Opening a BDSM Dungeon

[curious]

Hey Guys,

I was thinking today and it hit me. Why not open up my own bondage house? The question is where can I go to find Dominas to staff it? Can I use my own apartment or do I need to use a private location? And also how to address the safety concerns of my performers as well as my clients? Anyone with experience in this field that can give me any input on this please write me back. Thank you.

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

What you can or can't do will also depend on local ordinances, etc. If there's a BDSM community in your area, you might try asking them for input as well. They may have local info. and contacts. Good luck! 🙂

 

[50greg]

Funny, Annie-- I've never seen you as the BDSM type. 🙂

 

[Gadilici]

Ann shoots straight and speaks the truth. Before anything else, you gotta make sure it's legal. A dirty bookstore in the next town over was shut down, and the guy successfully prosecuted because he violated ordinances. Don't want anything to turn into a right/wrong debate on it, the fact was, he broke the law. Not saying it was a just law, but he broke it. And unless you want to spend your life and fortunes trying to get a Supreme Court case heard on it, just stay within the laws...lol

Just make sure you're clear to do it. And don't be afraid to open it in other jurisdictions. You don't gotta live in the town to own a business there.

Ok, I know that defeats part of the purpose, but if it's successful, you should be able to afford dropping in....lol

Finding dommes is the easy part of the business believe it or not.

Christopher

 

[rhiannon]

Also make sure that what you are doing is not considered being a pimp! I know in the US laws are way stricter than in Germany, and I think even here you law would take a closer look at you for that kind of business to make sure you are not a pimp. Here it is legal to be a prostitute, but it is illegal to be a pimp!

 

[texastickler]

That is quite a serious undertaking. I agree with everyone here. Check the community and make sure it is legal. Good Luck.

 

[darkhand]

Apartment? Probably not. I seriously believe your landlord would frown upon that.

Staffing - Get to know people in the local BDSM community. If you can't find any local groups check out fetlife or collarme. Get to know some folks before hand not only could they potentially be your staff, but they could also be your starting clientele or word of mouth marketing campaign.

Location - You probably can't use your apartment, you could secure some off beat commercial space as long as they don't mind you decorating however you want. Check zoning laws in regards to not only businesses, but "adult businesses" as well. These will vary depending on your area.

Safety - Ask for references from your clientele, not like job references, they will run scared thinking you are going to call their uncle bob. Ask for references from other escort services or bdsm providers. If they can't provide any, get a bunch of information...phone number etc... Never have JUST one person in the space at a time. Kind of like the buddy system, even if the second is in a back office. There really are a lot of safety precautions that should be taken...A LOT!

I would suggest finding one near you and scheduling a session yourself to see what the procedure is like.

All your marketing material should state in some way that professional domination is NOT prostitution. Not only should it be said, but it should be true as well. Set limits for the staff (how far they can go) and make sure that the clients are aware of these limits.

I could probably continue typing for an hour or so, but you won't read it (I know I wouldn't read it). Above all else, check out some places that are already doing it, research them, read every ounce of their websites. There are a lot of intricacies to running a business.

 

[DerekSynKlaire]

There's a lot of factors involved in this.

The first being what everyone else has stated in this thread. Make sure that it's legal in your state. I know that in NY, MD and PA that it is legal to be a professional Domme. You're even able to register as a business as one. How lovely! 🙂

As far as location - I suggest that you keep it far away from your own home. There are TONS of liability issues if you're operating out of your own home. Not to mention I don't think your landlord would dig on it. Also with location, keep in mind the kind of clientele that you want to bring in. Having doing Domination sessions for quite some time now, the majority of men don't want to walk into some stinky, nasty hotel. They're paying top dollar for their fantasy - keep that in mind as well - they want something nice, clean, and even a little opulent. Cater to the suits and even the t-shirt and jeans guys will be happy. 🙂

FINDING girls is rather easy. Whether or not they want to come to work for you is another story. Obviously you're wanting to make money, so you'd be taking a cut of the girl's session fees. Most girls aren't too happy about that. Most girls aren't willing to give up a cut of their money to a dungeon house - not when they can operate out of their own home or hotel rooms for a lot more profit. The benefit of a dungeon house is the safety that it provides for the girls.

As far as safety goes - make sure each customer signs a release waiver (that's what I have people do) stating that you and the girls aren't liable for any injuries that occur during the session. I actually have a release form for this if you ever need it, message me and I'd be happy to give it to you. It's written up by a sports lawyer, believe it or not, but it can and has been tweaked to suit the situation at hand. I also have a release form for images and video, and a few others that you may want.

 

[English]

I cant give you any advise on US laws/regulations because I am from the UK and don't know how it works in America but I may be able to help with products etc once the legal/safety issues are taken care of...

 

[rhiannon]

I cant give you any advise on US laws/regulations because I am from the UK and don't know how it works in America but I may be able to help with products etc once the legal/safety issues are taken care of...

Maybe I shouldn't say that, but you are starting to annoy me!

 

[English]

Maybe I shouldn't say that, but you are starting to annoy me!

Maybe you shouldn't. I am offering to help someone who has a good idea and you are posting a negative comment about someone you don't even know.

 

[PassiveArts]

So you want to open a Dungeon? Well, let's see... First, you look for about 6 months at about 150 locations that may be right. Now, before you sign the lease and hand over $ 20,000 in rent and security, you will need to hire a lawyer. Mine wanted a retainer of $ 5000. However, he was the best adult entertainment asttorney in the State and spent 6 hours downtown with the planning commission to make sure that I was zoned correctly and was able to operate a business like a Dungeon. Once that was done, now for the renovation. Remodeling bathrooms, a new air condioning system (we have two), putting up a few walls, painting, flooring and about $ 75000 and two months later, your ready to go.... Opps, forgot the equipment!!!! That was about another $ 100,000 (we have a BIG place).... Now, where do I get the girls? Let's see, these days, submissives are a dime a dozen. However, good ones that are beautiful and loyal and will NOT give hand jobs to the guys (I don't want to go to jail!!!). Now that is hard indeed... Dommes, forget it. Unless they have a minimum of two years experience working fulltime as a Dom, they are older (No 21 year old is going to know ANYTHING) and they can past our test with about 50 items they have to know, well, as you can see, it's not easy. You can always go out and get some of these young beautiful girls that bought a crop yesterday and tell you that they have been doing this for 5 years... However, I do not want someones cock and balls falling off in session... So even if I could get liability insurance, I doubt they would cover that!!!

So here we are, a Dungeon, equipment, girls, now all we need is clients... About $ 5000 to built a website and another $ 5000 a month in ads should give you a good start. Oh I forgot, maintenance, cleaning, phones, a receptionist....figure another $ 4000-5000 a month... PLUS, I thought we needed about 6 months back up money... So after spending about $ 250,000, Passive Arts opened in the year 2000. Well, after 8 years we finally turned the corner and started making a little money. At least I didn't go broke which is what has happened to about 50% of the dungeons within the last year....

In closing, I absolutely love what I do and I would not give it up for anything. I am a one in a million story because I was here 7 days a week, 365 days a year... I tried and have done everything from having Club Parties, renting the place out for parties and film shoots, shooting our own videos and clips and a whole lot more. It took 10 years to figure what worked and what didn't. But when someone asks me if they should build a Dungeon... I just look at them and laugh...

John
Passive Arts Studios

 

[darkhand]

...and somewhere in the distance, the silent crowd hears the sound of a bubble bursting.

 

[Tidas]

...and somewhere in the distance, the silent crowd hears the sound of a bubble bursting.

I lol'ed.

 

[rhiannon]

Maybe you shouldn't. I am offering to help someone who has a good idea and you are posting a negative comment about someone you don't even know.

You are not offering help, unless you want to give him the equipment for free! You are offering to sell him stuff! Therefore, you are using his thread to advertise your store, and you have done that in other threads, that is what annoys me! Plus, since he is coming from the US, why would he have stuff shipped from the UK? I'm sure he can get that cheaper where he is from!

 

[Tidas]

You are not offering help, unless you want to give him the equipment for free! You are offering to sell him stuff! Therefore, you are using his thread to advertise your store, and you have done that in other threads, that is what annoys me! Plus, since he is coming from the US, why would he have stuff shipped from the UK? I'm sure he can get that cheaper where he is from!

I think you might be overreacting a bit here Rhiannon. He seemed to be offering help in good spirits to me.

 

[rhiannon]

I think you might be overreacting a bit here Rhiannon. He seemed to be offering help in good spirits to me.

Maybe I am overreacting to you, but I am just saying how I feel.

 

[Tidas]

Fair enough, but I think you ought to read his post again.

 

[rhiannon]

I do not get this feeling just from this one single post, Tidas. 😎

 

[Tidas]

Fair enough (again), but looking at this one post? Seems fine to me.

 

[ticklebunny 2]

Yeah this is very true, most definitely do your homework and research and make sure everything you are thinking of doing by having a BDSM dungeon is legit and legal. That would be the ultimate worst-the authorities and the cops thinking it was a shady business or worse a outlet for paid prostitution. So just make sure you cross your t's and dot your i's for sure. It is better to be cautious and bit too paranoid on what restrictions you must have then be sorry. Definitely find out what is legal and totally legit for a business of this magnitude and this kind. Take your time selecting a good trustworthy great BDSM staff, definitely don't rush, make solid good wise decisions on who you employ.

Definitely make sure you have the funds and money this will take to open this business and know that it might take some time right now since the economy is so bad right now, not exactly the best time to start a business, but save back your money and take out some loans-so you can afford this business expenditure. Make sure you have solid insurance liability coverage to cover your behind and your staff's and also make sure you have legal release waivers drawn up and used while doing this business-that way the participants' aka client's participation is at their own risk-legally you won't be held responsible since their signatures are on this legal and binding document. If they don't sign the legal release waiver-then he or she can't participate in BDSM dungeon plain and simple-better be safe than sorry.

Also find out what the legal state ordinances are and research all this out and most of all good luck to you on this venture and if you have any questions: sure many people on here into BDSM scene-that know what this kind of venture takes and that can be helpful, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask questions. If you don't ask you won't know. Good luck to you on this and best wishes and most of all stay safe and have a great time and happy BDSM sessions to come.

 

[PassiveArts]

Rhiannon,

Me thinks you need to get a life.... Everything I said is true but with a tongue in cheek attitude. Anyone that wants to go into this business is basically crazy and I see it all the time. Everything to do with the adult entertainment business is down, businesses are going out of business every single day and I mean multimillion dollar businesses. Just last year, someone spent about $ 250,000 putting a Dungeon into downtown LA, they spent $ 30,000 on a grand opening party and 3 months later, they were gone!!!! I am just giving some very good advice. I could just sit back and see another guy with fantasies of owning a dungeon lose all his money just as easy. However, I would love to sell that person any equipment that he may need!!!!

 

[rhiannon]

Rhiannon,

Me thinks you need to get a life.... Everything I said is true but with a tongue in cheek attitude. Anyone that wants to go into this business is basically crazy and I see it all the time. Everything to do with the adult entertainment business is down, businesses are going out of business every single day and I mean multimillion dollar businesses. Just last year, someone spent about $ 250,000 putting a Dungeon into downtown LA, they spent $ 30,000 on a grand opening party and 3 months later, they were gone!!!! I am just giving some very good advice. I could just sit back and see another guy with fantasies of owning a dungeon lose all his money just as easy. However, I would love to sell that person any equipment that he may need!!!!

I am a little puzzled right now. 🙂

How did what I wrote have anything to do with your post which I thought to be very insightful and down to earth? I wasn't referring to you at all with what I said! 🙂

 

[Tidas]

LOL Mistaken identity!

 

[rhiannon]

LOL Mistaken identity!

Definitely. 🙂 By the way, I want your sig dog! 🙂