So I just got done drudging through what TC times calls an article nowadays written by Kasto and I gotta say; I wonder what second hand source or what 3rd party conversations she's been eavesdropping on in order to get her information and what slack jawed incompetent putz would fall for this obvious scam she's shilling? Like any well constructed lie or when someone talks with authority on something they have only glanced at the cliff notes on, some things brought up in the article do have a hint, just the faintest whiff of truth to them.
Lets go through some of the major problems with the article that I as cognitive citizen of Torn City with the working olfactory ability to detect a poo poo lame thesis and as a Director of a 10* that made the jump from 8* to 10* in 2 weeks after I got my act together, put in the work and executed a basic, easy strategy. In no particular order:
1. As a regular citizen (and I've had some people not even in the LS industry bring this up) I find it strange that while claiming to be a alchemist of 10* Lingerie stores, a great prognosticator of the unseen price analysis, pulling the strings and outwitting 10 of the 41 (roughly 25%) 10* directors of Lingerie stores, she herself works in a 9*. Paired with the claim that they charge up to 500mill each on the 10 companies she allegedly manages, makes 15mill a day on imports during her 2,648 fights she has taken, has/had lead an international cabal of premium mercenary's and is a arms dealer to well funded yet under prepared factions at war has only amassed a fortune of 11bill... something doesn't add up and anyone could do they're due diligence to find these truths to be self evident of something strange going on with the broader message but let us continue...
2. She has a bit in there about pay being at around 60k... I for one, have never seen a LS pay anything on a daily basis so I honestly have no idea what she is talking about. I don't know of any services like a quick strike merc team but I mostly keep to my self and mind my own affairs and stay out of the forums so I could be an off base hermit on these issues BUT she quickly follows up that part of the article with saying that employees need to use these tactics to survive because of an imposed tax.
LS is either the most profitable company to work for in the game, making 10-15mill a day or its such a struggle to find profitability that you need to offer your services as a merc to meek out a meager living and its not worth it to the 410 people working in those 10 star companies and they are all basically dumb. Pick one.
3. The tax: One point that has a small shred of truth to it is that the 10* companies commonly ask for a tax from they're employees. That is a glaring fact that anyone who knows anything about the LS industry knows and where the full truth about the subject in the article ends. I for one did not charge my people a tax until reaching 10*. I was in the position to cover operating cost buy selling my dividends To cover operating cost. I understand that many may not have that luxury. With the competitive nature of running arguably the most profitable company in the game advertising is higher then most and most LS run at a LOSS of 10-15mill a day. After the cost of the company and the cost to get it to 10* my net worth is negative by around 3bill from the start of this endeavor, not counting the loss of compound interest/growth from not reinvesting my dividends from stocks. I don't believe it is without reason or ridiculous to ask the members of the company to help with the operating cost to keep the benefits they are enjoying while not enduring the start up cost, total operating cost and time to manage the company its self. (making sure ppl know they have addiction ratings, doing trains and setting prices).
We all want to be top ten and use the benefits but why would any director deal with all that comes with running a company just to brake even or even loose money everyday even when they themselves are working and trying to make that 10-15mill flying just like everyone else? This question might understandably not be at the forefront of the mind of someone who has never or is not currently running a company herself. Even if they purport to be an expert on the subject.
4. She says the minimum working stats she lets in her plethora of companies is 50k endurance and 50 intelligence with 7-10 merits points in employee effectiveness and that 155 should be the minimum effectiveness. I am here to tell you that this is emphatically untrue. I have for instance an employee with around 50k end, 20k int and 2 points of EE and he pulls in 150 effectiveness. In fact i have 3 employees that pull in less then the "mandatory minimum" My manager has 125k end and this, for those who might read this and don't know, raises the effectiveness of all employees. This is his roll in the company. Finding a player with 125k end or greater is far from an impossible task as endurance is the most common working stat in the game to hoard. Ask your friends, faction mates, pay for someone if you have to and you will find someone if you put in the leg work. Before you say that I should get rid of my lower stat employees in lieu of someone with better stats, they were with me when we hit 8* and loyalty means more to me then hitting the absolute best margins.
I forgive her for this misinformation due to the fact that she doesn't need to actually deal with fitting employees in to they're best rolls given her current position in her company. Just shining some light on the situation in hopes to clear up everyone's view on the matter.
5. She eludes to have some insider knowledge to how the company loyalty works and that you must change your prices from week to week to in someway stimulate company loyalty. This is also just false. You can read about it on the torn wiki for companies, at the bottom of the page under miscellaneous notes. I don't know what more to say about it, look it up, read it yourselves
6. In the 2-3 months I languished in the 9-10* range I was never once approached by anyone claiming they could manage my company or help me get to 10*. You would think that in this time if this is a real business that someone had set up and would want to expand so to better control the market as a whole I would have at least gotten a mail.
7. Both pics used in the article are from the same week in September. I'm assuming to and from the same person. Idk why but it just doesn't sit right with me as proof of anything more then someone duping at least one person, maybe even a few people to take advice from a stranger on the internet for a few days.
8. Lingerie companies are worth less then they were 2 months ago? Yeah sure maybe, I haven't been in the market for one in the last month or two. Lets say for the sake of argument that this is true. Who's to say its not the time of year, the unrest in certain parts of the world where those directors could be from, directors needing more time at home afk to deal with kids they had during the pandemic baby boom, some unseen hand controlling a large chunk of 10 stars driving the value down or any number other variables. The value for anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it or sell it in the current moment.
9. "There is simply no good reason to push to be the number one company and waste $7-14m per week more, especially in my situation, where one company's aggressive advertising budget will affect the others under my management."
Very next paragraph: 'My focus has been and will always be to keep a Lingerie Store stable on the first page". "A bad day or two won’t drop you to 9-stars". PICK ONE
You strive to be the best you can and get to the top so you have the insurance of a little wiggle room so when you do have a not so great day you don't derank and loose your lucrative perks or its a waste of money and you shouldn't try to be good, just mid good.
10. "At the time of writing, the Lingerie Stores on the first page of the listings are earning between $23.6-24.8m, and this is a problem."... FOR YOU and the companies your trying to swindle maybe.
11.She says "It's incredibly difficult to find a player who has the stats you need but is also willing to pay a tax to work for you, as these players can earn a good salary at Mining Companies, Oil Rigs, Logistics Companies, or Private Security Firms." Well I say look at bullet point #4 for finding people. Yes there are companies that offer nice passive pay with nice benefits but if you want the BEST pay? The most dirty moldy money you can earn from a job? You want to travel fast? Get all your travel merits the fastest possible way while lining your pockets with an indecent amount of cold hard cash? You want to Make your friends weep when you send them screen shot of all the plushie sets your hoarding for museum day Well then for the low low price of pitching in 10mill a week and actually doing the work you too can make up to 105mill a week if you want. Make your friends weep when you send them screen shot of all the plushie sets your hoarding for museum day... I know that's a hard sell and that's why no one wants to work in a LS
12. Just wanted to say that I just started a racing management company and for the low price (it pays for itself) of 1bill a month I will tell you what cars to run and what modifications to put on them for whatever track your racing. I currently manage 250,000 cars, im not gonna reveal any of my clients so you just gotta trust me. They have all have the highest win ratios in the game and I make sure that the cars all join the track at the same time in groups so your all racing against each other and with the numbers I have calculated on the cars and mods I make sure everyone finishes at the same time in 6 way ties. I've done the numbers just trust what I type on the internet. I have just agreed a 50year stint to manage multiple unnamed racing teams. My recent success with the racing market pushed me to create the same system with the bookie, but from now on, I like to be paid before I start. I may be confident in my ability to manage any car so I cant guarantee anything at all, but there's always a risk with this type of business. Whereas the chances of me receiving my profits are 100% if I'm paid up front, as that cash is already banked.
In conclusion I find this whole article to be at best a poor attempt at LARPing to feel self important and at worst a poor long winded attempt to create a shadow monopoly to defraud the torn community by convincing new directors that 10* companies would not exist if it were not for some invisible hand of the market controlled by a few select individuals and that for the right price you too can unlock the secrets the were already there. Sadly I think that some will fall prey to this back ally management, selling you knowledge at a premium that is either public knowledge found on the wiki or easily figured out through trial and error like the game was meant to be played.
But what do I know? I just run a company that refuses to drop out of the top out of the LS ranks.
If anyone does not have access to google and can not find any Lingerie store guides please feel free to message me personally to talk about the do's and don'ts of running a LS. I wont share with you my prices or how much stock I order of each item everyday as I feel I should be entitled to some modicum of trade secrets to keep an edge, I owe that much to my employees but if you want to ask about my experience with the store, wondering about specific game mechanics or just want to chat don't hesitate to drop me a line.
P.S. I would like to bring up that I understand that many Lingerie models change they're sex to better fit the position so if I in fact misgendering Kasto I do apologize, it is not to make fun of or diminish them in any way. What is important is to bring in to question the content of the article and frankly not at all who wrote it.
Lets go through some of the major problems with the article that I as cognitive citizen of Torn City with the working olfactory ability to detect a poo poo lame thesis and as a Director of a 10* that made the jump from 8* to 10* in 2 weeks after I got my act together, put in the work and executed a basic, easy strategy. In no particular order:
1. As a regular citizen (and I've had some people not even in the LS industry bring this up) I find it strange that while claiming to be a alchemist of 10* Lingerie stores, a great prognosticator of the unseen price analysis, pulling the strings and outwitting 10 of the 41 (roughly 25%) 10* directors of Lingerie stores, she herself works in a 9*. Paired with the claim that they charge up to 500mill each on the 10 companies she allegedly manages, makes 15mill a day on imports during her 2,648 fights she has taken, has/had lead an international cabal of premium mercenary's and is a arms dealer to well funded yet under prepared factions at war has only amassed a fortune of 11bill... something doesn't add up and anyone could do they're due diligence to find these truths to be self evident of something strange going on with the broader message but let us continue...
2. She has a bit in there about pay being at around 60k... I for one, have never seen a LS pay anything on a daily basis so I honestly have no idea what she is talking about. I don't know of any services like a quick strike merc team but I mostly keep to my self and mind my own affairs and stay out of the forums so I could be an off base hermit on these issues BUT she quickly follows up that part of the article with saying that employees need to use these tactics to survive because of an imposed tax.
LS is either the most profitable company to work for in the game, making 10-15mill a day or its such a struggle to find profitability that you need to offer your services as a merc to meek out a meager living and its not worth it to the 410 people working in those 10 star companies and they are all basically dumb. Pick one.
3. The tax: One point that has a small shred of truth to it is that the 10* companies commonly ask for a tax from they're employees. That is a glaring fact that anyone who knows anything about the LS industry knows and where the full truth about the subject in the article ends. I for one did not charge my people a tax until reaching 10*. I was in the position to cover operating cost buy selling my dividends To cover operating cost. I understand that many may not have that luxury. With the competitive nature of running arguably the most profitable company in the game advertising is higher then most and most LS run at a LOSS of 10-15mill a day. After the cost of the company and the cost to get it to 10* my net worth is negative by around 3bill from the start of this endeavor, not counting the loss of compound interest/growth from not reinvesting my dividends from stocks. I don't believe it is without reason or ridiculous to ask the members of the company to help with the operating cost to keep the benefits they are enjoying while not enduring the start up cost, total operating cost and time to manage the company its self. (making sure ppl know they have addiction ratings, doing trains and setting prices).
We all want to be top ten and use the benefits but why would any director deal with all that comes with running a company just to brake even or even loose money everyday even when they themselves are working and trying to make that 10-15mill flying just like everyone else? This question might understandably not be at the forefront of the mind of someone who has never or is not currently running a company herself. Even if they purport to be an expert on the subject.
4. She says the minimum working stats she lets in her plethora of companies is 50k endurance and 50 intelligence with 7-10 merits points in employee effectiveness and that 155 should be the minimum effectiveness. I am here to tell you that this is emphatically untrue. I have for instance an employee with around 50k end, 20k int and 2 points of EE and he pulls in 150 effectiveness. In fact i have 3 employees that pull in less then the "mandatory minimum" My manager has 125k end and this, for those who might read this and don't know, raises the effectiveness of all employees. This is his roll in the company. Finding a player with 125k end or greater is far from an impossible task as endurance is the most common working stat in the game to hoard. Ask your friends, faction mates, pay for someone if you have to and you will find someone if you put in the leg work. Before you say that I should get rid of my lower stat employees in lieu of someone with better stats, they were with me when we hit 8* and loyalty means more to me then hitting the absolute best margins.
I forgive her for this misinformation due to the fact that she doesn't need to actually deal with fitting employees in to they're best rolls given her current position in her company. Just shining some light on the situation in hopes to clear up everyone's view on the matter.
5. She eludes to have some insider knowledge to how the company loyalty works and that you must change your prices from week to week to in someway stimulate company loyalty. This is also just false. You can read about it on the torn wiki for companies, at the bottom of the page under miscellaneous notes. I don't know what more to say about it, look it up, read it yourselves
6. In the 2-3 months I languished in the 9-10* range I was never once approached by anyone claiming they could manage my company or help me get to 10*. You would think that in this time if this is a real business that someone had set up and would want to expand so to better control the market as a whole I would have at least gotten a mail.
7. Both pics used in the article are from the same week in September. I'm assuming to and from the same person. Idk why but it just doesn't sit right with me as proof of anything more then someone duping at least one person, maybe even a few people to take advice from a stranger on the internet for a few days.
8. Lingerie companies are worth less then they were 2 months ago? Yeah sure maybe, I haven't been in the market for one in the last month or two. Lets say for the sake of argument that this is true. Who's to say its not the time of year, the unrest in certain parts of the world where those directors could be from, directors needing more time at home afk to deal with kids they had during the pandemic baby boom, some unseen hand controlling a large chunk of 10 stars driving the value down or any number other variables. The value for anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it or sell it in the current moment.
9. "There is simply no good reason to push to be the number one company and waste $7-14m per week more, especially in my situation, where one company's aggressive advertising budget will affect the others under my management."
Very next paragraph: 'My focus has been and will always be to keep a Lingerie Store stable on the first page". "A bad day or two won’t drop you to 9-stars". PICK ONE
You strive to be the best you can and get to the top so you have the insurance of a little wiggle room so when you do have a not so great day you don't derank and loose your lucrative perks or its a waste of money and you shouldn't try to be good, just mid good.
10. "At the time of writing, the Lingerie Stores on the first page of the listings are earning between $23.6-24.8m, and this is a problem."... FOR YOU and the companies your trying to swindle maybe.
11.She says "It's incredibly difficult to find a player who has the stats you need but is also willing to pay a tax to work for you, as these players can earn a good salary at Mining Companies, Oil Rigs, Logistics Companies, or Private Security Firms." Well I say look at bullet point #4 for finding people. Yes there are companies that offer nice passive pay with nice benefits but if you want the BEST pay? The most dirty moldy money you can earn from a job? You want to travel fast? Get all your travel merits the fastest possible way while lining your pockets with an indecent amount of cold hard cash? You want to Make your friends weep when you send them screen shot of all the plushie sets your hoarding for museum day Well then for the low low price of pitching in 10mill a week and actually doing the work you too can make up to 105mill a week if you want. Make your friends weep when you send them screen shot of all the plushie sets your hoarding for museum day... I know that's a hard sell and that's why no one wants to work in a LS
12. Just wanted to say that I just started a racing management company and for the low price (it pays for itself) of 1bill a month I will tell you what cars to run and what modifications to put on them for whatever track your racing. I currently manage 250,000 cars, im not gonna reveal any of my clients so you just gotta trust me. They have all have the highest win ratios in the game and I make sure that the cars all join the track at the same time in groups so your all racing against each other and with the numbers I have calculated on the cars and mods I make sure everyone finishes at the same time in 6 way ties. I've done the numbers just trust what I type on the internet. I have just agreed a 50year stint to manage multiple unnamed racing teams. My recent success with the racing market pushed me to create the same system with the bookie, but from now on, I like to be paid before I start. I may be confident in my ability to manage any car so I cant guarantee anything at all, but there's always a risk with this type of business. Whereas the chances of me receiving my profits are 100% if I'm paid up front, as that cash is already banked.
In conclusion I find this whole article to be at best a poor attempt at LARPing to feel self important and at worst a poor long winded attempt to create a shadow monopoly to defraud the torn community by convincing new directors that 10* companies would not exist if it were not for some invisible hand of the market controlled by a few select individuals and that for the right price you too can unlock the secrets the were already there. Sadly I think that some will fall prey to this back ally management, selling you knowledge at a premium that is either public knowledge found on the wiki or easily figured out through trial and error like the game was meant to be played.
But what do I know? I just run a company that refuses to drop out of the top out of the LS ranks.
If anyone does not have access to google and can not find any Lingerie store guides please feel free to message me personally to talk about the do's and don'ts of running a LS. I wont share with you my prices or how much stock I order of each item everyday as I feel I should be entitled to some modicum of trade secrets to keep an edge, I owe that much to my employees but if you want to ask about my experience with the store, wondering about specific game mechanics or just want to chat don't hesitate to drop me a line.
P.S. I would like to bring up that I understand that many Lingerie models change they're sex to better fit the position so if I in fact misgendering Kasto I do apologize, it is not to make fun of or diminish them in any way. What is important is to bring in to question the content of the article and frankly not at all who wrote it.