Today I introduce a rather interesting place: Turtle Coast Adult Nude Beach. It is like its sister resort, the Wild Coast Naturist Resort, a strict nudist place.

What makes it different is that its adult rated. Basically, it is a place where liberal like-minded adults can hang out, get to know people, flirt and last but certainly not least: find partners for virtual sex games.

There are many such places in Second Life, but what makes this one different is , that it requires membership to enter. Membership costs 500 Ld, or the equivalent to about 2 USD. Not much of course, it’s like having two pints in a bar.

However, even though it’s not much,  this fee has a remarkable impact on the quality of guests. There are people in Second Life who do not want to invest money for whatsoever in Second Live or simply cannot afford it. 

This is especially true in the case of noobs (new residents in Second Life) and people that are just in-world for taking the piss out of other players. Those you will not find at this place – the fee keeps them away.

It is really astonishing what difference it takes to charge a little fee. You really get the upper market of Second Life as guests. Sounds ridiculous, I know as the amount is really peanuts.

At other places with a similar purpose, but not requiring a paid membership, you get people ignoring the very basics of respect and courtesy.

I have lost count about how often I have been asked in IM (In-World Private Messages) the questions: “Hi, wanna fuck?”. Not exactly a turn on, is it?

Not so at the Turtle Coast Adult Nude Beach. Here people do actually chat, flirt and of course seduce. Everybody seems to be friendly, respectful and courteous. Sexual preferences, like bi, gay, lesbian, BDSM and of course swingers are not only tolerated but even catered for.

The place as such is well laid out, resembling a tropical beach. Plants and furniture are of high quality and so are the sex animations. There are several tree houses for those who wish to have some privacy and there is an orgy tent for those on the wild side.  A cave with BDSM stuff rounds up the attraction.

The landing point is actually open to everybody. There you can join the group, get the rules and of course, if entering the club area you are asked to dress down.

Marketing seems to work well, as 2.000 people bought a membership in the first two weeks of opening. That is 1.000.000 LD in revenues in only two weeks!

A few years ago I (with a previous account not as Caroline) interviewed Kaiya Manbi. Kaiya is the owner of the Kaiya Islands Group in Second Life. We actually met at one of her 24! Regions – a nudist resort, called Wild Coast Naturist Resort. Yes I had to dress down, it is the local custom, I hope you like the pictures – enjoy.

Here the TP-Link:

http://www.slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Wild%20Coast/105/189/23/

Kaiya is a great example of an entrepreneur in Second Life.  She actually makes a real live living from her business in Second Life and shares a lot of inside in running a business in a virtual world.

The Interview:

Me: First of all, this is obviously Second Life (SL) a business for you, so how do you usually promote your business?

Kaiya Manbi: Yes, it is a business,  I have the three venues, the Wild Coast Naturist Resort, Turtle Coast Adult Beach and the Bay Music Venue,  and then all the land rentals around it, they all get inter promoted – signs at each place advertising each other,  also search and I guess word of mouth.

Me: What markets or what type of users and businesses are you targeting?

Kaiya Manbi: The more upmarket users of Second Life (SL), because I charge 450 lindens to be a member of the wild coast and 500 to be a member of Turtle Adult Beach, it sort of separates out the griefer and the people that come to Second Life (SL) with no sense of consequence to their actions,

When someone pays to enter a venue, they firstly make a commitment to it, and secondly expect some kind of service,  so we have a more serious market here.

Me: Is this business making profits and can you actually live of this in real life?

Kaiya Manbi: Yes, it does and i do.

Me: wow

Kaiya Manbi: Not only the venues, but the land rentals and shop. All combined yes!

Me:  So the main revenues are the rentals, the shops and the group memberships?

Kaiya Manbi:  Exactly, yes!

Me: Is the business strictly in-world or do you have a real life company behind this.

Kaiya Manbi: It is strictly in world,  and all my staff are in-world only.

Me: This gets me to another question. How does the staff get paid in Second Life (SL), I imagine the wages are not exactly high, are they?

Kaiya Manbi:  No, they aren’t very high, certainly not putting food in peoples tables, but high enough to support their second lives – paying rent where ever they live, buying stuff etc., but it’s also not quite the same as a real-life job, they come on whenever they like, log of whenever they like, put in whatever time they are in the mood to put in.

Me: I see the sim is classified moderate not adult, so sex is not the main attraction for your guests?

Kaiya Manbi:  No, the Wild Coast Naturist resort is specifically not for sex, its quite strict in its rules, nothing sexual at all, just nudity and more than anything a place for people to hang out, meet friends in a sensual environment. I have around 42 guards that come and go all the time,  so the place is covered pretty much all day and night, they watch it, make sure there is no one causing trouble, make sure people are sticking to the rules – HOWEVER: Turtle coast adult beach is a whole different story that’s adult rated.

Me: 42 Guards? How many members of staff do you actually have?

Kaiya Manbi: 42 sorry, in total

Kaiya Manbi: That includes Manager

Me: OK, how did you recruit those?

Kaiya Manbi: Very slowly, over the last 4 years,  some have been with me for the whole 4 years, some two years, but most more than a year – a new person comes, we all get to know them, like them, and if it feels right,  we bring them in.

Me: What would you say is your USP, your unique selling proposition or what makes the place different to other clubs for users and renters?

Kaiya Manbi:  Well I think what makes it different is that I really do offer service, all over my sims, renters can IM me any time and I’ll be there to help if someone decided they want a cave built, will come in and do it for them, pretty much whatever anyone needs, landscaping wise, I’ll do it, and that, u certainly don’t get at other places. Also, all my staff are always around, really helpful and sweet, I think that’s also pretty rare in Second Life (SL) – as far as the clubs go, again the staff that work here are a huge part of the success, people love to know that they are being watched, and cared for and looked after.

Me: Sounds very professional, isn’t that not taking up a lot of time? How many hours a day do you work on this?

Kaiya Manbi: I spend a lot of time here when I renovate the venues or build new ones, or get new sims, then I have to put in huge hours, but when things are just running, it’s a lot smoother, my managers all have the things they do, I come in to get a few things done, and it sort of runs itself.

Me: What advice would you give a new entrepreneur in Second Life?

Kaiya Manbi:  I would say start slow, build or make what u love, and watch and see if people love it too – if they do, then it’s time to grow.

Me: simple advice. What skills should somebody have to start a successful business in second life?

Kaiya Manbi: I think a lot of people start big, before they get any attention, then it fails

Kaiya Manbi: I would say creativity, and passion for the tools here, either building or creating products, even the bit land barons are creative in a way – in Second Life (SL) your head needs to be a certain way, to see clearly in 3d – and patience – there are some very wacky people here, that push us to our absolute boundaries.

Me: So is it a fair comment to say Second life changed your real life?

Kaiya Manbi:  Yes, it totally did!!! Financially and creatively for the better – but the isolation is not great, I used to be a musician – always around lots of people in real life,  now working in a vacuum on my computer which can be a bit tyring.

Me: I can imagine.

Me: How do you handle noobs here? You know the kind I mean.

Kaiya Manbi:  noobs are potential regulars

Me: but some might need some education, no?

Kaiya Manbi: and potential clients, we treat them very carefully and help as much as possible, yea, the guards spend a lot of time helping them navigate. I would say noobs take up most of their time and nasty’s.

Me: OK what about private life in second life? Any time for that? Partner? Lovers ?

Kaiya Manbi:  Nope, none at all, when I first started, I used to have a bit of fun there, but sadly now, i get bored very fast and start editing stuff around me.  I can’t really see Second Life (SL) anymore as a place to socialize or just chat – or do other things. I really only chat to my staff, tenants and clients, now and then come to the venues and chat to guests, but I’m always itching to go back to work.

Me:  Ok, do you have a website or a blog to support this business?

Kaiya Manbi: I have a website but it’s not very well updated — I pretty much do everything on my own, maybe time I got someone to run the site, you can have a look though, it’s halfway there:

www.kaiyaislands.com

Me: Any plans for further expansion? What are your goals for your second life venture?

Kaiya Manbi: It says 17 islands, its old, there are now 24.  Yea, slow expansion.

Me: You own 24 full sims?

Kaiya Manbi: Each time I expand, I like to wait and watch for a bit, if all goes well, I get another sim or start a new venue; I got 7 full sims and 17 homesteads.

Me: wow, that also a considerable value.

Kaiya Manbi: It is yea, but it’s nothing like what’s out there, the big guys have between 200 and 1000 sims. I guess though, no venues and no real work done individually.

Me: Which actually gets me to the last question, what other business would you recommend to your friends and guests?

Kaiya Manbi:  Right now “digs” and “tiki tattoo” “hearts plants” and “Bahia” are my tops, they are fantastic builders – the best animation products and furniture and plants – and all amazing and generous people.

Me: Anything you would like to add?

Kaiya Manbi: Yes one thing, You asked I think what makes a venue a success, or something on those lines, I just want to say, its staff – when u have a team of people that work together, get on, and enjoy each other and their work, your set!! My staff is the coolest people and often I can’t believe how lucky i am to have found each one of them, they are the glue on my sims.

Me: Great good to hear. Thanks for your time and all the best!