Let's just say that I sure was fooled when I first came to Second Life. Making money, real money in Second Life is just as hard as making money in the "real" world. In fact, I tend to think it's much more difficult. While I'm sure that many people have made money in Second Life, I tend to think most of them make enough just to pay the tier enacted by Linden Labs, or the rent they pay to greedy landlords, or not so greedy landlords.
I have many new women coming to me asking me how to make money in a virtual world. The biggest problem I see is that many do not have or wish to learn the skills or make the investment that it takes to earn a virtual living. Other then camping or becoming a skilled and lucky Zyngo player, every money making venture requires an investment in time and capital.. which is money for most of us.
Let take an example of a dancer, or even a club host. Many say that either job doesn't make a lot of money. Well that's not entirely true. I danced and brought in over one-thousand lindens a week, sometimes in a night. Now before I get a plethora of comments about that being nothing, to a new member of the Lindonean race, one-thousand Lindens is quite a bit of cash. So yeah, you can make money in this virtual world. And at four-thousand Lindens a month you have enough to invest in a small plot of Linden Land and have some cash left over.
But before you can make that kind of cash you need to invest. You need a decent shape. You need at least one and preferably a few top notch skins to cover that shape. You need clothes. While freebie clothes may do for a start. Don't expect customers to throw Lindens your way until you really invest in good sexy lingerie and exotic wear. Hair, oh yes. Not that spiky worm like hair.. oh no.. you need the good stuff. How about shoes, belts, jewelry and dances!! Before you know it, you have invested at least a few thousand lindens into your avatar to make it look good.
Now jumping on a dance pole and wiggling your ass isn't going to get you rolling in the dough. Most people, that's men AND women, are you ready for that too; need a little verbal stimulus. You have to be good at getting them turned on. And not virtually turned on! You have to invoke a REAL feeling in this person your wishing to extract money from. Because like you, they know that Lindens are worth real value to. You have to give them the feelings they came seeking you out for. And what is that feeling? You have to find out! Does this sound easy? Let me tell you it's not. So, after dropping a couple thousand now you have to LEARN how to turn on the person on the other side of that avatar with your words. Are you ready to spend another valuable resource, your time, to learn that skill?
No, even a simple job like dancing in the virtual world can have a steep learning curve. But let's say you are open minded. You have no issue turning on men and women (remember, were talking about really turning them on now, not virtually; and know that the woman your turning on could be a man in real life, or vice versa). You have no moral issues about going nakie when the coins drop into the till. Let's say you learn to emote. You know how to start a conversation and how to keep it entertaining. You're doing everything right and yes, you're making three-hundred to one-thousand a night. Now what are you going to do with all of that cash?
Here is where the it gets interesting. You dance to earn cash. Why? To spend the cash of course. So you do. You spend your hard earned Lindens on.. CLOTHES! That's right, because while you are dancing in yet that same ol' bra n' panty set. The girl next to you is in that super-hot latex second skin with just enough exposed to make YOU a little warm. And you want one too because all of a sudden, she is making more tips then you. And her boots!! Wow.. if you only had boots like that. And her hair and her skin and prim nails.. Raggedy Ann looks better then you next to her. So you take your hard earned money and you buy clothes. And not clothes that you can wear anywhere, nope. You buy "stripper clothes".
Now the vicious circle is complete. You are dancing to earn money so that you can purchase items that allow you to be a better dancer and earn money. So, what is a dancer to do? Well there is always modeling or escorting. Good luck with that too!
