People spending less or not at all ...

Cash is tight and people are tightening their belts.

For real, that's no lie.

I personally haven't seen it this bad in a long time. Not even talking about any high ticket items/services.

In adult, yes, I've noticed this as well. In mainstream, it's hit or miss.

The economy feels like a precarious bubble right now. Since May, the market has steadily increased but businesses aren't spending and they aren't reinvesting. Not pushing momentum has ended many businesses during economic downturns.

Wages have been stagnate for a while, and customers are going to notice (they always do) when businesses cut corners. Some will stay, others will slow spending or transition to affordable alternatives (especially given rising personal debt in the West), and some might exit completely.

The poor get poorer - the rich get richer.

Not sure if web dev is your main focus, or if you have other projects in the works? It's sort of been my fall back, and will occassionally take on a project here and there. But I know it was a competitive market back then, can only imagine it's much more fierce now. Especially with AI. Not that I think AI replaces good coders, but it's making a damn good effort. I popped into one of the well know freelance sites and it was busy, but there were also many, and I mean MANY offers, so it's probably more challenging these days to get bigger jobs. Hopefully you can pick up where it's dipped with referrals. I am sort of at a crossroad myself. I don't think starting something else right now is the best time. Just shut down a different project that was only costing money. Fun times ahead is my guess!

Oh, there's not doubt about that. I'm thinking those that invest are going to kill it in this up and coming market. At some point at least.

Website development is my main focus. Technical consultation and business strategy has come up a few times this past year. It's been a successful endeavor and fun!

A lot of people are retiring, and referrals are harder to come by than they used to be. I didn't expect this to happen so suddenly, or in the ways that it has manifested, but I did feel like this over correction was coming. I don't think this was inevitable though. This "crisis" feels manufactured.

AI has entered the channel, but I don't think AI is really big picture. I'll probably get a lot of hate from AI stans here. AI provides the means to succeed in different ways. That's not to say some of it isn't amazing technology. I've been learning about transforming data segments into multidimensional databases using AI this past year, and that kind of technology is legitimately astonishing. Vibe coding isn't long-term thinking. Telling a natural language intelligence to generate you code out of someone else's untested garbage is akin to grabbing random snippets off of DHTML sites--or using THIS WordPress plugin to fix THAT plugin's bad code. Will it make you money? If you're lucky, sure. Is it going to scale? I am unconvinced. Human beings problem solve. That logical capability is extremely rare and unique. In times of crisis, it is invaluable. Once you find someone like that and you have a good relationship with them, do not let them go. I don't think the people who push AI so hard really valued human ingenuity before AI. You don't want to work with people who don't value you.

I'm really excited about the two SaaS projects I launched this past year, but they're not for everyone. They're already successful, but I guess how successful remains to be seen. The feedback I've received so far has been encouraging and I want to improve them. It's a passion for me. Who couldn't use more clients? I certainly could!

I don't think it's a bad time to start something. Everyone is shutting their doors, so now actually IS the opportune time to invest in a new idea. With everyone tightening their belts, the market will have gaps that were previously filled. What do the rich do when the market plummets? They buy.

Because so many companies are pulling back, if you have a stable and strong income, I don't recommend leaving it. This is going to cause a lot of burnout, but what can you do?

You ever see that DS9 episode Past Tense about the Bell Riots?

have noticed this with a (thankfully) small handful of my American clients. they haven't stopped spending but are doing slightly shorter bookings and slightly less frequently

I get it, even if some haven't been directly hit yet by the goings on in the US, there's a lot of, uh, uncertainty

not something I take personally, seeing me is done with discretionary income so as prices rise and things like tariffs come into play (that's hitting one of my US clients particularly hard in his biz, which directly involves importation) I don't blame those who need to spend a little less on me

for most, no difference, of those where I do notice one it's a few middle-class slightly older regulars. the 'squeeze' folk (or whatever the term is) who have kids still in school plus elderly parents to care for

all the above is B2C though. in my offline biz I notice zero dip whatsoever, this year thus far is actually the best one yet. a salient diff is it doesn't depend on the US economy in any meaningful way

for B2B, clients might be more reticent because their income relies on B2C. if their clients are spending less on pay site subs/cam shows/whatever it might not be the greatest time to expand or launch something new. imagine it's much the same in mainstream

we're all mavericks here though, we'll all get through it. just gotta hang in there and keep pushing


edited to add

this is a wicked way to look at things, and perhaps adjust one's pitch to prospective clients

Hopefully for you "discretionary" or "disposable" income and/or entertainment dollars won't be removed from the equation at some point. But, since you have a dedicated global audience, and regulars, I think you're solid.

I'll agree -- uncertainty is a playing a factor. But you also brought up a good point, the businesses could likely be generating less income, so perhaps cutting corners as well. I'm a corner. haha Not getting any real feedback from them, so right now, just speculating.

Not sure about you, but here, just everyday living expenses have gone up, but income is going down, that's not a good combination. For example, a can of coffee that used to cost $9, went to $14 and is now $21. Everything I buy has gone up like 30%, there goes all the tax money! Sorry irs, my money went down the toilet, literally for buying toilet paper. lol, jk.

Anyway, we shall see what happens in the coming months.

A lot of retail is vacant in one Cali college town because owners demand potential retailers have 5x the annual rent in their bank accounts. A tiny 500/mo space requires 30k in the bank.

Those who sell from street tables on the weekends complain about the few who own most of the town's commercial r.e.

For me, the $2500 clients wanting language help with their sites/books. Gone poof. Probably some using the machine instead.

You offer a "B" a task and pay for it and "B" says we can do it, but then they cannot or say right away " we advertised it, but we do not know how now".
... and you may be one of them?

Go figure !

oh hell yeah. I've read about the situ in the US (assuming that's where you're at) and I know from my fam in CA that it's pretty much the same. in Canada the only thing that doesn't cost more are those eggs the Americans can't stop talking about

here, it's the exact opposite. food inflation is nil with the CPI up just slightly, while in Canada and the US both have sky rocketed

think that's cuz for imports the Caribbean in general has always been more closely aligned with South America and China. my cigs are from Colombia, the cars here 'speak' in Mandarin

so yeah, for people on a tighter budget discretionary spending is the first thing to get cut, doubly so if they feel their econ future is under threat. that can't not impact even B2B clients who sell whatever they do as B2C

hang in there, this too shall pass

My coffee went from $10 to $22.
I found some deals for $8 and bought enough to last me a year; because things might
get worse than they are.

This is about one unhinged jackass disrupting the world economy.
A megalomaniac, convicted felon, creating a cult of ignorance so huge that they put him in power.
These cult member could be homeless sleeping on a park bench and still believe he is their king.
We can't cure stupid. We are stuck until a new era of enlightenment comes about.

Agree, Xi jin ping is a jerk.

Name ONE "leader" who isn't.

Oh wow, yeah translation services are probably getting hit hard as well, if that's what you mean. But, that begs the question, I wonder how accurate that machine really is? Hopefully you're working on some backup plans ...

And yeah, the whole 5x the amount of annual rent is absurd. Can't really grow an economy like that, or expect too many businesses to jump on board. But, those few owners probably have the property paid off, or have plenty of cash and couldn't care less about the income.

Seriously, just insane. I drink coffee through the day, so can't go without it. It doesn't really keep me awake, drink it just for the flavor.

Yeah, we'll see what happens, things may get worse soon. Chaos will probably start in Portland, or maybe another city that gets invaded. Crazy times 4 sure!

100%!! My coffee (Lavazza from Italy) jumped 50%, from $9.99 a pound to $14.99! Why put tariffs on products we cannot grow here in the US (except Hawaii)?? Coffee?? Insane.

Agree with your other points, too.

Which town?

In Canada we called him Trudeau.

while the cost of living, necessities, utilities, bricks & mortar all rising, as have the standard working wage & minimum wage, to factor with inflation.

Live cam, escorting & porn, work & websites haven't...

Escorts, cam girls & porn stars are working for the same rates from 2010, & Porn has decreased in value with sales & bargains

Nice, sounds like a good place to be living right about now!

Yes, I do love eggs too! Brown, cage free, organic, easy over (or sunny side up) slightly runny, with some toast to dip. Yum. lol

Speaking of eggs, I never put all my eggs in one basket, simply based on past experience, so I work on several different projects and sometimes do freelance work as well. Spreads you thin, but, it is what it is. I was in lead gen for a long time, and it did extremely well, much more than any adult venture ever did for me. Unfortunately, some unexpected / unforeseen challenges happened with new regulations that killed about 60% of my organic traffic. The cost to advertise was too high for what was being generated. Long story short, it was a slow, draining process, but it ended that business.

This particular model is focused on businesses here in the US, and in a nutshell helps them generate more business. But many don't want to invest the small amount that is costs.

I'll shoot you a message soon. Working on something that could potentially help you with more clients as well.

Yeah, for sure. I think the same holds true in many industries? I mean, try to compete with, oh, Amazon for example? Unless you get into a very small "niche" good luck trying to sell products online and make good money now. Many people in the US don't care they are buying shit from China on Amazon because it's cheap and so is shipping and returns are easy.

While not necessarily comparable in quality, a good replacement is Cafe Bustelo, which might be much less. Not sure though, haven't checked prices on it lately. The key is a good espresso maker, that makes a nice top froth creamer from the coffee itself.

Capitalism for the win, no doubt! Govt just needs to keep their grubby hands out of the jar. They collect enough in taxes.

The few greedy frontmen agents and chamber of commerce masons they work for probably writeoff the "loss" to avoid tax.

Rental squeeze is happening almost everywhere. Saw a vid on rising rent in NL commented on sympathetically by people from all over the world.


More like writing seo'd content on the page, and ghostwriting/editing fiction/nonfiction.

Big picture question is: Do clients have enough hope and confidence in the future to spend 1 or 2+k...? On words.

Yes I know that brand. It's basically cheap Colombian coffee i think. It's in every bodega in Washington Heights here in New York City.

I know there are cheaper alternatives but damn this is my go go juice man!! Anyone remember back in the day there was this cigarette slogan, "I'd rather fight than switch"? LOL It's kinda like that.

I'll look forward to it!

It’s about the money printing, de’brickeshaw

Yup, that's the one! haha

Telling you, it's good shit in the right espresso machine. I'm a big fan of Lavazza myself, Crema e Gusto was my favorite. But, my machine broke and I haven't gotten a new one yet and it just doesn't taste the same using the small makers you put on the stove, so just doing the American coffee thing.

But, here's to a good cup of espresso!

Ahh, copy, yeah ... important stuff for sure and good question, are people going to spend that. No idea, I mean, sure if you find them and it's a big enough job, why not!

On occasion I'll get a request for a quote for a custom website, but any recent quotes have wanted to stay in the $300 range and were asking for the world and more. The same type of site used to be in the $1,500 range. Could have just been random, who knows. I'm not really too involved in that space right now to know current pricing. I know that it takes about 5 days to do the work they were asking for though. So, $60 a day. I think you can make more flipping burgers.

Hmm. Alright, I read this a few times, but I think your post needs some clarity. Is this about the AI content? Are you saying you paid me for something? I didn't receive any payments from you, nor did I ask you for any money. Your post kind of insinuates you paid me or something. Please feel free to update when you get a chance.

Also, this post wasn't about you. As I explained during our email exchange, I have several other projects that I was working on, and since you said you were not in a hurry, and since this is / was something new that I have been exploring I figured ok, let's do it. Either way, I did get two demos/samples over to you, right? I believe you said they were good?

I mean, here's how it went down. You posted in several threads about needing something, so I thought I would message you since no one else had yet at the time. I'm not advertising or soliciting this service anywhere, but, you're right, I sent you a message after I saw you posting in a few threads that it can't be done and I said yeah, it can be done. IE: Assembling clips like the preview you provided can be done. But even then, as I explained I don't believe all those videos you showed were created with AI, it was a combination, so that is probably not the best sample to go by.

Unfortunately, creating a "movie" with many characters and many different actions/roles going on 'all at the same time' isn't quite possible yet using only AI for adult at least. Even the local one I'm using struggles with the length. I bought a new card, increased ram, but still not cutting it. I mean, some girl bouncing up and down on a cock, easy. Giving a bj, easy. But, as I said, when you start adding several characters, multiple roles/actions, it gets more complicated. I don't know if the models will ever be trained on all that either. Some of the motions are just un-natural as well, and I couldn't for the life of me get them to do what I was asking! They were being very difficult to say the least. lol Although, I do believe I gave it a solid effort and I think you even thanked all those that tried in a thread somewhere? I just assumed I was one of the four. I believe you said the demos sent were good and the samples I sent were on the top of your list? Keep in mind, I spent time creating those samples. Was trying to keep it classy, girls kissing as requested, some nudity, no sex though, didn't get that far. It's not like I charged you for anything, not saying I should have, but not sure why you would post this? I was working on another preview/demo for you with the specs you were asking for and the scene being longer, but then you said you were no longer moving forward based on other "educated" info you received. To be honest, at this time, I'm not even considering offering this service -- you are the only one I have ever offered this potential service for. In fact, the only one I've offered any kind of service here.

Anyway, it's really not even a service that is offered on any website or anywhere really, so not advertising anything, aside from just messaging you. It's something I do for myself. I have been able to increase the time as well, but to be honest, it takes too long to do it right and at the end of the day, really not worth all the time involved. I wish it was easier to accomplish what you needed, and I was able to assist, but unfortunately, it's not. It goes without saying that I think sticking with the real thing is going to be your best bet right now.

NO, I have NOT said or suggested that I have paid you anything. I have no clue how you came to that conclusion. ALL what I have indicated, ( I was not sure it was even you) that ( in this case you) answered my post indicated you can do it but then abandoned the project.....I was not even complaining because " shit happens"... I even apologised to you and the three others in another post. BUT.....

You started a thread how B to B is fucked and I ONLY pointed that some "Bs"( plural of B NOT BS) do NOT want to try... I have said to you in e mails there were four others ...ALL "Bs".... Our "B" has plenty of money and wants to do business but to no avail.

Anyway, NO need to be mad, as I have said .....shit happens, and it's NOT just the AI. I have tried to contact the so called content providers here, to provide a live version and did not find one who can deliver quality either, hence my comment in general. So some "Bs" just do NOT want to, or do NOT know how to do business as advertised.

and BTW, I have not read the rest of your "novella".

A good instant i haven't seen in awhile.

Medaglia D'oro

Even $1500 seems a little light for a custom website, depending on how you define "custom". In the mainstream, a non-interactive landing page comes in around $2000 minimum. That might seem like a lot, but not really. Let's say it takes anywhere between 5-15 hours to do. You might spend 50% of that time on actual coding, graphic design, etc. and 50% doing email/video consults and touch-ups or adjustments. All of it is time spent, though.

On a good day, you might make $400/hr and on a bad day, you make $130/hr. That sure sounds like a lot! But after taxes, you're taking home like 70% of that--and then if you're freelance, you're paying 3% up-front with Stripe, PayPal, etc., then you have to pay for your own healthcare, retirement, banking fees, professional fees (marketing, accounting, legal), etc. You might still be taking home $60/day after everything is said and done. These are mainstream numbers by the way--do we not value adult at a better rate? It requires a niche skill set and you want someone trustworthy to work on your business.

$300? Yeah, I don't think I could afford to take that job either. If it took you 5 days to put together a website like that, at $300, you would be looking at $15k/yr. That's the federal poverty level in the U.S.

Going anywhere with your family in Canada... leaving the house you can expect to pay $200+ to do anything.

$25 in gas
$30 entry fee to Energy Plex, an indoor playground
$5 bottles of water

Hang out and have fun there for a bit...

Take the family for lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory(cheap!)... 2 adults, 1 kid... $60 after tax and tip no booze...

Drive by a local park and they have a family friendly event... $20 face painting, $14 per beer/glass of wine(x2), $8 bar of cool looking soap your kid wants...

$176 real fast and it's only 2-3 PM at this point...

Yes, we could pack P&J sandwiches for lunch and drink tap water, could have also gone to an outdoor playground instead of the air conditioned indoor one, too.

I know you're new here, but no, we do not

Ah well--I've worked on a lot of bad software over the years. You get what you pay for!

I'm telling you, it is f'd for sure ... at least for the small, relatively unknown guys trying to hustle a much needed (somewhat inexpensive) quality service. That has always been a challenge, but now so more than ever.

*This is my experience, your mileage may vary. I was wondering how others were doing, hence the post.

I'll keep the novel short, just wanted to explain more. haha Anyway, it was late and I was bored. I'm not mad, sounded like you were. I was going to ignore your post, but that's kind of rude. lol

Post those other clips that you received if you want (or if they allow it), I'll post the two I sent you as well. Just curious. Again, this post or service I'm talking about has nothing to do with AI, but, maybe there is someone lurking who can do exactly what you need.

This is the biggest issue in Canada, in that taxes are the difference between prosperity and debt for families. If you own a home and have kids in school then most likely you are paying 45% of income to various taxes.

The socialists here are desperate to hold onto this revenue at any cost and are running the country into impossible debt to maintain their insanity.

We are not that far from Portland perhaps Mr Trump can liberate us as well.

It's the economy. Everyone is cutting back everywhere.

USB Bank predicts there is a 93% chance of recession this year:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major...193000113.html

I learned my lesson in the last recession and invested my time and effort into what I hope will be recession proof this time around...

A recent request was from someone who offers games. When I say custom, it's not just a plug and play template. Let's just say, semi-custom, non-interactive site, 15 - 20 pages, profiles for each game, reviews, customer testimonials, contact form +map, about, careers page, frequently asked, teams page, expanded/drop down menu, and a few others can't remember off hand. Did not indicate if needed any sort of cms or just wants static html, either way, no difference. 5 days includes all time spent, plus revisions. I mean, can probably bang one out quicker with everything in place, but, more or less, I'm spending 5 days (maybe not full days) on it. So, yeah ... to do something like that for $300 is a stretch to say the least.

15-20 pages and you can get that done in 5 days part-time? I mean, certainly a lot of things can be re-used, but the back-and-forth alone on feedback in my experience takes longer than that. Yeah, $300 is not even close.

Was a quick "estimate" of time needed. But, you're probably right, I'm sure it would end up taking more time than that. Either way, a project like that should be valued at much more than $300, that's for sure.

This and uncertainty could be the factors driving peoples thinking right now. A recession could very well be on the way. Definitely good thinking, but I guess the question is, what exactly is recession proof? Necessary items obviously is the first to come to mind .... if you don't want to share, I get it.

That does seem like it could add up to be an expensive day. I'm guessing entertainment and eating out will be the first things to go if/when times get tough(er).

Have you been dealing with any businesses for business? Or even individuals? What's the status with that?

Wow, 45% is way too much. Are you including taxes on non-food items, property taxes and what not? Or is that only income tax?

Oh, trust me, I don't think that dude will financially liberate anyone, well, maybe himself. I'm pretty sure he filed bk, several times ... just saying.