profile

WIA Profile: Carmen Lumina

How did you get into the business?

I’ve always wanted to become an entrepreneur so the online business was the next step. Once I figured out what I want to do, I kept a laser focus on the goal and sinked my teeth in. Here I am now … the adult industry has a history of being innovative, so seemed the right place to continue doing what I know best!

Being a woman in such male-dominated industry has its advantages, but I believe despite all the taboo around it, the brain still makes the difference in my job.

What in your background prepared you for what you are doing now?

I moved from my hometown, Galati, when I was 18… to the capital of Romania, Bucharest. Bucharest is HUGE!!! 2.2 million, the 10th largest city in the European Union. At first, this was a real challenge. Me, coming from a small quiet city, all by myself, in the middle of a “jungle.” But being the optimist that I always am that things will work out, helps make any challenges less overwhelming. I was accepted to one of the best universities, studying business management and marketing, I got a job for sales representive, and I was helping part time a friend in organizing real estate conferences. I started to love interacting with people, get to know them and adapt on each type of personality and needs. But I wanted more. So I persisted through thick and thin until I succeeded to get where I wished.

What do you see as the challenges of working in the adult online business? How do you overcome them?

The challenge of the adult online business is to stay on top of the game. We are talking about a fast-moving market where new products, new services and business models appear daily, and because of that you need to move and think faster than they happen and to come up with innovative solutions and new products that the users need or would like to pay for. I try to be there for all my business partners and attend their needs at the highest level by working 24/7 and not letting anything passing by. But I love it. And I tend to be one of those who live and breathe what they do and love every minute of it.

Does your work life affect your personal life?

For sure. It’s one of those things that you have to be there 100 percent, and that includes having business partners that become friends. But I love it as it shows how tight and close we are in this industry. It feels like one big family. Of course I believe we need to have very strong moral standards, no matter of the area in which we work … and a smart and understanding boyfriend! Being a woman in such male-dominated industry has its advantages, but I believe despite all the taboo around it, the brain still makes the difference in my job.

Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

Best Practices for Payment Gateway Security

Securing digital payment transactions is critical for all businesses, but especially those in high-risk industries. Payment gateways are a core component of the digital payment ecosystem, and therefore must follow best practices to keep customer data safe.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Ready for New Visa Acquirer Changes?

Next spring, Visa will roll out the U.S. version of its new Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), which goes into effect April 1, 2025. This follows Visa Europe, which rolled out VAMP back in June. VAMP charts a new path for acquirers to manage fraud and chargeback ratios.

Cathy Beardsley ·
profile

WIA Profile: Siren Obscura

Siren Obscura grew up in Arizona, surrounded by rugged beauty and desert landscapes that she describes as having a quiet power to them. That environment strongly shaped her appreciation for contrasts and natural light, which plays a significant role in her work today.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

How to Thwart Holiday Fraudsters With Finesse

The holiday season is a prime time for shopping. Unfortunately, it’s also peak season for credit card fraud. With increased transactions both online and in-store, fraudsters have more opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities — and they are getting better at it every day.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

How to Halt Hackers as Fraud Attacks Rise

For hackers, it’s often a game of trial and error. Bad actors will perform enumeration and account testing, repeating the same test on a system to look for vulnerabilities — and if you are not equipped with the proper tools, your merchant account could be the next target.

Cathy Beardsley ·
profile

VerifyMy Seeks to Provide Frictionless Online Safety, Compliance Solutions

Before founding VerifyMy, Ryan Shaw was simply looking for an age verification solution for his previous business. The ones he found, however, were too expensive, too difficult to integrate with, or failed to take into account the needs of either the businesses implementing them or the end users who would be required to interact with them.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

How Adult Website Operators Can Cash in on the 'Interchange' Class Action

The Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement resulted from a landmark antitrust lawsuit involving Visa, Mastercard and several major banks. The case centered around the interchange fees charged to merchants for processing credit and debit card transactions. These fees are set by card networks and are paid by merchants to the banks that issue the cards.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

It's Time to Rock the Vote and Make Your Voice Heard

When I worked to defeat California’s Proposition 60 in 2016, our opposition campaign was outspent nearly 10 to 1. Nevertheless, our community came together and garnered enough support and awareness to defeat that harmful, misguided piece of proposed legislation — by more than a million votes.

Siouxsie Q ·
opinion

Staying Compliant to Avoid the Takedown Shakedown

Dealing with complaints is an everyday part of doing business — and a crucial one, since not dealing with them properly can haunt your business in multiple ways. Card brand regulations require every merchant doing business online to have in place a complaint process for reporting content that may be illegal or that violates the card brand rules.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Girlsway Celebrates a Decade of Acclaimed Sapphic Erotica

When Girlsway launched back in 2014, Bree Mills had a plan. As head of production for Gamma Entertainment, she set out to up the stakes of all-girl content with the new imprint — and to continually, proactively reinvent the brand and its offerings along the way.

Alejandro Freixes ·
Show More