Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
This post was intended to ask information about legitamate bachelor party type services. I've had to modify the posts to clear up some things. Not looking to start any kind of trashy biz. Nothing of the escort type.
I am just looking for information regarding how bachelor party type services collect their portion of the sales from the dancers and when. Also what percentage of the the base cost charged by the service for the dancer goes to the house and what percentage does the dancer get.
The reason I am asking is I currently have some friends interested in starting this type of business. We have been asked by some dancers who want to leave their current club and switch to this type of dancing. I guess because of the hassles in the club with the management.
Any advice, comments or experiences would be greatly appreciated and help me to create a safe, fun, healthy and respectable business that dancers would want to work with.
Thanks...
Re: Need Help Starting Outcall/Bachelor Party type
There is not a safe, respectable way to operate such a business.
But, since you asked... dancers are independant contractors. Depending on where you are they usually get about half the $, plus tips. The dancer will usually give this to you within 24-48hrs, or your driver/security will get it from her and give it to you.
Lena
Re: Need Help Starting Outcall/Bachelor Party type
Thanks!
But I am curious as to what you mean by "There is not a safe, respectable way to operate such a business:". I've known dancers that have done bachelor party type shows in the past and haven't heard about too many issues. I've also known some girls who worked in a club and wanted to leave to do this type of show. (After hearing some stories about stage fees and bad managers I can guess why.)
I don't doubt you at all. I just want to be clear on any pitfalls I may need to look out for.
I will not be part of a "trashy" sort of business nor am I looking to have anything to do with the escort side of that type of business. Just fun safe shows.
I have a couple solutions for security/drivers to keep the dancers safe and the entegrity of my business, but I suspect some dancers may have their own securty. We havn't decided if we will require "Mandatory" security/drivers hired by the company but if we do that it may eliminate some of my concerns and worries.
Re: Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
Because the whole outcall industry is so widely associated with escorts, it's very hard to get away from that. Regular outcall (private shows) more than bachelor parties - if you're planning to only do bachelor parties you might have a better chance of keeping it legit, but you probably won't get a lot of business unless you live in a big city.
You will have girls turning tricks that you don't even know about. Because they've been in the industry longer than you, they will know how to make you think they aren't doing anything. And frankly, those are the girls you will get the most repeat customers from and make the most money off of, so when you do figure out what they're doing, you'll probably just ignore it. After all, she's an independant contractor, you can't go to jail for anything she does.
Lena
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
I see what you mean.
Business wise, I'm hopeful we'll be ok. We will service the Chicago area and subs. There are a few companies in the area but I feel I have found a few marketing strategies not exploited by other companies yet.
Regarding "Non legit" dancers what do you think about mandatory security/drivers hired by the company assuming I can trust the security also? Will I run into trouble trying to find dancers who wont mind not being allowed to choose their own security or will I successfully weed out some of the bad apples. I've seen other companies require a party of say 10 or more or else they cancel the booking. I suspect that is to garauntee tips and possibly avoid 1 on 1 situations.
I kind of like the idea of sending our own security with the girls. I think that will help insure collection of money due the house and I am aware that other companies in the area have similar types of security situations. I'm not sure what percentage of girls take off after a weekend of shows without returning to pay the house and I'm not looking forward to tracking them down and trying to collect via the legal system but anything to avoid that is appealing to me. Well, maybe that doesn't happen that often anyhow and I'm just worrying to much.
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
I do bachelor and fraternity parties and I hire my own security, usually a club bouncer. Usually it's me and another girl and we each pay the security guy we bring with us $50 an hour. We'll sometimes bring along another dancer that is interested in seeing how we do our show and she will help in collecting our tips and exhorting the crowd to tip more :). We don't provide extras but do put on a very good show and get the crowd involved and I think you will find that will bring you repeat business.
If you are looking to get dancers to work for you and make your share of the money, I suggest you have you or your security guy collect the money and pay the dancers out of that rather than collect a fee from the dancer after she has worked and is not feeling like giving up a percentage of her money. Talk to the girls to see what they expect to be paid and add your fee on to that - the fee becomes part of your price to the client.
Finally, I agree that this will never be a squeaky-clean business, and we will probably never register with the Better Business Bureau, but one of the reasons we've been lucky enough to make money from parties is that we set our price, we stick with it, and we deliver a show that is worth it, all within the limits of the law. I think it's important to make the guys happy and dazzle them with a great show; they will be happy to pay for the entertainment, and the word of mouth will make you money. Don't forget your business cards to pass around!
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
Thanks! Colette
Lots of great advice. I think I'm going to provide security for the girls and have them collect the house portion. Now I just have to work out details on how much to take for the house and how much the girls expect to get paid before tips. I'm also going to have to research a little more on how the girls prefer to pay the security.
Thanks again to everyone...
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
your best bet to be sure that you get paid your share is for the customer to pay you before the event. you then pay the dancer her share after she completes the job... you're the company, so you should be the one handling the money. this way, you don't have to rely strictly on faith that the dancers or security will pay you your share and the dancers can use whatever security they choose if that's what they like to do. it's also insurance that the customer won't decide to cancel at the last minute or try to negotiate the stated fee once the dancer arrives... by that time, the dancer and security have wasted their evening that they could have been making money elsewhere (and they won't be happy with you). it's also a way for the customer to feel secure that a dancer will show up for the event because there's the financial obligation that the company has to give them what they paid for or return the money. it also gives the customer the convenience of other methods of payment besides cash.
before starting your venture, i suggest you contact an attorney so you can do whatever is necessary to legally cover your butt as the business owner. i also suggest that you don't go into this half-assed or "under the table." if you're going to hold yourself out to the public as a company, you need to make sure all your legal bases are covered... what if some guy at a party you sent a dancer to got an STD and decided to blame it on the dancer you sent so he could sue you thinking he'd make a juicy settlement? what if a guy at the party accidently gets hurt cause he got in the way of the dancer and she mistakenly kicked him, fell on him, stepped on his foot, or whatever? what if a dancer gets mugged, raped or hurt some other way? (she can sue you too)... anything's possible, and sometimes it happens. besides, the more legitimate your business appears, the more people will be inclined to use your business... most people don't want to deal with a company that appears shady... cash only on delivery with no questions asked looks as shady as a drug deal.
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
here's an example:
several months ago (maybe it's nearly a year already), a friend of mine organized a bachelor party, and the company he used for a dancer said the fee had to be paid 24 hours in advance of the time of the dancer's scheduled arrival, and if he canceled the dancer within 12 hours of her scheduled arrival time, all or a portion (i can't remember which) of the fee was non-refundable. the company also had him show photo ID for proof of age, and i believe the information from his ID was noted in case anything really unacceptable or illegal happened to the dancer at the event (but he was probably told the personal info was needed in case they had to refund him money or something). the company also explained what behaivor was unacceptable by both party attendants and the company's own dancers, that the dancers were independent contractors and if they broke the rules of behavior during the course of the event, the company was not responsible. i don't know if he had to sign an agreement acknowledging all this or not... possibly it may have been given to him in a form that stated payment of the fee acknowledges agreement with the company policies and state laws (or something to that effect). according to him, all this was considered normal and expected, and he liked it because he felt it made the company "legit" and he could relax about worrying whether or not a dancer would show up or that the show would be a flop. as it turned out, the dancer and the security guy stayed to chat with people for the rest of the party, and a great time was had by all. oddly enough, my friend and the security guy got along so well they've ended up meeting for beers and dart games a few times... for all i know, by now they might be best buddies.
also, the company mentioned that because the dancer only gets a portion of the fee, it's customary for the people at the party to tip her. i believe that this was so skillfully stated that he called all the guys invited to the party to tell them to bring cash to tip the dancer cause "the poor girl only gets a little part of the fee for herself!"... i think for a lot of guys, a bachelor party is their first (if not only) experience with a stripper and they don't really know the protocol of tipping.
the company my friend used was run by a woman who i suspect doesn't have an office and probably only uses a handful of dancers. she arranged to meet my friend at a coffee shop (apparently, she normally goes to the person's home, but the bachelor in this case was also a roommate, and that might have given away the surprise if he showed up while she was there). she arrived wearing a professional business suit and carrying a briefcase with relevant paperwork, business cards and a snazy brochure with professional photos of "choice" dancers (what was pictured may well have been all of the dancers, but who would know?). a lot of people run companies from a corner of their kitchen table, and meeting prospective clients in their home, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc is perfectly acceptable as long as you have the appearance of being legitimate and professional.
as for what to charge for a fee, you'll have to go with something similar to the prices of other companies providing the same service in your area, because people shop around and tend to go with whatever is cheapest that suits their needs. if your rates are notably higher, word will get around and you'll be avoided like the plague.
in your advertisements, play up the customer service angle. i would think that most guys arranging a bachelor party have never done it before and have no idea what they're doing or what to expect. they'd be relieved to go with a company that will hold their hand through the process of acquiring a stripper and be assured smooth sailing and a good show. i also believe their biggest fear in making the arrangements for the stripper is that on the night of the party she won't show up or everyone will think she was terrible, and he'll never live down his failure to choose the right company... after all, the stripper IS the bachelor party.
as for providing security, would these people be employees or independent contractors? that's something to consider. also, i would think that outcall dancers would be more comfortable providing their own security. i know i would be wary of a security guy i didn't know and wasn't sure i could trust to keep me from getting in a jam or safely out of one. i would think that safety is the biggest concern for outcall dancers, and they'd want security they KNOW they can rely on.
incidently, whether dancers or security are independent contractors or not, i don't believe that absolves you from being sued by them or by party attendees who may have a grievance without some legal mumbo jumbo in place... you would most likely need some kind of contract for your dancers and security people. that's something else you should bring up with a lawyer.
ok, i'll shut up now. ;D
Re: Need Help Starting Bachelor Party Biz
Hello, I hope ya don't mind me asking a few questions as well :)
My wife and I are thinking of starting a talent booking business in northeast Ohio, and a part of this will be strippers and dancers for bachelor parties or other events. But we were wondering, how do we go about finding dancers? I know we can put ads in papers and scan the local clubs and such, but what do girls look for in an agency?
Also, and this is a touchy part I think, but do we audition dancers? We want to be sure our entertainers can put on a good show, and can interact with customers/clients. We would both be at the audition so she wouldn't feel as if this is just "some guy trying to get a free show"
Also, if running this out of the house, would a dancer be comfortable doing these auditions here?
One other...do the dancers provide outfits, or should we do this?
Any help would be great!