I was thinking about getting into dancing and the only club in my area is Deja Vu. Any information regarding the Deja Vu chains would be of great help. :)
Printable View
I was thinking about getting into dancing and the only club in my area is Deja Vu. Any information regarding the Deja Vu chains would be of great help. :)
I work at the Hustler Club in SF, which is managed by Deja Vu. Expect to pay high base stage fees, and a percentage of each dance to the house. Overall, most dejavu clubs will take 30-60% of your money, depending on how much you make. You also have to make a schedule each week and stick with it, or you'll be fined for the amount of the base fee of the shift that you missed.
It sucks, but in most locations, they have a monopoly on the market. If you look at DeJaVu locations they have one thing in common: if it's a small town like Bakersfield or Modesto, it's the only club in town. In larger cities like San Francisco and San Diego, the company owns all the clubs!
Hope this helps.
Britney
For all the money they take from dancers, does Deja Vu offer health insurance, vacation and sick time? Are stage fees documented so you can deduct them on your taxes at the end of the year?
Health insurance....now there's a pipe dream.
No unfortunately not. Nor worker's comp if you slip on the previous dancer's body lotion muck left on the floor. Like I said previously, the only way they get away with it is that DejaVu Clubs are THE ONLY choice in many areas. In SF, you have the option of either working for them, or flying to Vegas (which many of us do)
In terms of taxes, this is how it works at my club: we get a receipt at the end of the night that states how many dances we did and an (under) estimate of how much money we made. That's the one good thing about my club....they don't record each and every dance we do. (of course you have to grease the palm of the dance counter too)
My receipts usually say I made $60 or $80. But, since the receipt has already subtracted our fees out, we can't write them off on our taxes.
Technically you can write off tips to floormen, DJ, housemom any anyone else in the club....but for it to be valid you need to have a receipt. Do you really think each bouncer is going to give you a receipt for a $5 tip every night?
What I write off: pedicures, manicures, beauty products, all makeup, massage, chiropractor, gym membership, boob job (when I get it) 10 cents per mile of the distance traveled to work, parking, cab fare, hotel room, cell phone, online service, computer software for my website, etc.
Also, be sure not to write off too much of your income....independent contractors are much more prone to audits!!!!
You can't write off commuting expenses to your primary place of business. Now that is different if you are a travelling dancer. Then you can write off the Federal Reimbursement Rate. Hotels can be written off. Beauty supplies and regular boob jobs cannot. Oversize boob jobs can be deducted though. You have a good argument that a website and its costs are ordinary and neccessary business expenses. The cell phone is questionable, unless it's solely for your business. (To be safe I had two cells when I was dancing, one for customers and one for everyone else.) Medical expenses are subject to ceilings and floors. If you live in one of the states where medical savings accounts are available, this is an excellent way to obtain tax preferred health care. Costumes are usually deductible, but they cannot have any usefulness outside of work or they will not be deductible. (I deduct my 8" miniskirts and see throughs.)
HTH
Z
Zofia,
Beauty supplies and regular boob jobs CAN be written off. It's part of our job/costuming. My accountant and I have been writing them off for the las two years.
Candice, you better have your accountant look again. There is a Rev.Rul. on boob jobs. There are also plenty of cases on cosmetics. Most of them hold that they are not deductible except for theatrical makeup. The Rev.Rul. specifically states that only extraordinarily large boob jobs are a deductible expense.
Do you have to pay a stage fee each time you get on stage in one night? Is it a flat rate?
You pay, you get to start working and be called to the stage. Flat fee. Varies as to region, city, club, shift and maybe bag man. You pay more later, you get to stay off stage.Quote:
Do you have to pay a stage fee each time you get on stage in one night? Is it a flat rate?
So I guess (in theory) if you eventually paid everything you have to De*aV*, you'd never have to work there at all! Wheeee!
"Do you have to pay a stage fee each time you get on stage in one night? Is it a flat rate?"
The Deja Vu I danced at in Louisville had a one time stage fee or appearance fee. However, every time you missed a rotation cost you $20.00.
I've worked in a few Deja Vu's (Seattle, Sea-Tac, Federa Way, Las Vegas) and I find that they really do rape you. The fees are outrageous and the male managers they employ treat women like crap. If you can avoid woeking in a eja Vu, do. If not, make your money and keep in mind that it probably is alot more than you would make in a "regular" job, even if you do fork over 40 to 50 % of it per night.
Wow, I was not aware that they were in the business of financially raping the girls. The Vu here is always advertising in the local newspaper, "Looking For Entertainers," but they certainly don't tell you all that in the ad.
I'm surprised at the responses here...
I LOVE the Deja Vu clubs I've worked for...
The one I work at now takes a flat 40% of dances... but I don't mind since I make about 50/50 between dances at tips (I've NEVER worked at a club where customers almost always tip me as much for the dances as they spent on them before this. xDDD)... so I'm only really paying 20% or less of my total income.
And the others I worked for before charged $65 base (or $20 for day shift) +25% of dances.
...There are almost always clubs in town that charge lower house fees or whatever... but I ALWAYS make WAY more money at DJV clubs than other clubs.
Also... All the managers I've ever had (except one) have been great! I've never been treated like crap at all by the male managers at all.
Quote:
Beauty supplies and regular boob jobs CAN be written off. It's part of our job/costuming. My accountant and I have been writing them off for the las two years
As Zofia clearly stated, there is a large body of both legal and IRS precedent in both of these areas. I have faced both issues under audit, and here's the way it is ...Quote:
Candice, you better have your accountant look again. There is a Rev.Rul. on boob jobs. There are also plenty of cases on cosmetics. Most of them hold that they are not deductible except for theatrical makeup. The Rev.Rul. specifically states that only extraordinarily large boob jobs are a deductible expense.
- Re any cosmetic surgery including boob jobs ( with catalog sized implants ), there is both a federal law declaring cosmetic surgery to be non-deductible as both a business and personal medical expense and the IRS 'housewife test' policy. There is a Letter Ruling exception issued to feature dancer Chesty Love ( real name Cynthia Hess ) that does allow custom sized large implants to be considered as a legitimate business expense. The criteria for the IRS Letter Ruling was that Chesty Love's implants were so large and heavy that they made no positive contribution to her personal life - and arguably caused problems / pain due to the large and obvious size - such that their only advantage was in fact business related. To qualify for this deduction the implants need to be at least 1001cc (each).
In regard to makeup, the IRS applies a 'housewife test'. If you purchased theatrical makeup from a professional shop then the cost is deductible. However, if you purchased department store makeup, the IRS is going to point out that every housewife in the department store also purchased the same makeup with no business purpose in mind ! As a matter of note, the IRS applies the same 'housewife test' to hair salons, tanning parlors, health club memberships etc.
I'm sure that Zofia will agree that it is possible to list ( catalog sized ) breast implants, department store makeup, and any of these other expenses as business expense tax deductions. The problems in doing so will only arise if and when you are audited. However, large business expense tax deductions in relation to pre-tax business income is one of the 'flags' that is used to trigger an audit ! And if / when you are audited, the IRS is going to be looking at a lot of other aspects of your taxes ... beginning with reported income versus actual expenditures.
Kind of adding to BritneyIreland's post:
The Deja Vu in my area is the ONLY clean clean out of about 40 other clubs in Detroit, Inkster and Romulus. Because of this I'm willing to put up with some "shit" from management. I've been told that they take $5 as your base pay and then 1/3 of what you make off of LD, VIP, or the fantasy booth. There aren't and required tip outs at this particular club, which I like. It means that everyone has to actually earn their tips, not just expect them!
An example would be if you sell 5 dances on $15 dollar dance night then you owe them $30 at the end of the night. ($5 per dance which is 1/3 of the dance price, and a $5 base fee). I like that system because you don't have a huge house fee and you only pay them as much as you can actually afford versus a high house fee and mandatory tip outs that can leave you in the negative on a bad night.
Overall it looks like they take 30% of your income at the Deja Vu in Ypsilanti, MI. That isn't including tips and I really like the system from what I've been told. Perhaps my ideas will change once I give birth and actually start shaking my money maker?
The girl I spoke to that works there right now said that if you do a no call no show it's a $200 fine, if you leave early it's a $50 fine, and if you are late coming back from your break then it's a $10 fine.
My bad, I've worked in alot of places, but never a Vu - mostly because there weren't any of those nightclubs where I lived previously. Everything was a locally owned and operated club.
This might be a good change to make. I'm really glad some ladies posted some positive perspectives about working there, I've been pretty torn when it comes to deciding whether or not to work at the Vu here (in Minneapolis). I think I'll give it a shot. I hear it's tough starting out, but once you get going, it's not too bad.
I suppose once I actually audition and start working there I'll get a better idea of how much I like or dislike their policies. I'm willing to compromise some profit for the sake of working in a clean club, because in the Metro-Detroit area a clean work environment is difficult to come by for dancers! The only thing that I could think would cause me to want to find another club shortly after starting would be exceptionally rude management staff, horrible earnings even after a few months, or an invasion of extras girls.
I was a dancer for 2 years from 2006-2008 and always heard very negative things about the Vu in Mpls, though I never worked there myself. I heard the owners and managers are quite sleazy and frequently engage in sexual acts with naive dancers, while charging ridiculous fees. My good friend has been dancing in the twin cities for 9 years and said she'd never work at the Vu. I would personally recommend The Seville, or possibly the 2-2 or KOD. If you have facebook, this is an interesting group to check out: .
^^^ Seville is gorgeous!
IMO Deja Vu is the Mcdonald's of the sex industry. This can be both good and bad.
^^^ So many comments could be made about that:
1.) They have everything you want... but nothing you need.
2.) Nothing they have is really good for you.
3.) "Value" menu pricing
Wow i am so shocked at the negative comments abt Deja Vu i work for hustler in OH and the management. Is great! Its always the obvious pretty girls get respect thing and a few politics as far as who's favored but they are never rude to the ones who don't deserve it and they accommodate us well as far as helping us make more money. We have the option to be on schedule or not depending on which contract you sign. House fee is 45 if not on schedule and 25 if u are. And if u get there b4 7 and u arent on schedule its only 25. The floor guys make sure they can sell you a champagne room and they even sometimes wont count a dance you did so you don't owe the 5 from the dance. Staff is also great here too im so shocked so many ppl hate deja lv,guess it depends on management
im guessing you havent worked for them long. after a while giving up half your money sucks. After several nights of making over 2G and walking out with a little over 1G, you will get aggravated. Same with making over 1G and walking out with 5-600. it sucks.
^ Yeah, that would kill me. I think I'd rather make less but get a fair cut.