Porn Star Turned Entrepreneur: Club Jenna Takes Off
Porn Star Turned Entrepreneur: Club Jenna Takes Off
It was 1994. Jameson had become addicted to cocaine and LSD. In her attempts to be a model, she stopped eating and watched her weight drop to 76 pounds. To top things all off, her first serious boyfriend left her. But Jameson suspected that her boyfriend had been cheating on her long before he left her, and she wanted her revenge. What would be the best way to get even with her ex? Star in a porn movie, thought Jameson.
Jameson was cast by Randy West in “Up and Cummers 10,” which was followed with a sequel, “Up and Cummers 11.” The industry was quick to take notice of the new young blonde. To capitalize on her new publicity, Jameson got her first breast implants later that same year. From there, her career began to take off.
Jameson moved to Los Angeles to start modeling again. She had gotten over her addiction and regained a healthy amount of weight while staying with her father. After making another movie, “Silk Stockings,” Jameson was quickly snatched up and signed to an exclusive record with Wicked Pictures. Here, she was paid $6,000 for each of her eight movies that year. “Wicked launched me into superstardom,” says Jameson, “but I was determined to become my own boss.”
In 2000, Jameson and her then husband Jay Grdina, a porn studio owner, decided to start their own business. They created Club Jenna and launched ClubJenna.com as their first venture. Because it offered more than most other porn sites – diary excerpts, relationship advice – it became profitable in just its third week.
Later that year, Club Jenna began to branch out. First, it took over the administering duties of other porn stars’ web sites and, later, began producing its own porn films. The company’s first film, “Briana Loves Jenna” cost $280,000 to produce, and earned over $1 million in its first year, making it the best selling and best renting porn video of the year. On average, future Club Jenna videos would achieve sales of 100,000 copies, whereas most other porn films sold just 5,000.
In 2004, Club Jenna brought on other actresses to star in its films alongside Jameson. Distributed by Vivid Entertainment, the world’s largest adult film company, Club Jenna videos account for over half of the company’s profits. Merchandising, the department overseen by Grdina’s sister, brought in the rest.
Club Jenna continued to diversify with a line of sex toys, perfume, handbags, lingerie, shoes, a sex simulation video game, and “moan tones” (cell phone ring tones). She also launched Club Thrust, a website aimed at her gay male fans. More recently, Jameson also purchased a strip club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Jameson’s autobiography, “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” tells the story of this porn star turned entrepreneur’s life in all its detail. Although Playboy Enterprises acquired Club Jenna in 2006, she remains an integral part of its operations.
Jameson is now known the world over not only for her appearances in adult films, but for her success in the mainstream. She has starred in Howard Stern’s “Private Parts,” voiced an animation of herself on “Family Guy,” and debated the merits of porn at the revered Oxford Union. In the end, Jameson won the debate 204 to 27.
Porn Star Turned Entrepreneur Club Jenna Takes Off
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“The most important thing to me right now is to become the biggest star the industry has ever seen,” Jameson said.
It was 1994. Jameson had become addicted to cocaine and LSD. In her attempts to be a model, she stopped eating and watched her weight drop to 76 pounds. To top things all off, her first serious boyfriend left her. But Jameson suspected that her boyfriend had been cheating on her long before he left her, and she wanted her revenge. What would be the best way to get even with her ex? Star in a porn movie, thought Jameson.
Jameson was cast by Randy West in “Up and Cummers 10,” which was followed with a sequel, “Up and Cummers 11.” The industry was quick to take notice of the new young blonde. To capitalize on her new publicity, Jameson got her first breast implants later that same year. From there, her career began to take off.
Jameson moved to Los Angeles to start modeling again. She had gotten over her addiction and regained a healthy amount of weight while staying with her father. After making another movie, “Silk Stockings,” Jameson was quickly snatched up and signed to an exclusive record with Wicked Pictures. Here, she was paid $6,000 for each of her eight movies that year. “Wicked launched me into superstardom,” says Jameson, “but I was determined to become my own boss.”
In 2000, Jameson and her then husband Jay Grdina, a porn studio owner, decided to start their own business. They created Club Jenna and launched ClubJenna.com as their first venture. Because it offered more than most other porn sites – diary excerpts, relationship advice – it became profitable in just its third week.
Later that year, Club Jenna began to branch out. First, it took over the administering duties of other porn stars’ web sites and, later, began producing its own porn films. The company’s first film, “Briana Loves Jenna” cost $280,000 to produce, and earned over $1 million in its first year, making it the best selling and best renting porn video of the year. On average, future Club Jenna videos would achieve sales of 100,000 copies, whereas most other porn films sold just 5,000.
In 2004, Club Jenna brought on other actresses to star in its films alongside Jameson. Distributed by Vivid Entertainment, the world’s largest adult film company, Club Jenna videos account for over half of the company’s profits. Merchandising, the department overseen by Grdina’s sister, brought in the rest.
Club Jenna continued to diversify with a line of sex toys, perfume, handbags, lingerie, shoes, a sex simulation video game, and “moan tones” (cell phone ring tones). She also launched Club Thrust, a website aimed at her gay male fans. More recently, Jameson also purchased a strip club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Jameson’s autobiography, “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” tells the story of this porn star turned entrepreneur’s life in all its detail. Although Playboy Enterprises acquired Club Jenna in 2006, she remains an integral part of its operations.
Jameson is now known the world over not only for her appearances in adult films, but for her success in the mainstream. She has starred in Howard Stern’s “Private Parts,” voiced an animation of herself on “Family Guy,” and debated the merits of porn at the revered Oxford Union. In the end, Jameson won the debate 204 to 27.
Porn Star Turned Entrepreneur Club Jenna Takes Off
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 Porn Star Turned Entrepreneur: Club Jenna Takes Off
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 “The most important thing to me right now is to become the biggest star the industry has ever seen,” Jameson said. |
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A Star Is Porn: How Jameson Rose From Rags To Riches
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| “When I started my career, my intention was to become the best. I had big plans and a lot of determination,” says Jameson, “but sometimes even I think this is beyond what I could have ever dreamed.” Jameson might no... |
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The Queen of Porn: The Early Years of Jenna Jameson
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| Most people know her name, although admitting to it is an entirely different matter. Jenna Jameson has gone from being a victim of abuse and a no-name stripper to one of the world’s most famous porn stars, and it is... |
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Lesson #2: Get Your Work Working Without You
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| “Not doing my movies doesn’t mean retirement,” says Jameson. “It means more work – and more money.” |
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Lesson #5: Build A Brand With Mainstream Appeal
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| “I always embraced my hard-core roots,” says Jameson, “but becoming a household name was an important thing to me.” |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) Jay Kubassek is a Canadian born entrepreneur, internet marketing genius, professional speaker, international real estate developer/investor, executive film producer, extreme sport enthusiast and a passionate supporter of several charities worldwide. In 2007, Jay's vision and dedication to help other entrepreneurs and business owners duplicate his marketing success led to the creation of his fourth company CarbonCopyPRO, an internet marketing firm already worth over 15 million dollars that has over 20 employees and contract workers with clients is 12 different countries. Jay resides in NYC with his girlfriend Jamie, three year old son Milo and dog Cooper. As executive producer he recently premiered his first film in the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. As an adventurist he is racing the 2008 Baja 1000 off-road race and is a member of the 2008 U.S. National Elephant Polo Team, The New York Blue who will be representing the US in the 2008 World Championships in Nepal. Visit Jay's Blog: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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