Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I know nobody here really likes to talk about their income, and I'm not really asking that, but I want to see if I have this completely backwards:
I often hear that the average yearly income for a stripper is 30-40k. However, I have it figured out like this:
I should be able to make at least $1,250 a week at a good club. I may have to work long hours, but even if I work 5 days a week like a normal job and tell myself that I can't leave until I make $250 that night, I'm golden. Like any night I may make more or I may make less, and if that's the case, I'll just work more hours for more days.
So I will aim for $1,250 a week. There are 52 weeks in a year and I'm only going multiply it by 49 weeks because I want some time off here and there. If that's the case my yearly income should be a little over $61,000.
Is that really that far fetched!?
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I don't think that is far fetched at all, it's definitely doable!
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I think most strippers (who pay taxes) would under-report their earnings.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
My last full calendar year of dancing, I made just over $50,000. That was two-three nights a week during school and full time during summer break and Christmas break. And, of course, the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and USGP were good for bank. So, $60,000+ per year for full time sounds doable.
HTH
Z
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
very doable if you stick to that schedule
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
It's doable! I work half another job and half stripping right now, but those numbers are totally doable IF you can stand being in the club 5 days a week. $250 a night is very realistic. I just can't be in the club 5 days a week and so I'm only there 2-3 and I'm glad for the mix ( it works for me ). I'd honestly factor 6 weeks off though. But .... I'm a person that needs " refresh time " . I think you'll find that with lots of shifts worked per week, you'll want a full week off every two months, but you never know!
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
It depends on the earning potential in your region. Some places, the 'good' clubs only offer ~200 a shift in earnings as a norm, with much more quite rare. Other places, 1000/shift is possible, and 500-700 doable regularly with assertive hustling, etc.
It also depends on your own limits. Some places you will have trouble earning consistent money at your chosen limits and may have to travel to find clubs that match your needs.
Before planning income ranges, you should know what the earnings ceilings are like in your general area. plus details like, 'are the clubs here only full of customers 2-3 hours a night/day or can i make money throughout my shift?' 'is there only money on weekends/weeknights/dance special nights?'
while many dancers can work 5-6 days a week, many cannot or will not, which is part of the reason there is so much focus on how to make 500+ or 1k+ a shift. also something else to keep in mind.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
Most dancers cheat on their taxes since we have to pay completely out of pocket. The higher the income the higher the tax bracket and if there is no paper trail of your income then why report every single dollar?
I'm guessing the medium range for dancers is $50,000 (considering they are completely lazy).
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
There are plenty of ways to track money even if there's no w2-style 'paper trail'. And with a lot of clubs, there is still a paper trail. relatively few dancers can hide in a mattress (so to speak) the amount of money that could be successfully laundered clean to buy a home or business with no legal worries on the horizon. Those with that kind of earning ability are generally pretty honest and pay on the income legitimately.
Frankly, if a dancer is really making that phat cash and not being legit over a couple thou in taxes, she's pissing away opportunities to spin that income into legit business opportunities that could make the dancing earnings look like peanuts. She's missing the dollars for the pennies.
The median and mean for dancers are much lower than 50k because relatively few dancers work full time (generously defining full time as 2x per week or more for 40 weeks per year or more), keeping the overall amount pretty low.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
Clubs don't keep track of individual girl's tips; they are only responsible for the house fees and revenues that are paid to them. The only type of paper-trail traceable for dancers is bank statements and (large) purchases but if they have neither then there is no way to determine the exact dollar amount. You can still launder money and make expensive purchases but the math becomes a bit trickery. Even if you report legitimately you still have the risk of being audited. You just have to make sure your numbers match up in the off occasion that it happens.
Full time is classified as a minimum of twice per week/ forty weeks a year? That's considered part-time to pretty much anyone you ask. I know very few dancers that work less than two days a week.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
May I advise you to do what we do/did: Get a big, bad ass safe, put all your cash in it, and at the end of the month count it up and do deductions as necessary for the quarter/annual what have you. This will be my first year getting right with the system and this has been very advantageous.
Secondly, dude, you're shooting low! Depending on your market, and the year, everything is variable! My first year in Atlanta ( 2003 ) I was banging out $20k a month working four days a week; compared to my first year LIVING in Las Vegas ( not to be confused with travel dancing in years prior ) I was trucking home about $9.5k to $11k/mo. I don't wish to volunteer what I make now ( as my husband is the primary household income and I work about 3x per two weeks, if that ) but we are totally doing the same system.
Think of it this way. I would aim for a MINIMUM of 15 dances per night. 15 x 20 = 300, divided by an eight hour shift = around a little less than 2 dances per hour, excluding stage tips. Completely and incredibly do-able, even if you just kinda cruise around on a semi busy night.
Don't go off of what any other data or girls say. Set your own method as to what you think you want to/deserve to make, stick by it, find a formula, and rock it right the fuck out.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NREXM
Clubs don't keep track of individual girl's tips; they are only responsible for the house fees and revenues that are paid to them. The only type of paper-trail traceable for dancers is bank statements and (large) purchases but if they have neither then there is no way to determine the exact dollar amount. You can still launder money and make expensive purchases but the math becomes a bit trickery. Even if you report legitimately you still have the risk of being audited. You just have to make sure your numbers match up in the off occasion that it happens.
Full time is classified as a minimum of twice per week/ forty weeks a year? That's considered part-time to pretty much anyone you ask. I know very few dancers that work less than two days a week.
You don't have good information regarding the monitoring of primarily cash-income businesses and sole proprietors. The Dollar Den covers some of this sort of thing for girls who boast about making thousands a night and paying no tax.
There is no 'full time' classification for strippers or other independent contractors. I purposely used a very generous notion of what full time might mean as an illustrative example given the number you were throwing out as an average. Stripping is not really a line of work where the overwhelming majority of girls work 4-5 days a week. So it's not likely the average is 50k/yr. But the average doesn't mean anything precisely because stripping is work you can do 5 days a year all the way up to 5 days a week.
I am pretty surprised you know any dancers given your commentary about other dancers. The more you know!
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
no. i don't make as much money as i could because i don't work fucking ever. but when i do work, i do very well, so it's find of fucked up, because if i worked year round, jesus christ, i would have so much money, it's stupid.
just keep in mind that aside from underreporting, some of us are just flaky as hell, and can't be bothered to show up for work all the time because we are busy doing other things. like shopping online and going to wine tastings.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I think it depends a lot where you are. Between the 19th August and 19th April (with a break just before Christmas) I pulled in €32,000. We paid tax in the club I was in before Christmas, but afterwards only €1500 a month was declared....
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
Very reasonable. If I work 4 days a week, I shoot for $2500/week that was during the winter. The summer has slowed down a lot. My system was $2500/week x 52 weeks = Over $100K. I took some weeks off for my breast augmentation and for vacation so it won't be that high but it's do-able.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
for the sake of accurate information, let me point out the following ...
By law, all income from whatever source ( exceeding $700 total per year ) is supposed to be reported via a federal ( and state ) tax return
Even if a club does not issue 1099 or W2 official reports of income to dancers, clubs DO keep records such as nightly dancer schedules, private dance lists etc. which could potentially be used by the IRS or state tax agency to 'prove' the existance of unreported dancer income
The IRS and state tax agencies receive automatic reports of individual 'spending' from state motor vehicle agencies, real estate deed registrars, college bursars, banks and brokers, and under some circumstances even from retailers. This info is employed by the IRS and state tax agencies to identify unreported income from the spending side. For example, if a dancer buys a car costing $25,000 and involving a $500+ monthly payment, it is virtually guaranteed that the IRS and state tax agencies will run a cross-check to see if the person who purchased and registered this car reported enough income last year to cover making a $500+ monthly car payment ( on top of local zip code based costs of living which the IRS also tracks ).
Also, as a result of tighter regulations, virtually all potential lenders are now required to verify income before approving new loans. And at minimum this requires a check of bank account cash flows plus tax returns. Or put another way, cash stuffed in a safe does not count as official income where lenders or credit rating is concerned.
Combining all of this basically means that if you are operating on the cash stuffed in a safe business model, unless you never spend more than $3,000 to purchase anything for the rest of your life, the odds are fairly high that some significant purchase / investment / loan application you make could attract the attention of the IRS.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I think it's doable, I made right under 40k working 1 or 2 nights a week. I had a day job and it just wasn't practicle to work more often at that time.
Oh, and I have no clue why people are weird about talking about money. It's always confused me. I don't care how much anyone makes. Do most people really give a crap? I only care if I make enough to live comfortably.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
I always said that I was going to report enough income to qualify myself for a lease on an apartment and to finance a car at some point. Eventually I'll have a mortgage in my name as well.
This means if I need 40k a year to pull that shit off then that's what I'll report. When I want a mortgage I'll report more. The rest of my money will go toward whatever the hell I want it to go toward. Probably little purchases. We'll see how it works out. I want to avoid the AMT tax which I think kicks in at 42k/year, no?
I'll probably underreport, yes, but only 10-20k/yearly. Depending on how much I make. I want to be able to invest my money and save it and do what I want without having to worry about a bunch of BS.
You know?
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
To the OP:
I'm aiming for 1k a week at my club, working 5-6 nights a week. I've been cautioned about the physical strain and the fact that you can get burnt out from the environment. The ability to make that kind of money for two weeks straight may be very easy, but your body may crash on you one day from the work...which is physically demanding. I'm going to try and do what you are doing, so I hope that we can do it, my advice to you is to exercise NOW and take care of your body NOW.
I HAVE to start figuring out how I can get some exercise in. I think I'm going to try and work out a few days a week now to get ready.
Re: Do I have this money thing completely backwards?
To be fair, part of the reason strippers don't work full-time is because it's extremely easy to get burned out in this job. Every girl I've seen who has tried to work that much has burned out extremely quickly. One girl did a couple of years and then burned out. Everyone has limits.