Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
So I recently took a 6 month break from dancing. I had a part-time day job but it was entry level I felt like I was wasting my time and I was insulted to be doing it after all the amount of school I went to.
So I went back to a club I worked at before. They did away with their champagne rooms which I used to make 1k off regularly.
There is a psycho girl there who I hate, and the new manager is a jerk who talks down to us.
They also take the house fee upfront, and the manager hired a bunch of girls, more than we need, and there is competition and stress. I left in the hole this week and barely made $.
My boyfriend is paying most of our bills and told me to get a day job (entry level or even something worse like retail)
I feel like I definitely have a few more years left before retirement... I just want to go back to making good money again!
Any suggestions if you've been through a slump like this? There aren't many good clubs in my area..one I can't go back to and wouldn't want to, one is touchy which I can't handle, one fired me for being "too big" at 5'5 and 125 lbs and there is another one but the owners are friends with this other owner who hates me.
This has me feeling so burnt out and depressed I don't think I can handle a 40 hr a week day job.
I don't know what to do!!
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
An up front question ... are you and your bf inexorably tied to this specific city ??? The 'grass' might be 'greener' for both of you if you relocated !
In terms of your observations about changes in local strip clubs over the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion about this in other SW threads. In a nutshell, the clubowners are seeing declining revenues because of reduced customers / reduced spending per customer ... while at the same time they are seeing rising taxes, rising utility bills, etc. So clubowners are motivated to make changes to increase the club's revenues ... despite the fact that those changes may also reduce dancer earnings. Thus it's not surprising to see changes such as more dancers working per shift ( = more house fees for the club ), higher contact levels ( attracts additional customers to the club, although the new customers may be seeking 'extras' rather than entertainment ), stricter dancer hiring standards at 'upscale' clubs ( attracts more high earning 'upscale' customers ), etc.
I don't mean to be callous in saying this, but with the ongoing poor economy and the changes being made to the strip club business model to allow the clubs to remain profitable, dancers who aren't willing to offer the high contact levels that are becoming expected in 'regular' clubs, and who can't 'measure up' to stricter hiring standards at 'upscale' clubs with lower contact requirements, simply may not be able to 'go back to making good money again'.
In terms of recommendations, again I don't mean to be callous but the 'stripping' business is in fact changing and successful dancers arguably need to change with it. First option would be to relocate to a different city where the local economy and local strip club environment are better than the city you are presently living in. Second option would be to make a major effort at working out / dieting / improving personal appearance so that you have a better chance of being hired by the 'upscale' club in your present city.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
There is nothing wrong w/ retail if you can land a full-time position that will get you insurance & workers comp benefits. I am not dancing right now, partly bc of severe injuries to my feet that would require surgery to fix. But after all the yrs of NOT having insurance in case smtg went wrong, as much as I hate the 40hrs, being up at 0530 almost every day & other restrictions, those benefits are worth it.
Ideally I would be working a full time vanilla position (admittedly not this one) & dance one or two nites a wk as supplemental income. Tangible benefits + savings boost.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Not sure if you want a blue POV here, but here goes: your Bf at least sounds like a stand-up guy, paying most of the bills, but I'm not sure how that qualifies him to tell you what job to get. Perhaps I'm missing something.
I'd suggest the answer probably lies in re-addressing your issues with the list of clubs you mentioned. A good exercise would be to say, "what would I do if bf suddenly wasn't there?" If the answer is a day job, then by all means consider it.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
If you don't wanna travel, maybe you could consider a club like 1 - 2hrs away? This's what I'm looking into.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aniela
There is nothing wrong w/ retail if you can land a full-time position that will get you insurance & workers comp benefits.
Yes employee benefits are great but if you are wise with your money you can get insurance independently without an employer. Be wise with your money so you don't have to work a job that is not a good fit for you solely for the benefits.
If you have to work an office job, a 9-5, etc. do what you have to do then on your off time be looking for the career you really want or moonlight.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
miss.a.p1600
Yes employee benefits are great but if you are wise with your money you can get insurance independently without an employer. Be wise with your money so you don't have to work a job that is not a good fit for you solely for the benefits.
If you have to work an office job, a 9-5, etc. do what you have to do then on your off time be looking for the career you really want or moonlight.
Agree. Have the straight FT job for benefits, & resumé-padding if necessary/desired, put the stripping $$$$ in savings/investments & work towards a more independent work arrangement.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
I think sometimes we overreact to thinking managers/owners "hate" us. Chances are, unless this owner is a true psycho, or unless you did something remarkably bad, his friends haven't heard anything about you. So many girls come and go in clubs that it's unrealistic. Plus, this owner probably knows you by your stage name primarily. It's not like he's filing a report of your name, social security number, and known aliases to blacklist you at every club he can, you now? So I don't think you should let club owners knowing each other push you to not try out that other club if you think you might earn more.
The reality is that a LOT of people in our country are burnt out and depressed. But they still get up and into work because they have bills. Your boyfriend can't be expected to handle all of the finances for long; it's just not fair. IMO, if you can't make money dancing right now, you do need to do something else so that you're bringing in some money. It's way less stressful going into the club when you already have a paycheck too.
Regarding feeling insulted with the previous job--how much school have you finished? My older sister finished a law degree and did very well in school from kindergarten on. She's making maybe $50k/year now, and that's after several promotions. Sometimes we have to take what we can get.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Raven88
Any suggestions if you've been through a slump like this?
I have and it got to a point where I would dance in another state. When I worked in NYC and upstate NY summers were always slumps for me. I always left the state for the summer.
If you can find a club in a neighboring state that has deals with hotels at a discount rate or have lodging I would highly suggest that if you can leave for a few days and go back home.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Raven88
Thanks all! In regards to moving, I've wanted to try working in another province for awhile now. My bf is in trades and I know he would make more money there but he doesn't want to go.
Raven you can pm me if you like- I hazard a guess I know where you're thinking about traveling and have a ton of info if you're interested.
Several clubs hook traveling dancers right the fuck up, it'd be worth it for you to even come out for a few weeks at a time if you're a hustler.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Waitressing at a diner or slow restaurant is not that bad. As an attractive girl you are encouraged to flirt with/be nice to customers, and people do tip for that kind of attention. I've heard Canadians are bad tippers but even a little tip money is better than no money at all.
Re: Club sucks whole city is slow and bf wants me to get a day job!
Seconding the restaurant suggestion. It shares some similarities with dancing that I think would make you comfortable. My gay bestie is a waiter and we always compare our scripts and sales techniques.