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View Full Version : Less Nights, More Money????



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Tina
02-03-2007, 06:04 PM
Having a PLAN, is really the best way of looking at this. I work 6 days on bookings most weeks and full time shifts to boot. When I was in my 20's I worked at least 20 days a month too. I used my money to buy a home and help start a business even though I was in a shitty relationship for some of those years. Relationships go sour as over 1/2 of marriages as we all know end in divorce and that reality forces many of us to start over, I being one of the ones who for my sanity started over with nothing but the clothes on my back.

But I bounced back due to the flexibility of this job and within 3 months had moved to a new state, acquired a new wardrobe and had $3000 in savings.

You can take away a person's money but not the ambition and knowledge it takes to make it back if a person has it.

Goals and a plan go hand in hand. Quite frankly no one can rightfully say what age they will retire from dancing or any other business endeavour. One works as long as is feasible to do so,or until something comes along to replace the money made by dancing, or until one has the passive income so they no longer need to physically work in any job. Why do so many dancers talk of retirement. I think it has to do with wanting to fit into mainstream society, but mainstream society jobs oftentimes have more problems associated with them than stripping jobs.

The reason some but not all older dancers don't live hand to mouth is called life experience. Many college aged girls feel that all mighty degree will give them a much better job than dancing. Once they get that "rat race" job, which locks them into a 50 + hours of work and commuting each week for a check that is spent before they get it, and only being able to take time off when all other "rat race" people have time off, holidays and weekends, they then begin to have discouragement set in.

Because as a dancer we have flexibility in chosing the weeks we work and the vacation time or nights off we take, or the cities we chose to work and live in. A paycheck job doesn't offer that.

I work 40 weeks on the road with 12 weeks off. During those 40 weeks I am focused on work. But I CHOOSE the 12 weeks I have off and the 40 weeks I work, and I do lots of fun stuff when I am off. How many jobs give a person 12 weeks off a year? And if I choose to take another week or 2 off if financially feasible, it is MY choice.

How many of you WANT a large home in an upscale community? How many of you see things you would like to buy when you go shopping, but cannot afford them? How many of you have a late model car versus no car at all? How many of you live in a nice place that is TASTEFULLY furnished? How many of you have the amount of cash saved that your better spending regulars have?

Having the opportunity in your 20's to have things that avarage people may not be able to afford until their 40's SHOULD be a HUGE incentive to make a dancer take this job seriously.

There is plenty of time to have fun. One does not need to go out partying every week, but if one PLANS properly and has GOALS, they can have one hell of a party on their PLANNED weeks off can't they?

If a dancer has a full time day job, I can see them working 2 nights a week. As a college student, 3 nights a week, With no other job, not working 5 nights/days a month with maybe a 4 day week in the mix, or if working out of town bookings maybe 4-6, 6 night weeks in a row followed by 2 weeks off, is surely a sign of a dancer who doesn't have a lot of ambition or desire for financial security.

You can't have fun in life without money, and how fun is it to only go to work when you need something?

Days/weeks off are a reward for hard, well planned, and successful work. Taking more time off than you work especially if you are broke, is a sure sign that something is wrong.

Next time you say to yourself, "I don't feel like going to work today", take a good hard look at how much money you have to your name, where you live, what you drive, if anything, and then ask yourself what you would do if you were sick for the next 2 weeks and couldn't work.

Then take a good hard look at WHY it is so hard for you to go to work. Is the club so saturated with girls that it is hard to sell dances? Is business really slow? Is the payout to high relative to your earnings potential? Are you uncomfortable talking to men and asking for dances? Is it hard for you to be around alcohol and not drink or smoke? Are you afraid to come out of the closet and not hide the fact that you dance? Would you really rather have a mainstream job with a paycheck rather than uncertain earnings each night? Do I really want to have a nice home now, and live better than my friends? Am I ready to eliminate all people from my life who don't accept my dancing and just make friends and build relationships with those who do?

Once addressed, a dancer can then PLAN how she will live her life instead of scuffling to get by.

Bridgette
02-03-2007, 08:16 PM
I will never say a girl should work 5-6 nights a week at this job. I have done it and it is HARD. I worked too much and I was tired. I didn't take any weeks off either, and that was part of the problem. Working like that for 3 weeks or so then taking a week off, I could see - that would be better.

But 2 days per week IMO is just crap. It's one thing if you have a GOOD job and you're only dancing a couple nights per week to supplement, or you go to school full time and work 2-3 nights to pay the bills. But this is not the case for most girls, and we all know it. Most are just lazyasses who barely show up enough to pay their bills, and then spend the whole night desperately running around the club in panic mode, screaming about the water getting shut off, the car that's about to be repossessed, or the eviction notice they are about to get ::) And this crap brings down the whole friggin club.

But I also have to say, that even for many of the college girls, they may be doing themselves a disservice. You can always go to college and start that career - people do it all the time these days. But you can't dance and make the kind of money we make forever. If you can utilize the self-discipline you might be better off dancing more now and doing school later.

AlexxaHex
02-03-2007, 10:02 PM
desperately running around the club in panic mode, screaming about the water getting shut off, the car that's about to be repossessed, or the eviction notice they are about to get.

LOL
I have to admit I've been guilty of this at times. It's stupid, yes, but I was never taught to manage money properly and I didn't take the time or self-discipline to learn until recently. It's still really hard for me.

When I was dancing, I worked about 2 -4 shifts, more at the bikini bars. Some days I just didn't have the motivation to go in. But my old club had a mandatory 3 shifts per week so that forced me to go in at least that many times. My back would be killing me by the end of 4 shifts in a row. I have no idea how you manage 5 or more days a week in a high hustle or nude club. I'd be such a total cunt to everyone.

Bridgette
02-03-2007, 10:30 PM
^^I don't do that many days in a row, at least not anymore. And I never did it in a high hustle club - I did it in a time and company club where there would be long periods of not much to do and then you'd make all your money off 1-3 guys. Still those longass hours I worked at that club weren't easy, that's for sure. At the time I was on a mission.

These days I'll do usually 2 days in a row, MAYBE 3. I break up my scheduled shifts so I don't get burned out.

That's how I do more shifts - plus I just like that M-O-N-E-Y, and not having to do the monthly stripper panic-shuffle.

scarlett_vancouver
02-04-2007, 01:11 AM
Perhaps you guys should realize that your way is not the only way.

Some of us have side jobs, and prefer to make money from multiple sources, dancing being only one of them. Some don't care as much about money and just want enough. Some don't want to retire at 40.

I'll betcha I make more working one week a month than most girls (not the B's and Emily's) who work 5 days a week every week. It's a matter of picking and choosing wisely. Best of both worlds, imo.

Bridgette
02-04-2007, 01:40 AM
No one's saying there's only one way. We make room for choices and exceptions, go back and reread. It would just be nice if more girls would take the job a tad more seriously. That's the whole point I and others have been getting at. Because it would make all our jobs much more pleasant.

KamrynAnne
02-04-2007, 10:35 AM
Perhaps you guys should realize that your way is not the only way.

Some of us have side jobs, and prefer to make money from multiple sources, dancing being only one of them. Some don't care as much about money and just want enough. Some don't want to retire at 40.

I'll betcha I make more working one week a month than most girls (not the B's and Emily's) who work 5 days a week every week. It's a matter of picking and choosing wisely. Best of both worlds, imo.

yep agreed... very well put...

21stcenturyfox
02-04-2007, 11:38 AM
i cant wait until im earning enough to be responsible with my money and start saving. right now, im living hand to mouth cos im still figuring out how to make money out of this job...

i worked 4 nights last week (6hr shifts with only 3 of those hours with customers in the club) and made £500 for the week. And its all gone on bills, food and travel costs. This week I worked 4 nights and made £390... Im working 4 nights because im earning so little so im trying to maximise my earning and learning potential.

i am determined to be successful at this job. i am turning 28 tomorrow so i dont have a lot of time to prepare for a good retirement at 40.

i dream of having no debts, a large savings account and the opportunity to afford to travel around the world as i havent done that yet and also to one day own my own home. i am really not a materialistic person. i really dont care about having a lot of expensive stuff, i care about having a good quality life and the opportunity to live it NOW.

AlexxaHex
02-04-2007, 01:37 PM
^^I don't do that many days in a row, at least not anymore. And I never did it in a high hustle club - I did it in a time and company club where there would be long periods of not much to do and then you'd make all your money off 1-3 guys.

That's kind of how the bikini bars were for me. A lot of talking would be going on, rather than walking and dancing. I didn't even get topless so it was a lot less stressful. I could totally work 4+ days, but I actually had to because the money was so bad.
Nude clubs in LA are different. There's more lap dancing and hard hustling (less of the "time and company" environment you speak of), plus I had to fend off more sexual advances which becomes draining on the soul. Burnout was much more possible here, so I worked less days. Sometimes I'd work only 1 day if I made enough that day to pay my bills and not have to go back to work.

Maybe these girls aren't taking the job lightly so much as they're just not able to handle the stresses as well, or that they don't really know what they're doing. But yeah, I do think a lot of them don't take it seriously. I know I didn't for a while.

VegasPrincess
02-04-2007, 08:46 PM
Wow, this discussion is getting really heated! I'm sticking with working three to four days a week, although I do see all your points on dong more. And I don't think it's weird or dumb that I'm saving up to take my bf on vacation. He spoils me all the time, I'd like to spoil him this one time.

Tina
02-04-2007, 09:41 PM
I believe that everyone SHOULD be concerned about money, but it takes all types to make a world, and there are more people in society who just don't have what it takes to be a successful self employed person, than there are people who have the drive and motivation to be financially well off.

As I always say, dancers lack training. Just like professional athletes, dancers need direction and coaching. Throwing a herd of young girls in a club full of horny chauvinistic men, and expecting them to all be able to shrug off the bullshit and make above average amounts of money, is waaay too much to ask. The bruised egos that we all get from time to time from arrogant customers, coupled with the pressure of having to convince a handful of spending customers amongst a sea of dancers to buy from us, can be more than many dancers can handle. New dancers enter this business thinking that they can make hundreds per night just by looking pretty, and they become quite disillusioned when they see that guys aren't motivated to part with multiple 10's and 20's because a dancer is cute.

The type of club atmosphere we work in makes a difference. All of us don't work in clubs where dances sell easily, where stage tips flow, and where there are enough customers (money spending ones) to go around so that we stay in a proper mood to compete for maximum dollars.

I would say the majority of clubs out there today have too many dancers and too few customers. One really needs to be flexible as a dancer nowadays and be able to move around in order to find clubs to work at where we fit in with management, get along with most of the girls with minimal drama, and can make steady money without stressing a lot to get it.

So to get back to the original title of this thread, working 2 nights a week may not be enough for a girl to profit in many clubs, as earnings are not consistent every day, leaving some days with little earnings after tip outs, or girls even leaving the club with less money than was paid to work. It is very possible to work only 2 days in a week and make no money, but another 3 days may yield a profit.

All dancers are not like Bridgette or myself, who have the ability to move around to work in order to find conditions where the steadiest money can be made. Many girls have young children, jobs, and school where they have to deal with the clubs in their immediate area if they choose to dance. I have visited many a club where I just can't see enough dances being sold to make them worth working in. Many more clubs exist like that than clubs that have money flowing momentum.

Vegas Princess, there is nothing wrong with saving to go on a nice vacation. What good is working if there is no fun time? As long as you don't wipe out your entire savings on vacation, and continue to save for financial stability all is good. Plus you work in a city which is emotionally draining for the most experienced dancer, so I can definately feel the anguish.

kitana
02-05-2007, 03:38 PM
I get sooooo frustrated when I'm selling costumes and girls want to buy, but have no money if the club is slow that day. The customers who spend the most in the club have money saved and don't have to go out the same day they plan on visiting the club to make the $300 they plan on spending that night, do they? Every dancer should have enough money to spend on an opportunity today from the money they made in the past, and not rely on todays earnings to pay for something they want and need today. Dancers should have the same work ethic as the money spending customers have.


While I agree 100% with you, maybe some of those girl are like me and refuse to bring money to the club with them.

I have money I save, but I don't bring money to work with me, ever. Just a though.