I need to get my groove back...
Ever since the first of the year, I've been off my groove BIG TIME! I've gone from averaging $150-$250 a night (after tip-outs & house fees) to not breaking $100. I hate dancing my ass off for 7-9 hours and making $69 (like last night). Since the first of the year, my nightly totals have been $32, $87, $117, and $69. My best regular (who used to spend a good $100 on me every night he came in) has gotten cheap and dropped to $85, then to $50. But even discounting my regular, my nightly totals have SUCKED!
In our club, the minimum LD price is $20, but we can set our own prices. The other girls have told me that they charge $30 for one and $50 for two, so that's what I started charging, with no problem. Then last night I'm told by TWO separate customers that another girl offered them 2 for $20. Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but I know that this sort of under-cutting has been way more common since the first of the year.
And I know that I'm just probably off my groove... I haven't consciously changed anything about my hustle, but I'm sure I don't have the self-confidence I used to.
So I spoke with my manager last night (Ra., for those who know him), and he suggested that I give our sister club a try. He said that maybe I just need a change of scenery. So I'm going to our sister club tonight and hopefully I can do better. I figure a few nights of banking (if I can bank at our sister club) will maybe help me to get my groove back.
I think I just needed to vent.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
i hate to be debbie downer, but you've only worked 4 days this month? i have trouble being helpful to those who complain about money and don't work.
you only gave yourself 4 chances to do well in 18 days. if you had gone in more, who knows how you wouldve done?
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Yes, a change of scenery may do you good. Also, do you know why your regular is now starting to spend less on you? How long have you been seeing him, and how often is he coming in to see you?
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
britt244
i hate to be debbie downer, but you've only worked 4 days this month? i have trouble being helpful to those who complain about money and don't work.
you only gave yourself 4 chances to do well in 18 days. if you had gone in more, who knows how you wouldve done?
The first night after the New Year that I worked, I didn't even make enough to cover my house fees & tip-out. I had to pay out-of-pocket. Then I had childcare issues and would've had to pony up $50/night for my backup childcare... Since I was barely making house fees, I was honestly afraid to go into work--afraid it would cost me more money than I could make.
So I took a few weeks to cut back on my normal schedule and try to re-group. Now I'm trying to get back to my normal schedule and my re-grouping hasn't helped!
I do agree with you that I should've worked more, and I'm trying to remedy that. I'm just feeling very frustrated with the job these days because I feel like it's costing me more to work than what I'm making, and that really frightens me. I've been dancing less than a year, and everything I've made has been going into my legal fees (a messy, ongoing divorce) and debt payments. I've been trying to pay that before building my savings, so I have NO savings. I'm struggling to pay for food for me & my kiddos, and I can't pay bills at all. So the thought of LOSING money when I work is terrifying to me.
At any rate, I'm going to work on remedying that over the next few weeks, working as much as I can with free (fiance) childcare. And I'm not really trying to complain as much as I am just expressing my frustration.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
i understand what you're saying, all that I'M saying is that you're basing things off of 4 days. you never know what it'd be like if you had worked different days. maybe a big spender wouldve showed up, you know?
also, is it just you? are other girls doing poorly? are you worried when you go into work? you need to go in with a positive attitude. even if you only walk out with $50, thats more than you walked in with. are you reading a lot of the "theres no money omggggg" threads that are popping up around here lately? they tend to cause a panic. negative energy is easily readable by customers. i'm about to start a POSITIVE money thread for those of us who are still doing well and are pissed off about the "i wont make anything so i'll stay home" crap (not saying you, just in general). that would be way more helpful, imo. even if you didnt have a good month so far, you need to convince yourself you can turn that around. you need to go in and say hey, i'm going to do well tonight. i'm going to appreciate the money i leave with. you know? desperation is also obvious to customers.
also, if you can, maybe getting another job would lessen your anxiety. even if its min wage. then you don't NEED that dance money as much. you'll still need it, of course, but it won't be your only source of income.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cinammonkisses
Yes, a change of scenery may do you good. Also, do you know why your regular is now starting to spend less on you? How long have you been seeing him, and how often is he coming in to see you?
He comes in once a week. I know from talking to the other girls that he's been a regular for about a year. The girl tells me he's always had his favorites, and they usually last about three months, and he's ALWAYS been a good spender. One thing I know about him is that he sets aside a certain amount every Friday night for his favorite, and she gets that amount no matter how many dances, etc. (He'll usually pay up-front, and then let her decide how much time/dances she'll spend with him.) So he's still a pretty good regular, mainly because there's no hustle involved with him. When you're his favorite, he will spend on you, no matter how much time and hustle you give him. Of course you have to give him a decent amount of time to keep him happy & coming back, but he's usually happy with just being your "break table" or "safe table" throughout the night. (Meaning that if I've just struck out three or four times and just want to sit down and have a smoke and re-group, I'll go sit with him for a smoke and about 2 songs or so, then tell him I've got to go make more money, and he's cool.)
As to why he's been spending less money, I do have a guess that comes from a phone conversation we had this morning. He asked me how I was doing today, and I told him I was frustrated and pissed because I made so little, and vented a bit about how I haven't been making much since the first of the year. He said, "Well, I'm sure it'll get better. I bet it's just because it's right after the holidays and maybe everyone's just realizing how much they spent on Christmas and is trying to save some money." (So I'm guessing that may be his motivation in spending less.)
That said, I would like to keep this one as a regular for a little bit longer, because it seems to me like his short spending is probably temporary. He's only been my reg since December, but one of the other girls (his previous fave) said to keep him on a leash as long as I could, because he's known for spending $300-$400 on his faves when he's got it to spend (and he should, in about 2-3 more weeks or so). Plus, he's a drama-free reg... i.e., doesn't insist on GFE or stripper shit, doesn't get all butt-hurt when I go to make money off other guys, etc. AND he's very sociable and always meets new people, who he then talks into buying dances from me (he's great advertising). So hopefully he'll pick back up in a few weeks, and if not, then oh well.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
britt244
i understand what you're saying, all that I'M saying is that you're basing things off of 4 days. you never know what it'd be like if you had worked different days. maybe a big spender wouldve showed up, you know?
also, is it just you? are other girls doing poorly? are you worried when you go into work? you need to go in with a positive attitude. even if you only walk out with $50, thats more than you walked in with. are you reading a lot of the "theres no money omggggg" threads that are popping up around here lately? they tend to cause a panic. negative energy is easily readable by customers. i'm about to start a POSITIVE money thread for those of us who are still doing well and are pissed off about the "i wont make anything so i'll stay home" crap (not saying you, just in general). that would be way more helpful, imo. even if you didnt have a good month so far, you need to convince yourself you can turn that around. you need to go in and say hey, i'm going to do well tonight. i'm going to appreciate the money i leave with. you know? desperation is also obvious to customers.
also, if you can, maybe getting another job would lessen your anxiety. even if its min wage. then you don't NEED that dance money as much. you'll still need it, of course, but it won't be your only source of income.
I understand, and I think maybe I needed that attitude check, so thank you. The other girls have been doing poorly as well, with only a handful of exceptions (and those are the sporadic cases of, "I did good but only because my regular/a whale came in and spent $100+ on me.").
And yeah... I'm going to get back in the habit of going in more regularly. I've spoken with my fiance about needing to work more, and he's on-board with helping me out with childcare more often, so now I have no excuses left! :)
And I will say this: There is ONE thing in all of this that I am very proud of myself for, and that is that I have not (and will not) compromised my standards. I don't drop my LD prices because I know it pisses off the other girls when that is done, and I'm not about to get into a cut-throating match because I find that unethical. And I'm not letting them finger me or see my pussy, no matter how slow it is (which is more than I can say for some of the girls in my club). And I do have faith that it's going to pick back up for me.
I just have to force myself to remember that this is a sales job, and like any sales job, you're going to have slow periods. This is just one of those. But I also know that if I keep hustling the way I'm supposed to hustle, it'll get back to normal. I just need to remind myself of that sometimes, I think.
And thank you again for the attitude check. Sometimes I just need that, which is why I come here.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
^ i'm glad i could help :) also, the reason i asked if it was just you, or the club, is because you shouldnt be so down on yourself if its the whole club. not that that's saying you cant blow the rest away, but at least you know it's not just you.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
I think one of the things I'm going to do (and this is probably just my OCD coming out) is to keep count of how many guys I ASK for LDs, and how many actually say yes. I'd be interested to know if the problem is really me getting turned down for LDs, or if I'm just not "popping the question" enough.
How to keep track? Maybe I'll just keep a small notepad in my little hand-purse with me and just mark down the number asked and the number who say yes? I don't know the logistics just yet, but I would personally be interested to know how much of my problem was "nos" and how much of it was being afraid to ask.
Anyone else kept track like this?
ETA: Plus, maybe it will motivate me to ask more people... The whole "Get 100 No's" idea or something.
Re: I need to get my groove back...
well, you should never have to worry about not asking enough people, because you should ask everyone. whether you think he'll say no(you wont know if you dont ask), or his type doesnt normally dance with you(same. you'll never know if you dont try), or he's turned down every other girl in the place(you might be the girl he was waiting for).
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Have you considered traveling? Honestly, that's what I would do. There are many places in this country where people who spend $100 might be considered "cheap" instead of "whales". But it sounds like you are making most of your money from lapdances. I've never really kept count in a notepad how many people say yes or no to a dance. Don't count on your regular for everything, they all start being weird sometime. I think going to a different club may help you a lot. Either way, don't get discouraged!
Re: I need to get my groove back...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AznExtasy
Have you considered traveling? Honestly, that's what I would do. There are many places in this country where people who spend $100 might be considered "cheap" instead of "whales". But it sounds like you are making most of your money from lapdances. I've never really kept count in a notepad how many people say yes or no to a dance. Don't count on your regular for everything, they all start being weird sometime. I think going to a different club may help you a lot. Either way, don't get discouraged!
I can't travel right now... I have three kids in school.
And my $100 regular isn't really considered a "whale", but he IS considered a good regular. The average for girls in my club (normally, not since the first) is about $200 on a weekday/weeknight shift and $300-$400 for a weekend. I normally average $150 on weekdays and $250 on weekends, which is fine for me. Even our top earners seldom make over $500 on weekends. That's the norm in this club, and in the last club (same town) I worked.