When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
So I'm guessing that most of us are feeling the recession. Last night was especially frustrating for me, and it's got me thinking about maybe finding other work.
So, how low would your average earnings have to drop before dancing wouldn't be worth it to you anymore?
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Wages and employee benefits in Australia are a bit different to there but I've worked it out that I need to make double the average pay rate just to equal what I would be getting working an average job. The reason for this is because I have to take out the House fee that I wouldn't pay in a normal job, plus travel because I most definately wouldn't travel 1 1/2 hours each way for a low income job. I also need to Cover tax of around 40%, then take out another 10% to cover the superannuation contribution that I don't get from an employer, then another 10-15% to put away again just to cover the sick days and holiday pay that I miss out on also as a self employed person. Then I also need to pay a hefty amount for insurance because again, as a self employed worker I'm not covered by an employer for injuries incurred travelling to/from and on the job. So I lose over half of what I make just to cover my obligations to myself as an income earner.
This is before I even get into the added cost of tanning products, make-up, glittery outfits and expensive underwear and a constant round of shoes that die and kill my feet that I wouldn't need to spend if I was working as a checkout chick or manual labourer!
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
It became not worth it when the dr put me on meds for muscle problems. i stressed out so much that it took a horrible toll on my body physically.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
When the other girls are getting too desperate...
When cops start coming in to bust them...
When nobody's making consistent money anymore...
When an average dancer pays more to be at the club than the customers...
When the economy is fucked up
Like now maybe?
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
As soon as I get a call back from the bar where my friend works :)
But in all honesty, when it started consistently dropping to less than $100 a night, which I could easily make waitressing, I pretty much called it a night.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
I stuggle with this a lot myself. And truth is....I have no idea.
Even though there are a LOT more bad nights then good nights , when I average up my income for the month , I still make over 20 bucks a hr. I don't know where you live , but $10 bucks a hr is considered a good job here... most people would KILL for a $15 dollar a hr job.
Of course when those good nights roll around , it is such a big relief now. It always seems like just when I say to myself , ''this is enough , its not worth it'' then I will have a night where I bank , and that enables me to hold on.
There are days I hate my job. The hours suck when you have small kids , the men were dicks , I had one to many people try to grope me , and I go home with min. wage. And those days are coming around a lot more lately.
But every once in awhile , when the gods smile upon me , I still have a good night. I meet a gentleman who tips well and treats me with respect , and go home with a purse full of money and a smile on my face.
I just don't know. When does it become to much? I have worked in this field for over 7 yrs straight. Am I burnt out? What would I do if I quit?
The money calls to me. Even though its not as much as I used to make , or would even like to make , its more then a ''normal'' job pays , even on a bad month. And I have a lot more reponsibilities now...mortgage , car payment , two kids , ect.
As tough as it is right now , untill hubby gets out of school , I just have to suck it up and survive.
And WE WILL survive , right?
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
You know I've been asking myself this question a lot lately. The numbers just haven't been there. When I start viewing $100 as good I'm thinking it might be time to look for something else to do. I work in what is mainly a summer town so it's not surprising that things slowed, but it's really been a little more than just slow lately. Last Saturday I sat around reading a newspaper for more than half my shift (which was 6 hrs) because there were literally 3 guys in. Of course, then I look at it as though if I were working only 6hrs at a regular job then I wouldn't even be making $100 and I would definitely have to be working more than the 4 days a week that I do.... this is about the time I say to myself... eh I'll do this awhile longer still. :)
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
shit it's really not worth it now...but i love my 7 inch heels to much to hang them up. plus i love walking around all day wearing next to nothing. im not really a fan of clothes. :)
i think im gonna look for a bartending job. because no matter how broke people get, they will always want a beer....and while guys are spending less on strippers, they're spending more on booze. and hell, my mom thinks i'm an effing bartender any-damn-way
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tempest666
right this second >:(
haha love you tempest.
To answer the question ill know when the time has come im still making good money now so its all good x
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
i'm starting to think i'm gonna just wait until i graduate... give the economy 3 or 4 more years to pick up. i don't NEED the money (no kid, no bills, live on campus). and even tho i like the money, i think the economy has had a toll on hiring girls too.. so that x number of spots in high class clubs available to black woman have gotten alot smaller and i don't make the cut.
I'll still be young by then, 21,22.
In the mean time, i may look into what someone else said and try to get a bartending license :)
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
I'm giving it till the end of this year. It's gotten so slow... I made $211 last night after taxes and fees/tipout! Saturday night?!?!
I love dancing, but I don't want to have to rely on it for much longer.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tempest666
right this second >:(
Same here. Besides, it doesn't make things any easier if management sucks ass. Even if the money is bad, its just easier to work where you're treated well by management.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MysteriousMisty
Same here. Besides, it doesn't make things any easier if management sucks ass. Even if the money is bad, its just easier to work where you're treated well by management.
That's terrible to make shit money and be treated like shit on top of it by the mgmt that's supposed to support you.
It was no longer worth it to me when I started feeling lucky to leave with $100 and not leave owing the club money, that's just pathetic!
I remember back when I used to cry if I made $300 on a Sat night, oh I sure wouldn't cry now!
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
It's no longer worth it to me right now. I view it as a "backup plan" only. I'll only step foot in the club if we come to some sort of cash emergency and need $50 (cause that's about all I'd make, haha)
I am still looking for a job, and we are pretty much living off of what I made in Phoenix (not much...$500, divied up $100 a week for food) plus my husband's pay, which isn't much. Things are super tight, we have just enough $$ for food, rent and to pay our utilities.
I just can't bear the thougt of dancing right now. The clientele has become intolerable and the money....well that goes without saying. I tired sticking around for as long as I could, doing the whole "positive thinking" thing but positive thinking can only get you so far. If people don't have money, they simply don't have it. No amount of brain power is gonna make money magically appear in their pockets.
I also grew very tired of getting ready, doing my hair, makeup, putting so much energy into that, and not to mention wasting my cosmetics and hair goods, all to go to work and make house fee. I simply cannot afford to not make the money back that I spend on that kind of stuff.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LuvlyDancer
When an average dancer pays more to be at the club than the customers...
damn....that is a point to ponder. Fuckin scary. I never thought of it like that, but now that I do, it really makes me a little queasy
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
when I start only making $100-$150 per night, I will move on. Since the start of the year my home club cut our staff from 33 to 14. Yup, 19 people laid off. As of 2 weeks ago the club no longer has a day shift at all. We will no longer be serving food(cooks were among the 19 that got laid off). There also rumors that the club may start charging a fee to turn in funny money. Even with these changes I am unsure if we will make it to the end of the year...
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
when i make less than i did teaching, which is pretty close to happening right now.
when i first started i averaged 300 a shift. by that i mean, i used to write down what i made every day, and by the end of the month when i totaled it and averaged it out, that's what i was making... about 300 a shift. i remember being upset when i'd make less than 150. that money helped get me out of a rough spot at the time.
my money has dropped slowly ever since, but it's always still been enough for me to take the time i need to go to school. now it's to the point where i find myself skipping class or taking less classes than i should because i need to work extras days "in case" i have some shifts where i leave with nothing (like today).
i'd say my daily average now is 100 bucks. that means i -have- to work 5 shifts a week just to keep my bills paid. i don't have much time for studying or for creative endeavors anymore, which is pretty sad.
hell, the total i made for the last 5 shifts i worked (after tip-outs) is 410 ... which is only 82.00 a day.
i used to tell myself shit like "hey, that's still like 13 bucks an hour" but when i think about it... with all the getting ready i have to do, the bullshit i put up with, the money i spend on shoes/clothes/make-up, the physical stress i have to put my body through .......... it's -really- not worth it anymore.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Oksana23
when I start only making $100-$150 per night, I will move on. Since the start of the year my home club cut our staff from 33 to 14. Yup, 19 people laid off. As of 2 weeks ago the club no longer has a day shift at all. We will no longer be serving food(cooks were among the 19 that got laid off). There also rumors that the club may start charging a fee to turn in funny money. Even with these changes I am unsure if we will make it to the end of the year...
i wanted to add something to my previous response.
i choose to work dayshift... and i have a sneaking suspicion that in, say, 4 months... they will be closing down the dayshift. the club is almost never turning a profit on days anymore. they are either breaking even or coming up short. hell, i heard it's been like that with about 1/2 the nightshifts lately too. after they figure out the employee pay costs with all the floormen, bartenders, djs, managers, door people, etc...
also, i find it pretty entertaining that so many girls in this thread have mentioned bartending. i too, am trying to get a job doing so.
Re: When would stripping no longer be worth it to you?
Ya know....even though I've had some pretty bad nights lately, (bad=less than $200,) I'm still making more money than I ever had previous to dancing. And I work half as much as a regular job. I've only been dancing for a year, though, and I'm sure if I had started dancing a few years ago when the money was flowing and got used to making $$$ every night, I'd feel differently now. Luckily I share an apartment with 2 people, my bills add up to like $800 a month, and I don't have any kids or school loans. So maybe I'm in a small margin when I say this, but stripping is still definitely worth doing to me, at the moment. If I ever get to the point where I have to work more than 4 nights a week to make ends meet, (which is the most I can physically/mentally handle in this business,) then I'd be looking for another job.