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Is stripping still worth it?
I know for a fact I’m completely burnt out and my mental health is suffering but..when I first started dancing 6 years ago I could sneeze and make $500. Now it’s like begging guys for a $20 dance..hardly anyone at the stage..(a couple hundred that I’d make would just be stage money) and a good night seems to be around $300 now...6 years ago I cried at a $350 night. I was younger...had more tolerance to bs and was a little bit more in shape..all those can be factors but I could make $300 a night as a cocktail waitress or bartender (in the right spot) am I just jaded now? Is stripping still worth it?
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Sounds like you need a break.
These days I tell girls who have the overall health to keep up with stripping to do it.
Don't try it if you can't muster the personal strength and tolerance to deal with managers, some of your co-workers, and the customers.
TBH it pays better than most entry level jobs. Your ability to squeeze everything you want out of the occupation is up to you entirely.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I felt exactly like you did, girl. I was full-time for 5.5 years. At my home club even 2 years ago, I was pissed off at under $400 no matter what night of the week. The last few months I was there it had become where breaking $200 was a struggle and usually required a lot of drinking with customers or just being ridiculously aggressive all night. The crap money & customers introduced a lot of drama between girls as well as staff, and the environment became really toxic. Working in the same city for that long, I had exhausted all the clubs worth a shit & had nowhere left to run really.
It could be burnout but I'd look at the overall club. Are other girls feeling the same way? Is anyone still easily banking? Then it's not just you.
Personally I decided it wasn't worth it anymore to be full-time, because you're right, you can make that waitressing or bartending in the right spot (plus having the benefits of having half your taxes paid, which increases your overall net profit there).
I went back to a restaurant job where I clear $2-300 a night. I still have one day a week that I marked 'unavailable' to go to a different club's day shift, where I have a couple regulars and I can usually make ok money without them anyway.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I'll just answer for my situation.
Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. The $ can be a little hit and miss where I go so each trip should be treated like " bonus money " if there ends up being more than I'd make at my other gig for the hours put out. Counting on $500 ish a day ( like I often used to strive for 2010-2013 ) ..... um .... no ..... not in this area. Not anymore.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Or put another way :
Do I still enjoy sometimes being able to work in my underwear as well as drink at work ? Hell yes !
Do I also hate being awake past 11p.m. just in general ? Also, hell yes.
I'm totally the get there at 6p.m. and leave at Midnight girl these days.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
If you aren’t making money, stop stripping! Seriously I am tired of listening to girls every night bitch about how things were 5 years ago, we all have bad nights but if those outweigh the great money nights then you shouldn’t be in my club wasting my space and souring my mood! Not implied towards OP at all but my club is full of complainers. What other job can you go home with $350 in your hand! If you can make that bartending or waitressing, go for it! I’d rather make $350 after a 5 hour stripper shift than a however long bartending shift. Neither is better than the other, it is all dependent on what will satisfy you!
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I'm with IvoryDoll, when we walk with 300 - 350 after a few hours of work, if you look at it in hourly wages it's still good money. I'm still a baby stripper so I am not the best at it, but I have learned to look at it compared to other jobs I could be doing as far as overall time spent/money earned. Even if you're there 8 hours and only make 350 that's still over 40/hr. I wish I was in better shape and could physically handle working more often personally. That said maybe it's not the money but you're just burnt out about the job? You brought up being able to make similar money in other jobs, maybe try those and see how you feel about it.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Honestly I can’t answer this cause when you mention mental health I don’t know how severe we are talking about.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
It’s worth it if it pays your bills and meets your needs. Yes it’s not what it use to be. After taxes, health insurance, dealing with the emotional stress from the stigma and customers, etc...not sure how it weights out.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nerissa
I'm with IvoryDoll, when we walk with 300 - 350 after a few hours of work, if you look at it in hourly wages it's still good money. I'm still a baby stripper so I am not the best at it, but I have learned to look at it compared to other jobs I could be doing as far as overall time spent/money earned. Even if you're there 8 hours and only make 350 that's still over 40/hr. I wish I was in better shape and could physically handle working more often personally. That said maybe it's not the money but you're just burnt out about the job? You brought up being able to make similar money in other jobs, maybe try those and see how you feel about it.
I think OP is burnt out and it happens, but if the money is steady then that’s different, but if we are talking about about $40-50 nights mixed in with $200 and $300, that’s a problem! (Or at least it would be for me)
OP said a good night is $300, so what’s an average night, what’s a bad night? She could be making barely minimum wage if she is describing a good Saturday once a month.
I don’t know the situation. If her mental health if so severely affected that she cannot handle it than not even millions will be okay (celebs take mental health breaks even if it cost them millions)
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Yeah it's really dependant on your mental health IMO. I decided a while ago I can only strip full time for increments because it weighs on me.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
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Originally Posted by
Futterwacken
Yeah it's really dependant on your mental health IMO. I decided a while ago I can only strip full time for increments because it weighs on me.
I think that’s what I’m going to do is cut back. Dancing is fun when you don’t need the money. When you depend on these guys-no bueno.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I'm not one to tell ppl what to do but IMO, if you're a newbie interested getting into this business, wait til this pandemonium dies down(soon I hope?). The clubs are not even half full(more like almost empty, at least where I'm at)and it is like survival of the fittest right now. >_<
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I didn't work in "good old times", but from what I see, stripping is still good - but only for really good hustlers. Before everyone was making money, and nowadays only the top % make it.
So if you are good hustler, you shouldn’t be worried :)
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
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Originally Posted by
Neonsugar
a good night seems to be around $300 now...6 years ago I cried at a $350 night.
even if it took you 8 hours to make that, that is still $35-$40 per hour
and your upset with that?
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I mean, we take our clothes off for money, of course we want to be paid way above average!
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
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Originally Posted by
Yvonne.
I mean, we take our clothes off for money, of course we want to be paid way above average!
Absolutely. Know your self worth ladies.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Right now with corona, no, I wouldn’t go now but before / after , HELL YES it’s worth it.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I still make very good money dancing and regularly break the $1k mark, and I know a lot of other ladies do too. Is it worth it now at this very moment with the Corona chaos? No. I haven't even messed with the clubs because I know it will suck.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Thank you everybody. I think I am just totally burnt out and every time I work I drink and get into party mode...ugh. Maybe I’ll take some of this whole corona pandemic to take some time to myself and to meditate then possibly try a day shift..I also got a job being a cocktail waitress at a strip club on saturdays..but worked one shift and my entire state is currently shut down. ):
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yvonne.
I mean, we take our clothes off for money, of course we want to be paid way above average!
Exactly! Plus the physical and mental toll it can take, not to mention the commute/travel costs some dancers incur take a cut of that $35 an hour
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Neonsugar
Thank you everybody. I think I am just totally burnt out and every time I work I drink and get into party mode...ugh. Maybe I’ll take some of this whole corona pandemic to take some time to myself and to meditate then possibly try a day shift..I also got a job being a cocktail waitress at a strip club on saturdays..but worked one shift and my entire state is currently shut down. ):
Back when I was dancing regularly last year transitioning to day shifts helped my anxiety and over all well being so much.
It was more chill, less stress and if you don’t make your goal by day time you can stay later.
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
Do you think the old stripper days will ever come back
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Re: Is stripping still worth it?
I entered the industry as soon I turned 18 during my senior year in high school in the fall of 2006.
It was a completely different time than today. Back then, customers were eager to spend and they were plentiful on weekends. Even on weekday nights.
Imagine, you get your outfit and makeup on and walk onto the floor. Then, a guy comes up to you and small-talk, then ask for a dance. Buys 3-4 dances, collect money, walk out the private dance room. Then less than 40 seconds, another guy comes up to you and ask for a dance. It repeated throughout the night. I used to make $600-700-800 within 4 hours into the shift.
Then, the recession happened and my money dipped a bit. But still, it wasn't bad and things got back to normal within a year or two.
So, throughout 2010 to 2016, things started great. A lot of great, good, and okay nights happened frequently. $500 was considered a bad weekend night. While $200 was considered a bad night. But it so infrequent that you didn't complain nor think about it. But the years went by, I started to notice a change within the demographic. The older white males started to come in less and less. Small-talk started to become basic conversation to pseudo-relationship-type of conversation(long talk sitting at the bar over 10-20 minutes >:( ). And the customers rejecting dances became more frequent and approaching dancers for dances became less. Cultivating regulars is becoming harder as well keeping them.
Now, it's just luck to get make $400 on a weekend night. And it's getting harder to make a decent income to the point where I mildly discourage my non-dancer friends who are thinking about doing it as oppose in the past, I used to greatly encourage.
Now, a recession is here and we might head for an economic depression. I expect things to get worse for dancers. Millennials are getting older and will become the main consumer demographics with major economic problems: lack of good-paying jobs around, all kinds of debt, inflation. While having been raise on free online porn.