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What did you do when you thought about stripping?
What did you do when you first thought about stripping?
Did you practice and exercise before you decided to join a strip club or did you just jump right into the game and learned as you went along?
Also what do you think would be the best thing to do out of the two (Previous question) and if you could start all over again would you?
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I 'jumped right in' ... mostly because a new club had just opened and they needed dancers to start immediately. I was 'hurtin' pretty badly for the first couple of weeks, even though I had previously been maintaining a semi-regular workout schedule.
if I had it to do all over again, this is what I would do differently ...
- I would NOT have spent several years and thousands of dollars in college tuition to become a Respiratory Therapist
- I would NOT have spent several more years working nights, weekends, holidays etc. in hospitals, thus exposing myself to patient diseases, in exchange for an after-tax paycheck that provided little more than a 'hand to mouth' existance
- instead, I would have gone directly into exotic dancing after graduating from high school ... thus banking an extra several years worth of higher earnings.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
ha, this is really embarrassing..but i was around 109 pounds, and i still worked out hard core because i believed that all strippers were SUPER skinny and tanned. i was also convinced that all they did was do pole tricks on stage, so i went out into my yard ( i lived out in the boonies) and practiced on small trees * face palm *. i was also incredibly self conscious about my small breast and thought i would be turned down because of them.
i also went out and bought big ugly sparkly uncomfortable civilian hills because i had never seen real stripper heels.
other question, if i had to do it all over again, i would have started way earlier, saved WAY more, not shit where i ate ( being immediate besties with a dancer and dating a scummy customer), and i wish to god i had found stripper web earlier!!
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I had just finished graduating high school and lost my minimum wage job. Desperation had me doing searches on jobs. Saw an ad on the job section on Craigslist and saw I could make 150 - 300 dollars per night; I thought say no more, sign me up and jumped right into it.
I walked in unprepared to audition with no make up and normal everyday clothing. It was a dive club so I was hired anyways. I drove down to rainbows with the last little bit of money I had left and bought some ugly boy shorts and a bra. I also bought some regular heels from Payless and that's how it all started. I cringe just thinking how i started but that goes to show that anything is possible if you keep at it.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
My story is also somewhat embarrassing but I thought being a dancer was actually dancing and that people paid me depending on how well I dance. So I go to a club and the manager tells me it's not that way at all! That it has to do with teasing the men and the money is paid on tips and dances, not a salary. So I thought about it and in the meantime transferred colleges. A few months later auditioned at another club, was hired and realized that being a good dancer isn't the difference. I made $7 dollars that day (well $12 but had to give $5 to the DJ). I learned the tricks and next time made more. By a year later I went to another club, and made $385 my first night, which sounds low but this was a no contact bikini bar with $5 dances so it was a lot.
What would I have done differently? put more money into it at first instead of spending. I had never made that kind of money and went crazy buying things, like $100 in sweaters. I would have invested more in costumes in the first place and only bought a couple instead of buying several that ended up not being money makers. I would have started earlier and also would have made sure not to get caught up in the drama. I was naive thinking everyone would become my friend until I realized most dancers are bitches and not to become friends, but stay friendly at out of drama.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I just jumped right into it. My best friend at the time, had an older sister that was dancing and her club had recently lost a lot of girls so one day she called me and the next day I went. I'd say the best thing to do is to jump right into it, as long as your body is in decent shape. What I would have done differently was to treat dancing like an actual job and not like a party. I could have been so much better off financially if I stuck to a schedule, didn't get wasted at work, and was responsible with my money. Another thing I would have avoided was dating, it wasn't so much dancing that made dating hard but the type of men I was attracted to when I first started dancing that were no good.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
Waited like 4 years being too scared. Doing my research. Right before I started I practiced floor moves, bought a few cheap outfits and heels then finally did it. Some people think if you don't jump right it you may never but.. Here I am. Lol. Stripping and happy.
I would nottt start all over. Maybe tweak some things but start over with fitting in, learning moves, not having a great hustle... Idk if that's what you mean but no lol.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I was a bartender at a strip club for a little over a week before I started stripping. I'd stare at the dancers on stage and fantasize about being up there and what it would be like lol....so some of the girls taught me some moves after the club closed and I got hooked :goodvibes
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
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i would have started way earlier, saved WAY more,
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I could have been so much better off financially if I stuck to a schedule, didn't get wasted at work, and was responsible with my money
Indeed. Even for girls who got into dancing at an earlier point in their lives than I did, many fail to treat dancing as a 'serious, professional' career. They only work when they 'feel like it'. And while working, they don't make that much of an effort to separate customers from their money. As a result, they wind up earning say $500 a week instead of the $1500+ they could have earned. In terms of cold hard finances, this is really no better than the take-home pay I was earning as a Respiratory Therapist ( although I was working 40+ hours per week, while the part-time half-hearted dancers may only be spending 12-16 hours to earn the same $500 after tax ).
The point, of course, is that girls who treat dancing as a 'serious, professional' career versus a part-time, half-hearted means to pay their bills and fund their lifestyle have the potential to earn and save / invest an additional $50k per year. Doing that for 10 years, while keeping lifestyle spending 'under control', can create a ~$600,000 'nest egg' which in turn is able to produce something like $30,000 of annual passive income for the rest of their lives ... about the same amount that I would still be earning if I had continued working as a Respiratory Therapist instead of dancing !
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
i saw a sex-workers art show and felt inspired by a girl who performed a musical song/ dance/ comedy piece about how she used to work in a Chuck E Cheese costume before she became a dancer.
Went home and googled phrases like "how to be a stripper" or "stripper FAQ" and found this page (this was almost 8 years ago):
http://www.stripper-faq.org/faq.htm
(...Is this one of you??)
And then i found Stripperweb. I followed advice and went to the "hooker stores" in town and bought clear industry-standard heels with ankle straps and two awkward gowns. Auditioned at a lower-tier club before heading for the one I wanted. Tried move slowly and sensually like I practiced, but i'm pretty sure i was sweating and shaking the whole 3 minutes i was up there.
If i could start over again I would've headed to my current club after my 3rd year instead of the 6th. I put it off for so long because of various excuses, including feeling intimidated by horror stories. Turns out the environment was actually familiar- just as competitive as busy nights at some of my old clubs, but for double the income. Standards and stress-levels were definitely higher, but nothing i couldnt handle.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
A lot of these stories and experiences are really interesting, it really helps someone like me who is trying to get an understanding of stripping before i start.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
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Originally Posted by
AlenaRoza
Waited like 4 years being too scared. Doing my research. Right before I started I practiced floor moves, bought a few cheap outfits and heels then finally did it. Some people think if you don't jump right it you may never but.. Here I am. Lol. Stripping and happy.
I would nottt start all over. Maybe tweak some things but start over with fitting in, learning moves, not having a great hustle... Idk if that's what you mean but no lol.
This sounds a lot like me, i'm currently trying to do research while practicing before i start to strip, looking and observing other peoples knowledge about the industry does comfort me and gives me some confidence in some way.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I came to SW..... I read books... I researched. I sought out friends of friends of friends that could help me out. I asked questions. I watched videos. I got trim and got my look together.
The rest is history.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I just worked out to tone up my abs (I'm naturally almost anorexic looking) and applied to cocktail waitress at an 18+ juice bar club... I bought some outfits and an old pair of shoes from another stripper off craigslist. I remember she was retiring and was telling me how she paid for her townhouse and raised her son all alone with her income; she told me where the most lucrative (at the time) clubs were; she probably would have been an absolute gold mine of information had I sat to pick her brain!
I made $14 my first night dancing; don't think I stayed very long either; I remember dancing for a guy who looked like my half-brother and being SO skeeved out. I eventually worked my way up to the better clubs. I didn't discover SW until last year and that's when I started to actually apply a few sales skills.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I just jumped in. I actually lied to the first club I worked at & said I'd danced before because that seemed easier. Funny enough the club was such a backwards dive that everyone there couldn't possible have given a shit less. I guess I'm glad because it didn't make me seem as vulnerable.
Whenever I thought about stripping I really didn't relate to it. To me it was very much about making a decision and pretty much stepping up and crossing a line. Everything after that felt very natural to me or else I'd have quit.
Ha- I also wore civilian heels for my first few months dancing! (And I'm pretty sure I did my audition in a tube top re-purposed as a skirt...) I didn't like the style of stripper heels, finally someone pointed out the practicality of them- they are made FOR this industry- (with grips & curved front) So- go get some good shoes.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I really didn't prepare much at all. The only thing I did was buy a pair of clear stripper heels and used a club top I'd worn before and a mini skirt. I jumped right in that night and left with $400.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I had just moved to my current state and after applying for 50+ jobs in two weeks and getting nothing back, I decided to go to my local mid-tier and ask what was required for a dancing job. After a five minute interview and some paperwork (W9, scanning of identification, etc), I was told to come back with some heels, a bra and thong set and a mini dress. I cringe at the idea of what I wore when I first started, a lot of it was borrowed or improvised. I wore civilian heels for two weeks until I got my first pair of stripper heels in the mail, I was a 'Wal-mart stripper' for about a week and a half and then bought some of my own thong bikini sets from my local dancewear store. I didn't practice, I didn't exercise. I honestly didn't think I would need to, and I was both right and wrong for thinking so. I picked things up extremely fast, but I was really out of shape when I started despite the fact that I was thin. I busted ass a lot, for about three months.
If I could go back and do it all over again I definitely would. Stripping is one of the only things I've picked up quickly. It's given me the tools to make myself a comfortable, stable life for myself and my family.
If I could change anything, I would have probably focused more on appealing to a wider audience instead of trying to go for the uber-goth look my first year. I would have invested in better quality outfits that lasted longer, discovered Stripperweb earlier, and taken a more professional, sales-oriented approach to my job. I wish I had also learned to save my receipts (it took a year for me to get on the ball about it for tax reasons). Since changing all of these things my earnings have gone up though.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
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Originally Posted by
Melonie
Indeed. Even for girls who got into dancing at an earlier point in their lives than I did, many fail to treat dancing as a 'serious, professional' career. They only work when they 'feel like it'. And while working, they don't make that much of an effort to separate customers from their money. As a result, they wind up earning say $500 a week instead of the $1500+ they could have earned. In terms of cold hard finances, this is really no better than the take-home pay I was earning as a Respiratory Therapist ( although I was working 40+ hours per week, while the part-time half-hearted dancers may only be spending 12-16 hours to earn the same $500 after tax ).
The point, of course, is that girls who treat dancing as a 'serious, professional' career versus a part-time, half-hearted means to pay their bills and fund their lifestyle have the potential to earn and save / invest an additional $50k per year. Doing that for 10 years, while keeping lifestyle spending 'under control', can create a ~$600,000 'nest egg' which in turn is able to produce something like $30,000 of annual passive income for the rest of their lives ... about the same amount that I would still be earning if I had continued working as a Respiratory Therapist instead of dancing !
^This.
If I could go back and do it all over again, I'd take this job seriously and save, save, save. I literally have nothing to show for all of my years in the business, and it's pathetic.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I have wanted to strip since I was 13, but never really considered it until I lost a lot of weight when I was 19, and I started when I was 20. I bought shoes a year before I started and practiced dancing in the mirror.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I also jumped right in due to financial desperation. I had depended on my ex for financial support, had only held a few min.wage jobs, never finished my degree. When I decided I wanted to leave that relationship, I had to find a way to get my own place, pay my bills, etc I had dreamed about dancing for years (my ex and I used to go to strip clubs together as a couple.) I always admired dancers as goddesses and always wanted to try it..but he wouldn't "let" me. I made about $400 my first night and moved out/broke up with my ex the next day! Within a month I had my own place and was completely independent-making more than my ex!
If I could back in time (as others have said) I would have taken it more seriously and treated it as a career instead of a temporary means to an end.
I would have saved more and I would have scoped out the clubs more thoroughly before moving to Chicago. It's taken me a long time to find a new club home.
I also would not have taken such long breaks from dancing. Before I got my pregnant with my son, I had already quit dancing for 6+ months. I also took this summer off and now I wish I hadn't. Oh well...
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
I did some research online first and found this site. A lot of ppl told me to not spend a ton if money in outfits and shoes but just dive in so I kinda did. I used Halloween outfits and fun lingerie I had and some sky high civilian shoes I already had. All I spent money on was a bit of makeup and clip in extensions from Ulta.
I didn't up my exercise because I was already rail thin at the time from depression and breast feeding and exercising a lot but was very self conscious about my breasts. I already knew some pole dancing and that was nice because it made my audition a bit less awkward I think.
I think jumping right in is best. I know there's some people who've been on this site for years and still haven't done it lol
Know you dont have to spend a ton of money right away. I did he right thing. I bought the bare necessities and immediately took care of the things my child needed, fixed all my fillings and started paying things off.
Later down the road (about 10 months ago() I hit a really rough spot. I got shingles and couldn't work for a month, I began having frequent bouts of depression beginning with the shingles and gained weight and began drinking too much at work to deal with insecurities. I wish I would have stayed sober. I have been now for about three months and am 20 lbs lighter and made about 10k in the last 4 weeks.
If I could do it over I'd save even more than I did., and stay away from alcohol. I don't use drugs ever but stay away from that crap, too. I feel like I'm at the ultimate hustler status and I wish I had realized it sooner that it's actually quite simple... When people don't give you money just walk away. Someone else will, don't waste your time smoking or drinking with customers unless they're giving you 20 a song for your company.
Positivity and confidence attracts wealth. I've found four days in a row works for me. I stopped beating myself up about taking a day off, and over how much I make. When I don't have wjat I wanted or thought I'd make I work hard mentally to be grateful and instead think of how much these 600 dollars will add to the amount I already have and I think about how most people don't even make that in five days.
Don't take anything for granted including YOURSELF, know you're worth every dime you receive and give yourself credit for your hard work. Set your boundaries and don't let anyone overstep them no matter how much money they offer, because it might break you.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
^beautifully written and entirely accurate. Something for girls considering this job/career to read over and think about! Also with people hitting a lull or beating themselves up about earnings.
I've only been dancing a month, and already I get depressed when I leave with about $100 in my wallet, but it pays to step back and realize it's $100 more than I had, and, when you calculate the hours, it's still well above minimum wage.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
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Originally Posted by
lokikola
I wish I had realized it sooner that it's actually quite simple... When people don't give you money just walk away. Someone else will, don't waste your time smoking or drinking with customers unless they're giving you 20 a song for your company.
Positivity and confidence attracts wealth. I've found four days in a row works for me. I stopped beating myself up about taking a day off, and over how much I make. When I don't have wjat I wanted or thought I'd make I work hard mentally to be grateful and instead think of how much these 600 dollars will add to the amount I already have and I think about how most people don't even make that in five days..
Oh my gosh! This! I used to be the WORST about talking, and talking, and sitting with guys FOREVER who weren't paying me! I think back on those days and cringe...I can't believe I would sit there and give them all that attention for free...just hoping they would eventually buy a dance! I also learned over time that (for me) it's better to think about your earnings week by week or even month by month rather than by the day. Slow days happen but it usually all evens out by the end of the work week. It definitely helps to weigh that against what people make at min. wage jobs! One thing I need to start doing again is keeping a nightly journal of my profits: How much I brought home per day/per week and calculating how much it is per hour. On average I made about $60-$80 an hour. I'm sure some dancers make much more but still, it sure beats the hell out of $8.25/hr PLUS tax taken out!
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
At 18, I worked at a night club that had a punk rock/gothic/emo type vibe to it. I was both a stage/cage dancer and bartender. On slower nights, you actually made more money dancing than tending. Slowly but surely, the bar tender's/dancer's outfits got smaller and shorter. Even some of the bottoms were not much better than thongs. There was one "stripper" who came to the club often. She was really cool and a smart ass to me. I was complaining one night about the outfits we had to wear and she was in ear shot of my conversation. She said that if I didn't mind dancing in next to nothing, I could make a lot more money stripping. I thought about it for a week or so, and then one day we got to see some of the new outfits that had been picked for us - what I'd describe as half corsets, booty shorts than barely covered one butt cheek, and fishnets with boots - and also we'd have to now pay for our outfits... I honestly just figured that I'd rather get paid to take it off than pretend I wasn't already stripping just for a lot less money...
Next time I saw my "stripper" friend, I asked her if I could take her to lunch and pick her brain about dancing. The rest my friends is history.
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Re: What did you do when you thought about stripping?
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Originally Posted by
Goddess_Of_Earth_Gaia
What did you do when you first thought about stripping?
I did retail and restaurant work before stripping ever entered my life. I retired after 9 years of dancing, and worked in the construction business, then took an HR job for a construction company. After 6 months in HR, I knew I would kill myself if I had to spend another 10 years glued to a desk, so I went back to stripping.
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Originally Posted by
Goddess_Of_Earth_Gaia
Did you practice and exercise before you decided to join a strip club or did you just jump right into the game and learned as you went along?
Jumped right in. I'm sure I must have looked like a spaz on stage, but no one actually said that.
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Originally Posted by
Goddess_Of_Earth_Gaia
Also what do you think would be the best thing to do out of the two (Previous question) and if you could start all over again would you?
Jumping right in is the best way to go because if you don't like it for whatever reason, you didn't waste a lot of time and/or money "getting ready." I recommend that the newbie dancer not spend more than $200 on gear (including shoes) until she knows if this is going to work for her. Most dancers don't make it a whole week when first starting out. Even more are gone w/i 3 months.