you acquired the brothel in 1987. Tell us a little bit about your background and how did you come to own a brothel? I was the owner of a restaurant in Mount House, Nevada, outside of Carson City. And when I was getting ready to sell it and dead, a gentleman came in. And he owned the brothel. It was a new acquisition for him. And he wanted me to be his house sitter. In other words, madam? Well, no, his house sitter at his residence because he was going to travel. Oh, gotcha, gotcha. He was going to travel, right? Well, he never did travel. And we wound up getting married. And I realized that it wasn’t that he was a bad businessman. It was just that he got in over his head. He needed help. And so he said, look, you get to take over the books. You get to figure this out. And it took me a minute, but I did. I figured it out. And I realized that I was really good with numbers and statistics and understanding where money could be better spent or money could be, I’m going to say, kept in the cash register instead of leaving prematurely. And so, you know, that’s such a long time ago that never was everyone honest like they are today. However, it bella is everyone is honest. So, you know, my background was about learning how to become a madam and finding that the door I was supposed to walk through. And it’s as if I needed to make the growth before I could be a great mentor for the ladies that were consistently coming along, but they were cut from different cloth. They were slightly different generations and how to adapt and be able to be understood or communicate or what were their dreams and goals then and all the way along. Now what are their dreams and goals? Yeah, understood. And I doubt very much if other brothel owners have the same concerns. It doesn’t look like it. It appears that it’s more about if you fit in the box and you’re making them money, then you get to stay. But what’s the growth between coming in to the industry, sensual sexual services and becoming a courtesan? You mentioned the term courtesan. That’s a real old school. I mean, I’m talking early 1900s term if I’m not mistaken, isn’t it? It actually goes back to the 1500s and venus, venus. And the courtesan really was a prostitute. All right? However, she was especially with the wealthy or the upper class, but in the 1500s it was the kings and the nobility. She could go to war. She could be present in the court. She could even have an opinion. And those women were the only literate women. If you married into nobility, you had no literacy at all. Wow. That’s kind of cool. So some members of our audience may be interested in owning their own legal brothel. How easy or difficult is it to become a brothel owner in Nevada and what kind of requirements are there? The first thing I’m going to say is if a person is interested in the industry, they need to have a calling. And it has to be beyond money. And this is my personal take on this because there’s a tremendous amount of personal growth that has to happen in order to be part of an evolving industry. And I’m going to say that’s anything. We’re talking about the brothel. So each county or incorporated city has their own requirements for becoming an owner. It’s a FBI background check. You fill out financial paperwork. You want to know everything about your family, your past. And I feel like they go pretty big with this. But I would say it’s an old idea of are you associated with crime? And there’s people that come to me and they just want bellows. They want to buy it. And how much money are they going to make? I said, I can tell you what I make. But I can’t guarantee what you’re going to make. When I first started, there were 32 licenses. Now it’s about 20. You’re talking about in your county? No, no, just throughout rural Nevada. Oh, okay. All right. Because we were only allowed to be in rural Nevada. It’s always next to wrecking yards and garbage dumps and things like that. Or at least I’ve heard Bella. I can’t tell you from experience. Ha ha. Ha ha. Well, you know, the thing is to own a brothel, yes, you have this in-depth application and then it’s given to, let’s say, the Elko County Sheriff’s Department. And then they go through your whole packet of licensing packet process. And then you would go in front of the city council and the lieutenant or whoever it is would come in, say, I see no reason for the city to deny an application to whoever that person is. And in the city of Wells, it’s $1,000 to be investigated. You’re starting a business. I mean, that’s, that’s, that’s chump change if you’re investing to start a business. Right. So I’m 73 and I’ve been here what I call a decent amount of time. And I know that there’s going to come a day when I pass the baton, Bruce. It is my baby, meaning I see where the industry should go if it’s going to evolve. What I would like to say is, yep, Ellis is for sale. But the person or group or whatever it is that came to me, I would want to know where me passing the baton is meant for them to go. They must have some sort of a vision. Yeah, you’re probably going to do a much tougher background check than the local city fathers are doing on you. Yes. Because if this is the involvement of, I’m going to say women and empowerment and, and the idea of what legalized sensual sexual services is really all about, then they must have a bigger picture than I had in 1987, which was getting to right now. So where, where do they want to take it? You know, and this whole idea of having a life that that life is so short that how are you going to do the one thing you’re here to do the best? And that is to experience being in this body sensually and sexually. Absolutely. And it’s very obvious to me. It was before, even before we talked and even more so now, how dedicated you are to what you do and the people who work for you. And I’m sure also to your customers, which that’s a big credit to you. So what makes a legal brothel successful? And this is my opinion. That’s what we’re listening to today. Oh gosh, I’m so glad you reminded me. You know, location, location and location is this crossroads of the Western United States to major highways, to major thoroughfares and great ladies. I don’t mean Barbie dolls. I mean, intelligent and the kind of ladies that are self starters and they understand where they’re going. And then because I have women between 21 and let’s say 40 ish, they have to have a progressive mentor. They can’t have an old lady. They have to have someone that is like right with them, been on the planet a little longer, but has the ability to hear and when it’s necessary, share the tools that they’re missing from their little tool belt. Right. And you know, I’ve got a couple of friends, at least two friends that sometimes work in brothels and they’re in the adult internet industry like I largely am. And they’ve told me stories of guys who come in and they never even have sex. They talk and these are two exceptional ladies, but they say they have guys who come in and pay them just to have a nice conversation. Happens more than you think. I believe it. There’s a lot of lonely guys out there. There really are. And life is really hard out there. That’s why I’m in Thailand. Oh my gosh. And you know, in the bellas and especially since the pandemic, people need people. I’m going to let that one pass, but go ahead. Thank you. But you know, it was like, it was perfect. It was horrible, but it was perfect because people being around other people for granted. And then suddenly we were all told to stay home and you can’t. And so when that happened and I’m going to say clients were able to come in, there’s way more conversation. There’s way more laughter. And even if I was outside the door, I don’t hear the same endurance rides with sex. It seems that things went softer and more personal. Right. Well, that’s good. That’s really a good thing. And maybe that’s a direction society’s gone in general, which I think is fantastic to be honest with you. So we talked a little bit about, okay, I’m going to call it the pandemic, but that’s okay. Okay. So when it happened, the governor of Nevada shut down all the brothels for over a year. You implemented a clever workaround to keep your sex workers active during this difficult period by securing an escort license. So tell us a little bit about that. Oh my gosh, that was, it was brilliant. You know, it be cause. If you must say so yourself, you know why it was brilliant because I had a house full of ladies that couldn’t get home and my credit cards were pretty maxed out. I didn’t charge him anything. It’s like, look, this, this was something that obviously we were all meant to experience. So they’d answer the phone, but clients would keep calling. And finally it came to my attention that there was a house in Reno that somehow had acquired an escort license as part of the package. And I thought, hmm, now the difference was once that was activated, it was like thousands of dollars for these clients because they would have to go pick up the gal, pay, go rent the room. There’s another charge and then, well, you know, so it might be a thousand dollars just for the sex and we’ll add the room and then the runner and then all of this other stuff on top. And I thought, oh boy, that’s awkward. So when these calls kept coming in, I went to the city council and I wrote it up the business plan, how it was going to work, why it was going to work. And I made it like two pages, very large print. And I said, look, the clients are calling. They’ve already said that they’d rather come to bella’s. But if we aren’t going to be able to open, then they’re going to go west. And I just said to the council, I said, look, I know what’s your call. Whatever you decide, the money is going to get spent. Do you want it spent in Reno or do you want it spent in Wells? Yeah, might as well get the tax revenue here. Yeah, every community, I mean, they’d reach the point where, you know, we’re like six or seven months of suffering. The only people making the big dollars are the long haulers. And the corporations who used it as a justification to cut all their staffs and cut out customer service and don’t even get me started anyway. No, that’s why I thought my word was better, but that’s okay. And you know what, I get it. I think there really was a COVID. I mean, I had it and it wasn’t fun. It wasn’t that bad. I mean, really it was like a, not even a bad cold. But then again, I take fairly good care of myself for a fettled man, but it could have been handled differently. Yeah, it could have been. And you know what, if they did develop it in a lab, shame on them, it’s their karma. But as far as the ladies in the escort, the really cool part was they didn’t care if they watched movies, the clients came, they were very generous. The council said, look, you don’t even have to leave the building. Oh, really? That was like, thank you. Boy, that’s what I call a workaround. You don’t have to leave the building. Geez. But it worked. Why don’t you run for president? Oh, I’m telling you. You got the political experience. Yeah, but you know, and now I’m in front of them again about the courtesan thing. But you know, what I liked about being closed for a certain amount of time was in all my years, I never, ever took a break. Yeah. So I had what I call, I’ll call it seven months, even though I know it seemed like it went on forever. But I had seven months where all I did, ride my horse, I weeded, I did just, it was like I was retired. Right. And then on September 17th, 2020, it was like something higher than May, something more powerful than May said. Well, now you know what it’s like to be retired. You can check that off your bucket list. You’re going back to Bellis. I said, okay, okay. And so when I got back in there, once again, it was new. It was brand new. It was a brand new page in time. How do we want to do this? Where are we going to go? I thought about all this for empowerment stuff and all this and every lady that showed up had never worked illegally. She was bought out of money, but I actually realized that it was now that I could do totally courtesan run. Let’s move to that because you mentioned the, the courtesan thing and you’re currently lobbying the Well City Council to change the name prostitute to courtesan on the sex workers license cards. Why do you want to do this and why is prostitution considered a negative connotation? It’s always seemed to me that it’s derogatory and that it really has like a social, besides the stigma, the stereotyping, it sounds heavy. It sounds dark because it used to be that all of it was illegal. And then when Nevada chose to have these rural areas that could vote to have it legal, it was still had the same term. Well, they’re legal and licensed and gets health checks and all this. All of these other people, they don’t, they may or may not pay taxes. Why are they carrying the same label? Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. You know, and labels, if they’re derogatory, keep like an actual profession, press down, then it’s time for a change. So in my wanting them to do this, I wanted them to understand they didn’t have to spend a lot of money to do this. It wasn’t like, oh, we have to go rewrite the whole code. But it was, could you imagine if I was doing a lineup of these beautiful ladies and I said, I’ll just say Bruce, I’d like you to meet my lineup of prostitutes. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Or I could say my lineup of courtesans. My lineup of beautiful women, you know, I mean, that’s what I would say. That’s what I would definitely say. By the way, it’s kind of interesting because in the porn side of the business and the only fan side of the business and everything else involved with sex work, which really is a fairly new term on that side of the business, people are now terming themselves sex workers throughout the sexual industry. What’s your take on that? Are they really sex workers? Are they sensual sexual workers? Because there’s way more sensuality than just sex. Right. But my point on that is, is that I think there’s been kind of a gathering together between people involved in prostitution. I’m sorry to use the negative term, but that’s the terminology that’s often used. And people who shoot porn, people who have only fans pages and people who do live cams, even people like myself who are in B2B. We’re all called sex workers now. I think it’s a good thing. What do you think? I’m going to say that as long as people have trouble with the word sex, it’s better than other terms. But that to me is really what I call the key. If everyone had this openness about sex, it would be a great term. But typically, people kind of go, "Ooh." Yeah, but you know what? We’re mainly talking to each other, which when we talk about that, when you go to Twitter, the word sex workers used a lot. Right. And it’s used in a very positive way. And it’s used in a way that we’re all being persecuted as sex workers. Financial discrimination is huge. Can’t get bank accounts. Can’t get processing. Things like that. The Free Speech Coalition. I don’t know if you’ve listened to any of the previous podcasts, but Allison Bowden was on a couple of times. It’s very fascinating. It was a two-part series. And it’s very fascinating how they’re protecting sex workers. So it’s pretty cool. Well we have a great credit union that all these gals that choose to be with me, all they have to do is be with me long enough and they can go do banking. Really? But see, that’s part of it. That’s nice. Is this something you own? No. No, but you know, the idea is why should anyone discriminate against the title of sex worker? I certainly wouldn’t. Yeah, I’d be curious about that because I think that others in our industry would be very interested in that if it’s available. We’ll talk off mic about it. It sounds very interesting. So tell me this, why are some legal brothels not successful? What are some mistakes they make? Oh, I’ve made those same mistakes, Bruce. Okay, yeah, we all have. We all make mistakes and we get better. Yes, or we don’t. Right. One or the other. But the fact remains, I liken any business to riding a bicycle. And if there is no peddling, which means forward movement evolving, then a business becomes stagnant and eventually it just doesn’t have that same, I’m going to call it energetic momentum. Well, yeah, and that’s all businesses, right? Right. But in this particular business, it just can’t be the same old thing a different day. There has to be advertising in the way that works for them or fixing things up. Or I always say when times get tough, the only thing a business can change is service and value. And in the brothel industry, I think some of the houses have way too many ladies and not quite enough clients. And then I also feel like that there’s some other smaller brothels that the owners have no background in the industry. So it’s as if they haven’t paid their dues and they don’t understand how to lead. And it’s almost as if I have even the women that I know maybe aren’t truthful or honest or they’re older. But if I let them go, then they’ll have nothing versus, well, if they weren’t here, what would come through the door for you? In other words, what would change versus just hanging on to the old and what is? I believe that sometimes women forget to save their money and then they don’t get out of the industry when they should have. Especially in the business. So, you know, that’s, it’s a big part of it. It can’t just be a big party with drunkenness or things like that. There has to be class. Well, absolutely. That’s the goal. But unfortunately, a lot of places have no class in that business for sure. I remember when I was a kid and I used to visit them and I didn’t see a lot of it back then. So, you’re the longest serving female brothel owner in a business that’s overwhelmingly dominated by men. Tell us what it’s like to be a successful female owner in this sector. Of late being really the only female owner, I call myself American Madam. And the ladies, these beautiful ladies that apply and interview me and I interview them. The first thing they say is, "I want to work for a woman. That’s why I’m calling you." And I believe there’s something to that. I think like they do. Obviously, in these other houses that are owned by men, yes, there’s a woman that stands there and carries the title of manager or madam or whatever it is. But a madam owns the house. If a woman is an employee, she is not a madam. Yeah, that makes sense. I would agree with that. And so, what are these women that sometimes carry this title of madam there to do? They’re there to make these men money. And if they don’t, they will be replaced. Oh, sure. It’s a huge difference. And so, when they work and when they share their money with me, my goal is to raise them up because they get to be successful before they even have something to share. So it’s something as a woman. It actually feels good. Oh, I bet it does. It’s got to feel good for you and good for them. So how do you believe having a brothel run entirely by sex workers helps your business and your customers? I’m going to say it energetically runs more smoothly because they all understand why they’re there. They all understand how to make it work. If I bring people in from the outside, which I did give a go to, it was like oil and water because someone standing behind the bar had no idea how to blend with these women. They could introduce them, but let’s say every woman wanted to make $1,000 a day. And I’ve got somebody making $15 an hour. It doesn’t compute for them to be part of the magnetism that it helps these women attract the money. Absolutely. They can’t even imagine. I could say, and I did it for years, well, how much money would you like to make with the ladies today? How much money would you want to bring in? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a few hundred dollars. Ah, it was a mess. Should I gather then that your courtesans share tips with the bartender? What they do at Bellas is everything gets booked. Just everything. And then at the end of the week, that’s when tipping happens. Kind of like a cruise. Yeah. And you know, they understand by being courtesan run, who’s going to do the sheets, get to cook their own meals. They know how they want to eat. Okay. So some of them get to learn to cook. It’s an amazing experience to watch these women learn how to be business women, learn how to be self-sufficient. Some are farther along than others, but they help each other. So somebody doesn’t know how to cook. Somebody’s helping them learn how to cook. Right now, I’m teaching a young one. She’s 23. I’m teaching her how to drive. So, and she’s like my third, I think, that I’ve taught how to drive. God. Bellas, Haasie, and driving school. What really keeps me fresh is that they like being in business with me as much as I like being in business with them. That’s great. So in 2018, you founded the Onesta Foundation. It’s a nonprofit with a mission to provide awareness and advocacy for the promotion of the legalization and regulation of prostitution. What circumstances provoked you to create this foundation? And what is the foundation’s role today? The creation of the Onesta was kind of twofold. One was in my head, the other was real, which was a response to religious groups that really wanted to shut down brothels in other counties. But the other part of it, and that’s a big part right there, but the other part was I thought if women really want to have a voice, why wouldn’t they want a woman brothel owner to be partnered with them, to give them a voice we could call it the Onesta Foundation, and it would really be what I call forward momentum. That I think has been sluggish because Dennis Hoff was still alive and many of those ladies that were for him, it upset them. They had their way. And I respected him. Yes, he got a big voice. However, I felt in my heart that he wasn’t really an advocate for the industry and the involvement. Yeah, and quite frankly, I think Dennis Hoff brought a lot of negative publicity to the industry. I felt that way. And even his book was called "Nevadas Pimp." And I went through it. It’s one I won’t be reading. But the idea is I’m the American madam, and I feel like I’m standing in the light. I’m standing in the progress of women. And it felt a little like he was standing in the shadow, and it was a little more tarnished. And I know that there are so many good things about sex work and all the things we’ve already talked about that I said Dennis has merely gotten out of my way. Yeah, yeah. Well he did. Well, you know, they call prostitution the oldest profession. And obviously there has to be a demand, and certainly the demand has never gone down. If anything, it’s at an all-time high. And it’s something that I believe strongly in. I believe strongly in legalization. I always have. I’ve always believed in legalization of every victimless crime that includes marijuana, which should be federally legalized as should prostitution. Hell, all this illegal stuff out there could be taxed. And maybe, well, if that would discover our government more ways to waste it, but I won’t get into a tirade about that. So speaking of books, I hear you’ve recently written a book called "Sexual Healing" about sex workers’ experiences in the industry. Tell us about the book, and when can we expect to see it? Ah, all right. You’re part of my, I’m going to call it, becoming known, okay? I feel special. Yes, you know, because I have an agent, I actually have two books written. First is actually a memoir that talks about his whole journey. But then it was like I realized that maybe that should be second, because the idea of legitimizing brothels and understanding that legalization, the tax revenue, the public safety, the being able to take STIs and STDs, and I’m going to go as far as saying to stop some of this insane in-cell BS. Jesus Christ. I don’t even want to say, "Ah, young men are so screwed up. It’s not even funny." Well, you get into like all the dark web stuff and, you know, the involuntarily celibate and all this stuff, and it’s like helping in this book, with the interviews and with these courtesans, their personal and professional experiences, and do they think it’ll ever be legalized? Or do they not? And so it’s about half and half. A couple of them have worked for me, but they’re from all different, we’ll call it sex worker industries. You know, maybe they’re dancers, maybe they’re all different types. But I am a firm believer that legalization and decriminalization are at least going in a parallel direction. I don’t think being sexual means that you have to be a criminal. And so I’m really, I’m really wanting this book because of my being able to speak out now and people want to hear. I mean, look, consensual sex should not be illegal. I mean, it’s just really simple. Okay? But unfortunately, I mean, look what’s happening with the porn industry. I don’t know if you’ve been following what’s going on with the state identification laws and then making it so hard for adults to view porn because who the hell wants to put their ID online to watch porn with all the data leaks and everything? God help you turn it on. You know, you might as well just get handcuffed. Yeah. And I’ve got somebody who’s going to be on my podcast that is going to, they’re called Blue Check and they’ll be on before you actually. And they’ve got a very simple verification method where you don’t have to put your ID in, just have to put your phone number, which is not a bad, not a bad thing. So we want verification. We want kids off of porn sites. You certainly don’t want kids in your house, but at the same time, these politicians are trying to make it so, and they’re backed by the religious right, of course, they’re trying to make it so the adult internet industry goes away and we’re not going away and your industry is not going away. And hopefully they’re going to make everything completely legal in some short period of time. But you know, I’d like to say I’m more optimistic, but it’s getting harder and harder for our side of the industry, unfortunately. But everything is about control. Oh yeah, it’s about control and getting elected. Let’s face it. So how has your industry changed since you’ve been in it? What were some key historical shifts in the industry? When I was first introduced to what was Hacienda at that time, there were no condoms. It was just sex and the people that came in were clean. The ladies were clean. And the worst thing that could happen is you’d get the clap, which, you know, that was pretty easy. But, you know, the other things that were our, the social media, all of the internet stuff where it seemed as though it went way out in an HIV, of course, but way out in a direction where for some reason people thought that they could get what they required sexually off the internet. And that’s not true. It can never be replaced. I’m going to say replace the human touch. And so I mean, I can understand, you know, that maybe there’s a lot of people that really get aroused by it, but if they don’t have some other person there, they’re going to have to finish the job themselves. Very true. Very true. So how has the industry progressed? That is a really good question. You know, it kind of goes into this AI thing that I wrote, the thing that I’m just banning it. Yeah, yeah. I saw where you were banning AI in place. You know, in maybe in some ways it sounds kind of silly. It’s still, there’s nothing in AI that’s going to replace the touch. And even if someone is getting, you know, a text or an email or whatever, I don’t want it to be some kind of an AI response. I want there to be a person on the other end. Right now, I’m the one that handles all the emails. I respond to everybody. I could probably contract that out somehow where there’s just these automatic things that just respond to a question, but I wouldn’t be putting my, what I call my heart into this. This is a real question. This is a real person. And if we’re all connected, someone, and I’m going to say me, would want to know how I was responded to. I’m not all that crazy about how some of these answering machines are doing it. And it gave me, gave me the idea that it’s like, it can be a fun thing to write about. But what if we really remember that we’re here to be with one another, to touch one another, to have what I call physical contact? Agreed. I’m a hugger, man. Me too. I’m a hugger. I got a lot of musician friends, and that’s how I picked up that habit. And my friends and I hug. That’s how it goes. Well, Bella, I’d like to thank you for being our guest today on Adult Side Broker Talk. I promise not to respond to you by eye, and I hope we’ll get a chance to do this again soon. You know, I would really like that. There’s always so much to talk about. And thank your audience. I want to thank them for even being willing to understand maybe something that they didn’t have very much information about. Absolutely. Thank you, Bruce. And thank you. My broker tip today is part five of how to buy a site. Last week we talked about how to determine the value of a site, how to negotiate the sale, and how to get to the point of drawing up an agreement. So now you’re talking to your attorney and you’re having them draft an agreement. What should be in it? Well, your attorney should guide you through the legal side, but here are some considerations to keep in mind from a buying standpoint. What’s the date you’d like to close? Make sure you know you’ll have the money to either pay the deposit or the entire amount of the purchase by that date. I’ve had buyers who aren’t ready, and that just causes issues. Make sure that all of the assets you’re purchasing are in that agreement, such as every domain included in the sale, processing and payment accounts, relationships with vendors, all records including 2257 data, software to run the sites, and any other assets such as source code for the sites. Of course, it should spell out any payment schedule if there is one. Who’s responsible for closing costs, such as paying for escrow? And there are always terms that are unique to yours in the seller’s situation. This assumes you’re the party responsible for drawing up the agreement. If the seller is drawing up the agreement, then it’s important that you express all of this to your attorney so they can check the seller’s agreement and see if any changes are necessary. We’ll talk about this subject more next week. And next week we’ll be speaking with Guy Criss of Alternadudes. And that’s it for this week’s Adult Site Broker Talk, once again, like to thank my guest, Madame Bella Cummins. Talk to you again next week on Adult Site Broker Talk. I’m Bruce Friedman. [MUSIC PLAYING] [END PLAYBACK] [BLANK_AUDIO]