Adult Site Broker Talk Episode 202 with Asia Duncan of The Cupcake Girls

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 Asia Duncan of the Cupcake Girls Local for All project. Would you like an easy way to make a lot of money? Send sellers or buyers to us at Adult Site Broker through our affiliate program, ASB Cash. When you refer business to us, you’ll receive 20% of our broker commission on all sales that result from that referral for life. You can make $100,000 or more on only one sale for some of our listings. Check out ASB Cash dot com for more details and to sign up. At Adult Site 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. We’ve also added an events section to our website at adultsidebroker.com. Now you can get information on B2B events on our site as well as special discounts reserved for our clients. Go to adultsidebroker.com for more details. Now let’s feature our property the week that’s for sale at Adult Site Broker. We’re proud to offer for sale an innovative marketing agency that specializes in managing the top .01% only fans profiles in the world. It’s just under a year old but is growing very rapidly. They fully manage creators workflow from promotion to monetization. They’ve developed an internal CRM that empowers the sales management, marketing, automation and analytics. This is one of the most relevant advantages of the agency that allows it to drive in-target traffic to profiles and monetize them. The company is already doing over 2 million euros in annual revenue from just over 20 creators. They have a database of over 1 million contacts and 600,000 unique user accounts. This is an outstanding opportunity for anyone to enter the world of only fans management and immediately become one of the top agencies in the world along with its software, processes and know-how which will allow you to bring models up to three times their initial gross monthly revenue. Or established agencies can acquire the company and expand their business. Only 2.59 million euros. Now time for this week’s interview. My guest today on Adult Site Broker Talk is Asia Duncan of the Cupcake Girls. Hey Asia, thanks for being with us on Adult Site Broker Talk. Thank you for having me Bruce. It’s a pleasure. Now Asia is the director for the Local for All event space and resource center which is a project of the Cupcake Girls and is coming to the arts district in downtown Las Vegas. Asia has six years of experience in community and non-profit work. She’s the mom of two adorable intelligent boys, if she must say so herself, and a proud aunt, daughter, sister and community advocate and organizer. Asia is passionate about the work and the mission of the Cupcake Girls and the Local for All event space project. She believes in leading with love and doing things that make you happy because life is too short for anything less. Amen to that. The opportunity to add value to the Cupcake Girls by fundraising aligns with their personal goals and mission. When she’s not fundraising, she travels, spends time with her boys and volunteers locally and hangs out with friends. Local for All developed by the Cupcake Girls is the country’s first community-driven social impact hub and is located in downtown Las Vegas. With over 12 years of experience, the Cupcake Girls provide trauma-informed outreach, intensive case management, and aftercare services for individuals in the adult industry and those affected by domestic sex trafficking. Their goal is to create a one-stop solution for essential community-based services and provide inclusive and safe spaces for collaboration, work and resources. Collaborating with local partners, businesses and individuals, they offer satellite locations at their facility. Local for All is committed to social impact with 100% of an event or booking being taxed deductible and at least 10% of our every dollar is recycled back into the local community, nonprofits or their program participants. Their mission is to build a supportive community for social change, driving donations, programming and data to sustain their organization’s programs for years to come. Oh, I got through that. Wow, you did a great job. I did my best. So Asia, could you provide an overview of the current state of human trafficking globally and its prevalence in specific regions or countries? Absolutely. So human trafficking is a widespread problem affecting virtually every country in the world. It is estimated that millions of people are trafficked annually with women and children being disproportionately targeted. So some of the regions and countries are Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, North America and the Middle East. One distinction we should probably make at the very beginning, especially since the Cupcake Girls is an organization that works predominantly with sex workers as well as human trafficking victims, is the difference between sex work and human trafficking. Absolutely. So consensual sex work is folks who may be in the adult entertainment industry, whether they’re full service or online sex workers. They could be dancers, entertainers, burlesque, cabaret. Those are examples of sex workers. And then sex trafficking is when someone is under the manipulation and coercion and they’re not in control of their wages. So I think the major difference that we want to differentiate it here is that sex trafficking, you do not have control of your wages and consensual sex work, you do. So back to the first question, I want to get into a little more detail. What is the current state of human trafficking globally? So globally, just if we talk about the countries that I just mentioned, like in Southeast Asia, the region has been a hotspot for human trafficking, particularly in countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Manamar, where sex trafficking and forced labor is prevalent. In countries like Eastern Europe, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor has been a significant concern in Eastern Europe countries like Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. And then in the sub-Saharan Africa, trafficking occurs for various purposes, including child soldier recruitment, forced labor in agriculture and mining, and sexual exploitation in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In North America, the United States and Canada have not been immune to human trafficking with cases reported in various forms, including sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude. And then in the Middle East, human trafficking is a concern in some Middle Eastern countries often involving migrant workers in forced labor conditions. What percentage do you figure of human trafficking is actual sex trafficking? I don’t know if it exists. I was just kind of curious. Yeah, no, I feel like there are statistics out there. I don’t have the exact statistic in front of me. Okay. See, it’s a reasonable percentage, wouldn’t you say? It’s definitely a reasonable percentage. And it’s one of, I don’t want to say easiest for lack of better words, but sex trafficking and just consensual sex work, something that’s been around for centuries. So I think the trafficking component of it, again, is when folks are forced and they don’t have control of their wages versus consensual sex work when they do. So it’s just important for us to identify, hey, is this person being trafficked? Or are they actually consensual sex workers? Oh, that’s very true. You mentioned Southeast Asia and Thailand where I live, and there’s no doubt that it happens. And I think most of that is when people recruit, quote, unquote, people to come to work in other countries saying that they’re going there to be, to do massage, to work in a restaurant, to do any kind of legitimate work. And when they get there, they take their passports and they’re forced to do sex work. And that happens a lot with people here who are, you know, brought from Thailand to other countries. Another thing that happens is that parents have been known to force their kids, parents in very poor parts of the country, very poor parts of Southeast Asia and other parts of the world where the parents are poor and if they’ve got a daughter, they look at that as a meal ticket and they either sell the kid into sexual slavery or whatnot. Yes, you brought up a good point. I mean, the vulnerability of individuals to human trafficking is influenced by a complex interplay of social, economical, political and personal factors. So really understanding these factors is crucial for preventing trafficking and providing support to potential victims. So you brought up poverty and economic factors. That’s the number one factor. Absolutely. What are the primary factors that contribute to the vulnerability of individuals to human trafficking? Were they the ones you just mentioned? Oh, yes. So that’s the number one poverty and economic hardship is a significant driver of vulnerability to trafficking. People living in poverty may be more willing to accept risky job offers or may be forced into trafficking due to their desperate economic circumstances. Then you have the lack of education. Limited access to education can increase vulnerability. Lack of education reduces employment opportunities, making individuals more susceptible to deceptive job offers that turn into trafficking situations. Then you have gender. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by human trafficking, particularly in cases of sex trafficking. Gender inequality, discrimination and limited opportunities can make women and girls more vulnerable to exploitation. Age is another factor. Children are highly vulnerable to trafficking as they lack the ability to protect themselves or make informed decisions. So child trafficking includes child labor, child soldier recruitment and sexual exploitation. Migration and displacement. Displaced populations, including refugees and internally displaced persons are often at greater risk for trafficking. They may be separated from their communities and supportive networks, making them more susceptible to exploitation. We have social marginalization factors. Those are factors that include discrimination, oppression, marginalization, social exclusion can also increase vulnerability. So that’s lack people, indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, just individuals that face higher risk due to social societal prejudice. Then you have the lack of legal status, like migrants who lack legal documentation or residency. Status in the country may be a reporting of exploitation, making them easier targets for trafficking. Family and community dynamics, conflict instability, deception and fraud, social media and technology, drug addiction, psychological vulnerability, those are some other things that we see as well. So what are the different forms of human trafficking and how do they manifest in various contexts? So the different forms of human trafficking are all tied to being forced and coerced into it. There’s sex trafficking, there’s labor trafficking, there’s child trafficking, those are the three biggest ones. What are some successful strategies and initiatives for preventing human trafficking at the community, national and international levels? That’s a good question. I know I asked it. So preventing human trafficking requires a multifaceted approach at the community, national, international levels. Successful strategies and initiatives involve a combination of legal, social education and economic measures. So some examples would include like community level initiatives like awareness campaigns, for example, education and training, hotlines and helplines, youth programs. Then you have the national level initiatives. These could look like victim support, corporate responsibility. You have the international level initiatives. This could look like global supply chain monitoring and migration policies, sanctions and penalties for those countries that fail to take adequate measures against trafficking and cooperate in extra dieting traffickers. Again, we need to make the distinction between sex work and sex trafficking because a lot of these organizations are not really anti-trafficking. They’re anti-adult work. They’re anti-sex work. Isn’t that right? Yeah, that’s what we’re seeing a lot of and that’s just harming more people. Yeah, because trafficking is being used. Trafficking was used to push through FOSTA CESTA, which was one of the worst things ever for sex workers, not to mention law enforcement. FOSTA CESTA was definitely not good for sex workers or trafficking survivors. It hurt the efforts of law enforcement to find the real traffickers because these platforms, most of which were legitimate and most of which were cooperating with the authorities, they no longer exist. Now, law enforcement doesn’t have the tools they used to have. FOSTA CESTA, there’s a lot of different components of FOSTA CESTA. What ended up happening was there’s the lack of evidence of impact. Some critics argue that there’s little empirical evidence to suggest that FOSTA CESTA has significantly reduced online sex trafficking to improve the conditions. Then there’s the harm to marginalized communities. Some of those individuals relied on online platforms for income and safety, so removing those and not having the technology to help support and vet out people’s clients. Then just concerns about online privacy and call for harm reduction and decriminalization. FOSTA CESTA is just divided. Some believe that it’s a necessary tool to combat online sex trafficking, while others argue that it’s a negative consequence outweighed any potential benefits. The effectiveness and impact of the legislation continue to be subjects of debate and discussion. The anti-sex work people love it. The Congress people love it because it makes them look good, but it hurts everyone else. It seems that way. No doubt about it. How do economic and social inequities play a role in human trafficking and what measures can be taken to address these root causes? So it plays a significant role in human trafficking, increasing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to exploitation. These inequalities create conditions where people are more likely to accept risky job offers, become victims of deception, or fall prey to traffickers. So we constantly bring it back to economic inequalities like poverty. Poverty is a key factor that makes individuals more susceptible to trafficking. People are struggling to meet their basic needs. They’ll be willing to accept offers of employment, even if the conditions are exploitative. So some of these measures that could prevent would might be economic development, invest in economic development initiatives that create jobs and improve livelihoods in vulnerable communities. Microfinance skills and training provide access to microfinance programs and vocational training to empower individuals to pursue alternative economic opportunities. Fair wages and labor rights advocate for fair wages and workers’ rights and labor protections to prevent exploitative workforce places. And in terms of the lack of access to education, some of those measures could be combated by just educational programs that they can invest in accessibility and quality education, particularly for marginalized community. School attendance incentives provide incentives for families to send their children to school and ensure that education is affordable, safe, and accessible to all. From the social inequality measures that we can use as gender empowerment, promote gender equality through initiatives that empower women economically, socially, and politically, awareness and education, educate the community about harmful effects of gender-based discrimination and violence. And discrimination and marginalization, those measures could be anti-discrimination laws, so enact and enforce laws that prohibit discrimination and promote inclusivity. Social inclusion programs implement programs that promote social inclusion and equal opportunities for marginalized groups. And then children can’t be sex workers and should not be trafficked. So think measures that we could put into place would be child welfare service protection, like strengthening child protection systems to support supportive and shelter for at-risk children. Foster care and adoption regulations ensure proper regulations for foster care and adoption to prevent child trafficking. A huge population of our program participants that we serve are young adults coming straight out of the foster care system. And the stories that we hear are just heartbreaking. Oh, I bet. And as bad as it is in America, it’s so many times worse in other countries. Yeah, that’s very true. I mean, a lot of what you mentioned doesn’t even exist out here in Thailand. And as first world as this place has become, and it very much is in a lot of ways, in other ways, it’s just the wild west. I have a very limited view, like, because, you know, when we travel, we go to all these tourist places. And recently, I feel like I’ve started to venture off the resorts and try to just go see people in different places when I travel. And you get to see it. It’s actually right before your eyes. If you remove yourself from the resort, they pick destinations and areas that the tourists don’t get to see how people are really living to kind of keep us blind of what’s really happening in some of these countries. So I think there’s an opportunity for awareness there as well and partnerships and alliances there as well. Oh, absolutely. Like, there’s no doubt about it. What support and resources are available to survivors of human trafficking and what improvements are needed in the rehabilitation and reintegration processes? So the Cupcake Girls currently provides resources and support to sex workers and trafficking survivors. So we have shelters and safe houses. We have counseling and mental health services. We have medical care. We have legal assistance. We have financial support. We have case management. We have support groups. We have reintegration services. And we just meet folks where they are. So we really have a love without an agenda holistic approach. And then we do have specialized services tailored to those essentials for specific populations such as child survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals, migrants, and address their unique needs and vulnerabilities. And we also have long-term support because the transition from survivor to self-sufficiency can be challenging. So long-term support is available through our programs. We also have employment opportunities. Those are things that we have and then some of the things that we’re working on are legal reforms, public awareness, coordination and collaboration, and data collection and research. That’s awesome. It’s one of the reasons I feel so positively about what you guys do. Thank you. What can individuals, communities, and organizations do to raise awareness about human trafficking and engage in anti-trafficking efforts? So I always say if you’re local, come out to our events. Volunteer with us. Connect with us online. We have Instagram as a very powerful tool. We’re on Instagram. We’re on TikTok. We’re on LinkedIn. We are where all the people are. And then truly, just support the initiatives of these nonprofits that are doing the work, whether it’s, you know, whether you could be a monthly reoccurring donor or you can share and spread the word. All of those initiatives help. Yeah. But let me again point out, make sure that the organization you’re dealing with is a legitimate anti-trafficking, legitimate pro-sex work, because if it’s not and it’s just a wolf in sheep’s clothing, then you don’t want to give them money. That part. What he said, huh? Are there specific challenges or unique considerations when addressing human trafficking and conflict zones or areas with weak governance? Oh, yeah. So addressing human trafficking in conflict zones and areas of weak government requires just a multifaceted approach. So we prioritize both short-term and long-term strategies. So those can be security and stability. Just efforts to address trafficking must be integrated into broader efforts to restore security and governance in conflicted areas. Humanitarian aid, providing humanitarian aid, including shelter, food, medical care is crucial to meet the immediate needs of survivors and vulnerable populations. Capacity building, strengthening the capacity of local law enforcement and government agencies is essential for effective anti-trafficking efforts. Cross-border cooperation, regional cooperation and coordination are vital in trafficking areas across borders and in conflicted zones. Community engagement, engaging local communities in prevention and protection efforts to help raise awareness and build resilient anti-trafficking communities. Reintegration support, comprehensive supportive services, including trauma-informed care, education and vocational training are necessary for long-term reintegration of survivors. Legal reforms, advocating for illegal reforms to criminalize trafficking and provide protections for survivors is critical. Conflict resolutions, efforts to address the root cause of conflict and promote peace and stability can indirectly reduce the conditions that foster trafficking. Those are some of the ones that we focus on. Yeah, we do need to get rid of a lot, if not all, of the conflict in the world right now. And unfortunately, there’s way too much. And people suffer in a variety of ways. And one of the ways they suffer is in trafficking. There’s no two ways about it. How can businesses and industries actively contribute to ensuring their supply chains remain free from forced labor and exploitation, thereby supporting your mission to assist victims of sex trafficking and provide support to sex workers? So these are what we consider strategies for businesses to consider conducting supply chain audits. Regularly audit your supply chain to assess labor practices, including workers’ conditions and wages. Use independent auditors or third-party organizations to ensure impartial evaluations. Supplier due diligence. Implement a comprehensive supplier due diligence process to assess potential risks within your supply chain. Evaluate suppliers’ labor practices, ethics, and adherence to relevant regulations. Supplier codes of conduct. Develop and communicate clear supplier codes of conduct that explicitly prohibit forced labor, child labor, and exploitation. Include expectations for fair wages, safe working conditions, and ethical labor practices. And supplier training and capacity building. Offer training and capacity building programs to help suppliers understand and comply with your ethical standards. Traceability and transparency. Risk assessment and mitigation. Supplier engagement and collaboration. Responsible sourcing programs. Whistleblower mechanisms. Allowing anonymous whistleblower mechanisms for employees and suppliers to report potential abuses or violations. Partnerships and industry collaborations. Legal compliance. Consumer education and advocacy. So it’s a continuous improvement, but those are some of the ones that we just accountability and reporting all together is just a huge first step for some of these businesses and corporations. Oh, absolutely. In other words, keep your eyes open. Don’t to shut your eyes when there’s bad things going on. Exactly. And don’t shoot the messenger when there are bad things going on. Exactly. What are some key legislative developments or changes in the legal framework that have impacted anti-trafficking efforts and what gaps remain to be addressed? We brought it up earlier. So the fight, the FOSTA-SESTA is the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. So those are US measures passed in 2018 with the aim of addressing online sex trafficking. So those are some legislative developments. They face a lot of criticism and many argue that they’ve been ineffective and have unintended negative consequences. Yeah, they’re being challenged. Definitely being challenged. So those are a couple of them, but we just feel like now that they’re being challenged, some of the things that I guess we’ve discovered is censorship and chilling effect. So critics argue that FOSTA-SESTA has had a chilling effect on free speech online. So online platforms fearing legal liability have overzealously moderated content resulting in censorship of legitimate speech and the removal of platforms that sex workers use for harm, reduction, and safety. So the impact that it’s had on sex workers is that it’s disproportionately impacted them and it’s forced many of them into dangerous working conditions, increased vulnerability and exploitation and hindered their ability to screen clients and access online platforms for safety and support. It lacks evidence of impact. So there’s little empirical evidence to suggest that it’s reducing online sex trafficking or improve the conditions. It’s not. Let’s face it, it’s not. The only platforms that are left are ones that aren’t following any rules and I mean the sex traffickers can go nuts on those. Yeah, so there’s a lot of work to be done with FOSTA-SESTA. Yeah, like get rid of it. That part. If there was a real anti-trafficking bill, that would be great, but this is not an anti-trafficking bill. This is an anti-sex work bill and there’s no reason in the world why a legitimate escort site cannot operate because it helps everybody. The last thing you want for these sex workers is to drive them out. I mean, I grew up in the Bay Area. You don’t want to drive them into West Oakland. You don’t want to have them walking the streets because that’s dangerous. That’s where people die and that’s where pimps take over and all the things that the websites were preventing. Every area has its West Oakland. I’m sure Las Vegas does. So can you share personal stories or case studies that highlight the impact of human trafficking on individuals and communities? So we at the Cupcake Girls don’t really share stories, but just my story. I’m a survivor of trafficking and I feel like if there was a place like the Resource Center that the Cupcake Girls is working on, my journey to self-determination and self-empowerment would have been a lot shorter and I would have found a community, a supportive community and wouldn’t have had to spend so many years over close to 20 years of walking in shame and fear, to be quite honest. So just I like to speak into just my personal story and the work that the Cupcake Girls is doing and just lean into the fact that I think that meeting people where they are and loving them without an agenda is really what folks coming out of trafficking need. They need to feel supported and that support looks different for everybody. So don’t, we’re a rights, not a rescue organization. We don’t tell people what to do. We essentially want to walk alongside them in their journey and I think the most powerful thing that they do is truly embody the fact there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for combating trafficking. So these things evolve, the conversation evolves, sometimes it gets deeper, sometimes no one’s talking about it for a while, but it’s one of those things that are existing. So truly to bring an awareness to it and meeting people where they are is what I see could be the most impactful. And if I may ask your situation, I’m going to assume with sex trafficking? Yes. For 20 years? No, no, no. It’s 20 years ago. Oh, I was going to say and that had to be horrible. Yeah, it was pretty horrible. It was actually, the thing about it is I didn’t even know what was happening when it was happening. I was so young and again, I was in that category of poverty and economic hardship. So just needing to have support and wanting to support my family, like they weren’t telling me that I had to do this, but my brain was like, look how we’re living. Somebody needs to do something. And I put myself in a situation, but for a lot of survivors is we bite off more than we can chew. And when somebody, when my trafficker took me 3,000 miles away from my family, my mom, and I was missing for close to a year. And again, I don’t have no ID, no passport, no birth certificate, and I’m not even old enough to figure out how to get those things on my own. Like I haven’t even gotten to that age. Oh, were you underage? No, but I was 17. I didn’t know where to go to get a Social Security card. You know what I mean? My mom did all that stuff for me. Sure, sure. That’s going to be really bad. So you started out thinking that you were, you were working and all of a sudden you were working for somebody and they were stripping away your rights. Is that pretty much how it went down? Yeah, stripping away my rights, stripping away my dignity, stripping away my confidence, lots of violence, lots of abuse. I mean, as he said out of his own mouth, you know, he has to break me all the way down and build me back up. So that was a whole process within itself. Oh, I just hate people like that. So how can media and journalism contribute to raising awareness about human trafficking and influencing public perception and policy changes? So they could shed light on the issue, educate the public and advocate for stronger anti-trafficking measures. Some of those could be informative reporting. Journalists can produce in depth, well, research investigative reports that provide insights into the causes, consequences and complexities of human trafficking, such as reporting can educate the public about the issues, scope and seriousness, human stories. So personal narratives and survivor stories can humanize the issue, making it relatable to the public. Profiles of survivors, their struggles and their journeys towards recovery can evoke empathy and understanding. Exposure of traffickers, media can expose the operations of traffickers and organize crime networks, putting pressure on law enforcement agencies to take action against traffickers and dismantle their networks. Highlighting vulnerable populations, so journalism can draw attention to the vulnerable populations most at risk of trafficking, such as migrants, refugees, marginalized communities that can lead to increased support and protection for these groups. Education and policy analysis, so they can analyze the effectiveness of existing anti-trafficking legislation and policies, shedding light on areas that need improvement and advocating for legal reforms and just awareness campaigns so media outlets can launch awareness campaigns dedicated to human trafficking. These campaigns can include documentaries, special reports and other social media initiatives that engage the public. There’s policy, advocacy, consumer awareness, international reporting, public engagement, and legislative. Those kind of all fall into that as well. You mentioned something interesting. You mentioned organized crime. How much of sex trafficking is organized crime? I mean, I can only speak from my experience. I feel like the whole thing was organized crime because he wasn’t a corner guy. He was a businessman. So to me, it was all organized crime. I felt like how am I supposed to, from a power dynamic, not just his age being older than me, but it’s like, who’s going to believe me? This man is this person in the community. Look how many businesses he has. These are all a front. Yeah. Wow. What are the latest trends and emerging issues in human trafficking and how should anti-trafficking strategies evolve to address these challenges? So again, awareness and education. So raise public awareness about trafficking through community outreach, educational programs and awareness campaigns to help individuals recognize the signs of trafficking. Crime centered approaches. So prioritizing the needs and well-being of trafficking survivors, ensuring comprehensive victim services, including trauma-informed care and trauma-informed care is readily available. Prevention. Develop and implement targeted prevention programs that focus on at-risk populations, such as runaway and homeless youth, migrant workers and vulnerable communities. Then we always have the legislation and policy. We could advocate for stronger anti-trafficking legislation, but they would have to actually start including folks with lived experience in that conversation. And then support vulnerable populations, training and capacity building, not only for law enforcement but healthcare professionals, educators, social workers, therapists, just to improve their ability to identify and respond, monitoring and collecting of data, community engagement, partnerships, hotlines and reporting. And then cross-border cooperation. Yeah. So what advice would you give to individuals who want to get involved in the fight against human trafficking, whether it’s volunteers, advocates or professionals? Well, I say volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to provide service and to kind of, because most organizations, well, you should, this is actually a good point. Most organizations should do some type of training prior to them just throwing you out there. So I would volunteer an organization that does in-depth training like ours so that you’re more aware of what some of the signs are. Partnering if you have the ability, if you’re a business or just a person of influence in the community, partnering with these organizations to shed light on it. Of course, I’m going to say donate to our capital campaign because we definitely want this resource. I wouldn’t be a fundraising professional if I didn’t. So just really just saving space for organizations that worked with, not only work with survivors but work with folks who have lived experience in the community because even some sex workers, like there’s plenty of sex workers that don’t talk about their trafficking story. So if you get into how some sex workers got into sex work, there’s usually a trafficking story and I won’t say usually because, but some of them have a trafficking story in the beginning and then just feeling like, okay, well, what am I supposed to do from here? And now it’s like, all right, I’m in sex work. So just really having a very inclusive approach. Yeah. You’re working on fundraising for local for all and that’s your main purpose there. Tell me a little bit more about it and when we should expect to see it and what is it going to do? So local for all is a project by the cupcake girls and what this project endeavor aims to do is provide holistic support systems encompassing various essential services and resources to empower individuals who have been affected by these challenges and circumstances. So our core objectives is to establish a resource center. So open the resource center and then provide holistic supportive services. So those are including but not limited to counseling, legal assistance, healthcare access, vocational training, educational opportunity and housing support, community outreach and education. The campaign will prioritize on community outreach efforts to raise awareness about the issues faced by sex trafficking survivors and marginalized sex workers. So by promoting the education and advocacy initiatives, the project aims to just challenge the stigmas, dispel the misconceptions and foster greater empathy and understanding within the broader community, collaborative partnerships. So we recognize the important of collaboration is King. Those partnerships with us, we want to work closely with local organizations, government agencies, businesses and volunteers to maximize our impact and leverage our resources and ensure we’re operating in a coordinated approach to supporting survivors and marginalized individuals. And then sustainable funding for our organization, sustainable funding is a mechanism that would establish and ensure the long-term viability and success of the resource center. I like to say a legacy of impact because long after we’re gone, being able to have a safe place for survivors is important to me and the cupcake girls. So that just involves just fundraising events, grant application, corporate sponsors, individual donations and other innovative financing strategies. And when do you expect it’s going to be open? We expect to be open in 2025, the second quarter of 2025. That’s exciting. Well, I look forward to it. Hey, Asia, I’d like to thank you for being our guest today on Adult Site Broker Talk and I hope we’ll get a chance to do this again soon. Thank you so much, Bruce, for having me. And if it’s okay with you, can I mention the website and our Instagram? Yes, you may. So our website is www.cupcakegirls.org. You can find us on Instagram at @cupcakegirls.org and @localforall. You’ll find all that also on the podcast page. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you. Thank you. My broker tip today is part three of what to do to make your site more valuable for when you decide to sell it later. Last week we talked about making a good offer and how to structure your site. Next, keep your website design up to date. Do a redesign from time to time. People will tend to think your site is the same as ever and click out of it without even looking at it if something doesn’t change. So keep it fresh and up to date. Times change, so should your website. Look at what your competitors are doing and see what it is you really like. If you know a site to be successful, look at what it is they’re doing and do some of the same things. I’m not saying copy their sites. I’m just suggesting you improve your site by looking around a bit. You’ve got to keep up with the times or you’ll end up being left behind. Also, keep an eye on your competition and make sure you’re offering everything on your site that they are or more. Don’t just look at their design, but make sure your offers are good and competitive. The same goes for your content. Do you ever wonder why one site does well and others don’t? Check out the competition’s content. What are they doing that you’re not doing? Be willing to make changes. People can’t understand why they’re losing sales to a competitor, yet the competitor is clearly doing everything better. Amulate success. Make sure everything on your website works well. Make sure all your links work properly. Check them on a regular basis. If things don’t work, you’ll lose customers. People are not patient these days. People’s attention spans are like that of a nat. They click out immediately and go to the next result in Google if they don’t find what they’re looking for. If the site is hard to navigate or if things don’t work. Check all your internal scripts and plugins and make sure they’re updated regularly as well. We’ll talk about this subject more next week. And next week we’ll be speaking with Alex Georges of LustLab AI. And that’s it for this week’s Adult Site Broker Talk. I’d once again like to thank my guest, Asia Duncan, of the Cupcake Girls Local for All project. Talk to you again next week on Adult Site Broker Talk. I’m Bruce Friedman. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]