Pros or ex-pros: Ever want to be an enthusiast, not a pro, or not charge certain people to cuddle?

nurturingman

Asking pros or ex-pros who decided to just be enthusiasts: I was an enthusiast on this site for several months before I decided to go Pro. In the three months since becoming a pro on this site, I have not had any work, and on the site from which I got my training and certification, I’ve booked one session. That in itself makes me wonder whether I want to stay Pro or change my account here back to standard. But I also sometimes see people in the forums or visitors to my profile that I feel such an affinity to that I want to cuddle them and feel funny charging them for it. I don't know if it's that it's hard for me to charge people for my time -- even though I think I'm worth it -- because I feel sorry for them having to pay, or if it's that I don't feel right charging people that I myself want to cuddle with. Have you ever felt that way, and what did you do about it?

MxSmith

Hey, this actually came up for me a while back as I met a CC enthusiast outside of CC.. in the wild, if you will. I thought he was a very nourishing person and ultimately someone I'd just like to be friends with in life. I was confused about how to go about it since we hadn't exchanged contact information in person. I ended up reaching out to him on CC and then I billed him $0 for our cuddle session. Every once in a while there's someone I really want to cuddle with that I sense really needs it and I'll offer a free cuddle. It doesn't happen very often, but I think what we charge is up to us and if we want to charge $0,... that's ok. I'd really to always be able to offer free cuddles to people in hospice care.

Catloaf

HOLY BIG RAMBLING BATMAN INCOMING!

Because I want to host Cuddle Party one day, and I also want to become a counsellor and practise one-on-one and group cuddle sessions as an informed, integrative therapy (working in triad with other MH professionals), I wouldn't consider dropping my Pro label anytime soon. I am slowly taking steps to move into the role of "consent educator", which is not even necessarily just about cuddling, but about how we interact with others day to day or in relationships. Cuddling is just a very ideal modality to impart and practise the knowledge.

I don't really book much on a site like this because of my branding, but since this isn't my main form of income, I'm not really bothered. I wish though that I could be an enthusiast at the same time, because I do desire a female cuddle buddy. Well, I suppose we can? We're just encouraged not to do it often, and to make clear in our interactions that this is a free session between friends, essentially. Where we start accumulating more friends than business though, that might look bad.

Small Story About Friendships Made As A Pro:

I have never really thought that I would like to stop charging certain people, but with that being said, I have made a few friends as a professional cuddler who are no longer clients but part of my life now, and we keep in touch. This is usually a friendship that extends beyond the confines of just meeting up for cuddles, and is more about shared interests or viewpoints. One of my former clients from my very early days is only a couple months older than me, and now a very good friend. He actually grows cannabis for me now. Lol. When his cat went missing (and unfortunately never came back) I took a bus down to his part of town to do some patrolling for a few days. When I was moving back to Calgary, I messaged him on FB asking if we could meet up for some hugs and catch up, as I've had a really rough year emotionally and would rather be held by someone I know than someone I don't.

Being that you pay a monthly fee though @nurturingman I guess it comes down to whether or not this is profitable for you in the long term. Sadly that's what it has to come down to when you are a pro and I don't blame anyone for that! But I think it would be a great loss to the pro community if you decided to switch. There is a huge influx of male pros lately, and I think many are a bit disillusioned as to how successful they can be. But you, good sir, have The Stuff™ in my opinion, to be successful in any way you choose.

Might it be too much of me to suggest you expand your services beyond CC and Cuddlist (or whomever it was that you signed up with for training)? Have you looked into Cuddle Party? You have the image and the personality to bring to a circle like that, and you seem very much like a community builder, which is part of what Cuddle Party is all about. Sorry if that's me seeing things that aren't there, but it's just my opinion based on your contributions here on the forum!

Side Note: I've often though that CC should look into having community ambassadors (pros of course) of some sort that are trained and capable of hosting events such as outdoor cuddle-in-the-park meet-ups for vetted website users. These would go for $30-$40 per head and would allow enthusiasts to connect. The goal of CC originally was to bring enthusiasts together and I think that pros should be encouraged to have more of a hand in that.

You'd be a great choice if we ever moved in that direction.

CuddleDuncan

Mark wrote this back in January:

General support for this would make things difficult for moderators and our automated systems. It's rare for Pros to want to offer both a paid and free service. So it's not worth our while catering to that with the challenges it brings.

That said, unofficially it's ok for Pros to occasionally do a free session if its expressed clearly in the online chat, followed by using the booking panel with a $0 custom price.

nurturingman

I think it would be a great loss to the pro community if you decided to switch … you, good sir, have The Stuff™

@Catloaf Awwww, thank you! 🥰🤗🤟

Might it be too much of me to suggest you expand your services beyond CC and Cuddlist (or whomever it was that you signed up with for training)? Have you looked into Cuddle Party? You have the image and the personality to bring to a circle like that, and you seem very much like a community builder, which is part of what Cuddle Party is all about. Sorry if that's me seeing things that aren't there, but it's just my opinion based on your contributions here on the forum!

Thank you again, @Catloaf ! I love Cuddle Party, and could totally see myself being a facilitator if it weren't for the $995 price tag to become certified— especially since I spent several hundred dollars to become trained and certified as a professional cuddler not so long ago. I did attend my first Cuddle Party last weekend, and had a great time. I look forward to attending more and maybe eventually becoming a certified facilitator.

I also want to become a counsellor and practise one-on-one and group cuddle sessions as an informed, integrative therapy (working in triad with other MH professionals), I wouldn't consider dropping my Pro label anytime soon. I am slowly taking steps to move into the role of "consent educator", which is not even necessarily just about cuddling, but about how we interact with others day to day or in relationships.

I have the same goals, @Catloaf !

That said, unofficially it's ok for Pros to occasionally do a free session if its expressed clearly in the online chat, followed by using the booking panel with a $0 custom price. (@Mark as quoted by @CuddleDuncan )

Thanks! @Sideon told me about a $0 custom price the other day as well, but I don't see how to change the price when requesting to book. Can anyone tell me how to do that?

Catloaf

ZacRedBear

I just dropped my pro status a few minutes ago! For me, it was a culmination of: gaining full time employment, covid’s delta strain picking up steam, and lack of potential customers.

I’ve met some great clients, and have worked through my issue of feeling bad/awkward for being paid for my time. It’s always been clear that they felt my time was worth the price tag, and they’ve helped me get through my longest unemployment period so much, I’ll always be super thankful!

Alas, with twins due in March, I haven’t been putting enough time in here, or other platforms, to justify the membership costs. Less than half of my clients had approached me first, so just let that be a lesson on marketing for the rest of you male pros.

I don’t know how close you are to turning enthusiast on here @nurturingman , but you are honestly the best chance this site has for a shining male-pro success story.

If this community truly wants to see male pros stick around consistently, please put some serious support towards this man!

Hugs to all!

nurturingman

@ZacRedBear Thanks, man. 😉 I encourage you to keep cuddling, either as a professional or enthusiast, as well.

And thank you for being the first to respond, @MxSmith ☺️ I'm going to DM you about how cuddling hospice patients.

Catloaf

I don’t know how close you are to turning enthusiast on here @nurturingman , but you are honestly the best chance this site has for a shining male-pro success story.

@ZacRedBear Hear, hecking hear!

@nurturingman On that note of shining male-pro success stories, get in touch with Kyle Hoffman or Fei Wyatt to be added to the Facebook group "The Business of Cuddling" if you are wanting to be part of the community of pioneers who regularly share business practices and such in there. I think you would be valued in there as an LGBTQ+ male pro, and could potentially have access to more resources to take your services to the next level, if that indeed is something you desire.

It's probably the best place to get in touch with the people who are spearheading the cuddle movement. There is more than one successful male pro in there as well, other than Kyle.

nurturingman

Thanks for the suggestion, @Catloaf 👍🏻