Sometimes I wonder if taking off my clothes for a living is a good job.
Yes. This is typical for my area.
Yes. I am a horrible dancer.
No. I refuse to work for minimum wage.




Sometimes I wonder if taking off my clothes for a living is a good job.
I think its a good living during the summer only.




Out where I am the summer months are horrible 'cause we only get snow birds in for the winter. We have a lot of golf events and conventions during the winter and spring, but as soon as summer rolls around, everyone leaves because of the heat.





I think if you make 225 a night,and work 4 nights a week,thats 45k a year,not to shabby.
BUT....
I think 225 is very low IMO.I think there is a problem,it lays with either the entertainer and her show,or the club and its location,or something.
For a part timer or a newbie,or someone returning from a maternity leave or injury,there is nothing wrong with these numbers.
For a quality entertainer in America,they should look at 1500-2500 for working those same 4 days a week as a general minimum.Yea everyone has shit weeks,but they also have banner weekends to conteract it.
Yes every situation is different,but if this is going to be your full time gig for the next few years,and how you plan on supporting yourself and possible family,i dont think any professional should settle for 225 as an average.
This web site is chock full of people and advice that can either help fix a problem,give you ideas to spice things up,or put you in a club that returns your worth.
Dont settle,maximize your potential.
Best of luck.
Okay, your answer of "No. I refuse to work for minimum wage." is the only no answer.
How about just "no"?
also, your choice of words "taking my clothes off for a living" also indicates a possible reason why you aren't making more. This is a sales job...don't forget that!
I'm sure everyone at some point wonders if his job is a good one. If you're not hurting anyone and you are supporting yourself in a creative way where you have time and money to help others I don't see how that could not be a good job.Originally Posted by Lizette
"You have demonic genius" -Naomi Wolf
"I very much resent it when people - maybe with good intentions or from a progressive point of view - keep telling me, 'It's their culture' ... It's like saying the culture of Massachusetts is burning witches." -Azar Nafisi


The answers to this poll are very strangely worded.
IF you make $225/avg a night you are either a bad dancer or working for the minium wage?
First off the current minimum wage is $5.15/hr so that an 8 hour day at minimum would be $41.20/day, or more then five times less then the $225 average suggested in the poll.
Think about that: A dancer having a "bad night" at $225, should we take the poll author's suggestion of what makes for a "bad night", is making a bit more then someone on minimum wage makes in an entire week; gross.
So much depends upon the economic climate of an area, and other factors, that I am not even sure one can make a value judgement about the quality of a dancer's work performance based solely on whether they cross a dollar figure pulled out of someone's hat.
$225 may not be a great night in NYC, NY [though I would bet a week's pay that there are dancers right here in NYC that would be happy with that on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night not working in one of the major clubs] but I would hazard a guess that someone working the day shift in a club outside of St Louis, Mo. might think it a pretty good take for the day.
In short, it is all relative.
Those that don't take shouldn't be taken.
To those special folk who realize all we are doing is throwing ideas about and who know the difference between opinion and Id, I appreciate reading your thoughts [and respect them whether I agreed with you or not].
To less open minded folk who feel the need to silence those in opposition to their view of the world I suggest to you that you just might be your own worst enemies.
Karma to the people!


BG, I think the first paragraph in your post hits it head on.Originally Posted by BigGreenMnM
The second I quoted, I am not so sure.
You have to look at regional numbers and get an idea of cost of living and average annual salaries. In the mid-west $45grand a year is above the medium average, in general, and greatly above that of what an "amusement entertainer" might expect. [$33,808.00 for the St. Louis Mo. area as reported by "salary.com", by way of one example].
The $78grand-$130grand/year you suggest might be reasonable figures for the top of the trade [dancers landing jobs in the big money making clubs in major cities], but how many people in any industry work at the top of their trade's salary index? It would seem to me that figures of $1500-$2500/wk represents an unreasonable expectation for the AVERAGE dancer working in the AVERAGE club.
Those that don't take shouldn't be taken.
To those special folk who realize all we are doing is throwing ideas about and who know the difference between opinion and Id, I appreciate reading your thoughts [and respect them whether I agreed with you or not].
To less open minded folk who feel the need to silence those in opposition to their view of the world I suggest to you that you just might be your own worst enemies.
Karma to the people!





I really dont think thats top shelf entertainer,they make much much more.Originally Posted by Thorn
300 -wed
300-thurs
500-fri
500-sat
These are very reasonable numbers for any part of the country for mid level entertainers with the top shelf ones doubleing that very often.
I would even guess most veteran entertainers here on SW are doing this much,even if they care not to admit it.![]()
A little more,or a little less,its still over 70K a year for mid level stage dancers.
Clubs at both ends of the country and in all the states between have top clubs where the girls make this kind of money.
Its like the NFL,CFL,and arena football leagues.The real money is at the NFL,and so is most of the talent.You wont see talented arena football players making NFL wages.The talented professional will have to move to the NFL if thats thier chosen profession if they expect to make the real money.
silly analogy i know,but its kinda close.
A great salesman at circut city selling stereos isnt going to make as much as a medium talented salesman at the Lexus dealership.
Why would the great salesman stay at circuit city and not go to the Lexus dealer?You gotta sell alot of friggin cd players to get the same commission as selling one lexus i would guess.
If a dancer is working 4 shifts a week with two being medium to slow shifts and two being the good shifts,and she is at a medium to top club,she should have no problem hitting these numbers.If she isnt hitting these kind of numbers,then the problem may lie with the entertainer themselves and they may need to tweek thier show.
If someone is working the best shifts in a shitty club,and not hitting these numbers,why bother?
If someone is working the shitty shifts in good clubs,and not hitting these numbers,again,why bother?
If someone is happy with where they are,kewl,more power to them!!!I say keep on keepin on!
If someone isnt happy with where they are,try to figure out why the average industry standard of income isnt being met.
I personally think its a waste for a talented professional entertainer in say"podunck"Idaho,to be working for 25-100k less then what they would be worth in other parts of the country.
The window is very short,and most of these girls wont be dancers for 5 years,they average less then 3 actually.I say make as much money as you can,while you can,if you can.





heh, the numbers you listed BGMM, are pretty much my current averages and i have gone down to two shifts (fri/sat) until i find a club i can work at in my area where i can consistently make 400 minimum/shift on any two days between sun-thurs. curiously, since i went down to two shifts a week, my income hasn't really dropped-- i've just been making more during those two shifts overall. i guess to a point i agree with you about it being possible to earn 1500-2500 in 4 shifts with some effort and persistence. but then i think about people like my goth-girl co-worker who is extremely attractive, but heavily (and attractively) tattooed, which limits her working options locally. she can bank just from stage (sometimes making 500 in three stage sets), but if it's not a busy and tipping crowd, her averages go waaay down. attractive dancers who are decent hustlers, but who have an extremely unusual look seem to be kind of screwed if they can't find a club in their area that is amiable to uniqueness and still retains high income potential.




BGMM, it's the club. It's not good for either the dancers or the customers. It's design is to rip off both. I'm doing average for my area. I made more as a server at the Olive Garden. I think I should be earning more.Originally Posted by BigGreenMnM
No, there is no other club in my area that seems to be better.
45K is not much. It is great pay, but I am a dancer with an expiration date. In 2 years, I'd like to move on. I have to save for my future while maintaining a modest lifestyle. I live like someone who earns $20K/year so that when I'm all washed up, I have some money to fall back on when I am beginning a new phase in my life.
M&M again I have to disagree with you on this thread a little like I did on the thread that was similar to it from least year.
Back to topic though, I didn't vote as I think the poll questions are f**ked up.
I will not lie about my wages to you guys if you seriously ask. I work 5 days a week, and make around $200 a day. That's $1,000 a week and $52,000 a year without a vacation.
During the winter this jumps up a little, and during the summer it goes WAY down, so this is an average.
That is most certainly NOT minimum wage, and I am not a bad dancer. TO explain this income; I live in the mid-west and I'm not an extras girl. Some of the girls I work with make around $600-800 a night but can and usually do preform extras. Some of the other girls do nothing at all excapt work the stage a little and they avergae around $50-100 a night.
I agree with Thorn about how you have to take in the area of the Country and it's local economy. In this area, nurses only make about $37,000-$42,000 a year. Starting out in that field it's $29,000-$32,000. Now I make more than thatand I don't have to work those NASTY 12 hr shifts. LOL it's funny but at my club we have 10 girls out of 20-30 who have degrees in other things and left their fields to dance.
1. Me- I have a degree in Sociology; great for social worker ($27,000 year)
2. girl- nurse ($31,000 year)
3. girl-nurse($34,000 year)
4. loans officer (commission average $35,000 year)
5. bank teller ($28,000 year)
6 special need teacher ($29,000 year)
7. K-teacher ($28,500 year)
8. sports agent ($33,000 year)
9. union worker (varied from $0 to $40,000 year)
10. business mgmt. ($25,000 year in some places)
We all have or had good jobs in other fields but we quit for the $200 a day.
Basically if you think $200 a day is bad, then try and live off of what you would make a week for min wage. I just don't see how anyone can really complain at making htat much, when there are so many people who will never see that much a week.
Just my $0.02.
Kitana




Ok, here is MY .02
Where I am working, s I have stated in other threads, is the best club in the area. The other clubs are redneck joints with drug problems out the ass, or nude joints that are worse. If I want to work in a semi-respectable club, I have to travel at least 30 min to an hour away; and I have a 14 month old I don't want to be that far away from.
Now,our club is part of a national chain; 3 mil was just spent to rennovate it,and they are adding more as I speak. Good mngmt, good bouncers, decent DJs. I personally only work 2 days a week because I can,and because I am not comfy with my body yet. However, I have danced for 11 years,and a good friend of mine that I trained works 5/6 nights a week there. She is nice, has a girl-next-door body (not overweight in the least) good attitude; knows how to hustle WELL. A GOOD night for her is 150-200; she is ESTATIC with 300. These nights happen for her about once a week, maybe twice IF she's got a regular. Every other time I talk to her, its 50, 20. even in the hole. This is NOT unusual. The only way for her to make consistant good money is if she were to grind the whole song (illegal for us), let the man use his fingers (if you know what I mean) let him suck her tits, or go home with him. Three of the other girls were just fired for giving hand jobs in the VIP. Vice is all over us; go fig. Now, what is she supposed to do? BTW; she lives 30 min away from this club, not near the other ones I mentioned, so going to any other club is REALLY out of the question for her. This is what we are dealing with.
Sorry, I REFUSE to feel badly for making 100 or less in a night...I leave with my dignity. Unfortunatly, my friend dosen't have that option. I am a good dancer. I know how to hustle. I am ready to work. SOMEONE give me a club with some money in it where I don't have to promise this guy I will F*** him all night for 200 just to get ONE TABLE DANCE. Most of you don't know how lucky you are.Please quit assuming that it is always the girl's fault that we don't make the money; sometimes the club/area/city make it impossible to. REALLY.
Grinding is for coffee and meat.
"I want to entertain people who wish to be entertained, not be an expensive but poor substitute for someone who can't find themselves a prostitute."-Asurfel
Those Who Hear Not The Music Think The Dancers Mad.
“Belgian Trappist Organically Farmed Multiple Orgasm Inducing. Bed Shaking, Neighbors Complaining, Heirloom Radishes”





We certainly don't think it's anyone's fault if they live in an area where dancer earnings are low. Bad nights happen to everyone, everywhere. But if they happen all of the time, and a $300 night is a wild exception, we might question why one would continue dancing for long in that area rather than seeking other employment. I, personally, think that a $1500 week is good, and earning $1000 a week can certainly beat a lot of other options. But $500 a week for dancing is a little hard to deal with.





Please dont think im downing anyone,regardless of how my post is worded,im not saying its the dancers fault at all,im saying its either the club,or the entertainer,or Something.There is a problem IMO,Just my opinion,and im an old washed up strip club DJ,take it with a grain of salt.Originally Posted by lildreamer316
People have listed many reasons why no money can be made,they can all hold true but they can also be used as an excuse.
Im saying what the average is across the country basically for a mid level stage dancer.If anyone isnt making close to that,they need to know the reason why.
Not to prove me right or to cast stones,they need to know for thier own good what the reason is so they can make a change for the better or make a change into doing something else.
I have read on a post of yours that you average between 60-100 a night.Thats less then what a waitress make at a full shift at waffle house.
Right now if i were you,i would be blaming the new club your at,for that reason,its a new club in an oversaturated market.Its going to take time.
Loyalty goes along way,but not really in this business,only between the friends you make.Most club owners couldnt tell you all the names of the girls they had last year,let alone right now.
Being in NC,we both know that there are 15 top rated clubs within 1-2 hours of anywhere within the state,where girls are making the money im talking about,and its almost golf season again.Girls are about to flock into the carolinas over the next 3-4 months,just like they have been doing for 20 years.
Regardless of how i feel about your owner and the chain/baby I helped build,if you cant afford to wait till the club kicks in,you gotta go to the money.
Fuck him
fuck the club
fuck me
fuck anyone else involved.
This is about you and the goals you set for your future.Outside of kids if you have them,nothing else matters.It really is all about you.
As your agent/father/boyfriend/husband/uncle/priest/friend/2nd cousin twice removed,I would tell you to maximize your potential while you can.If the club is the problem,I would tell you to NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU FIND ANOTHER CLUB,but start shopping around.SW is a great resource for finding clubs.
If the chain wont let you work at a location that is making money,then go to another chain or club.
In turn,if an entertainer has gone to 4-5 clubs,and is still not making money,then maybe its time to examine thier own show and stage presence,it might not be the club at all.





lolOriginally Posted by kitana
ok I know we disagree on this very sensitive subject,but i gotta say...
If i had a nickle for every time an entertainer wasnt making money and they said"all the other girls are doing extras" and "thats why im not making money".I would be real well off right now.
Yes extras happen alot in this industry,just enough where it can be used as an excuse in any club any given night.
I always thought it was a riot when they kept saying it,yet continued to work for the club,knowing this was supposedly going on in the vip room.
In most top clubs,its real hard to get sex in the champagne room!Almost impossible with the floormen and the cameras and the security,etc.
If your working in a club and the reason your not making money is because of prostitution going on,thats the reason you need to leave and fix your "reason"for not making money.
I hate that fucking bullshit excuse.I have seen many good entertainers get stuck with the "extras"lable and didnt deserve it,they just hustled thier ass off.
Has there ever been a top club entertainer that the other girls didnt say"she does extras"??
If someone is happy where they are at,like i have said,more power to them,best of luck.Just know that your not maiking the industry standard and if your ok with whatever reason why that is,then it doesnt matter what anyone says.




BGMnM, thank you! I really needed to read that someone has respect for my profession and understands the small window I have as a dancer. You are awesome. And thank you for discouraging club loyalty. I need to leave my club. When I see with my very own eyes extras going on, I want to cry because there is no way I can compete with that.
In Kitana's defense even though she seems to disagree with the wording of my poll, extras probably are happening. I work close to where she works. If I were to do honest champagnes for an entire shift, I would not walk out with $600. If I were to do VIPs all night, I might get about $250. $600-$800 is unattainable. Something has to be going on unless the bragging dancer is full of sh*t.
The only times I've broken the $300 barrier is when I am tipped $100+ from out-of-towners who like my conversation, my sensuality, and my personality.
Last edited by Lizette; 03-06-2005 at 12:20 AM.





ok, i have to step in here. i work in houston, extrasville usa, and i can make 600 on a weekend night with no extras and no grinding the whole song, or even necessarily 2-way contact. i'm not saying i'm super-mega-hustler, because i'm not, but if i can average 300+ a shift in a small byob club competing with girls doing extras for 80-100$, i feel like anyone can. and i know i'm not making as much money as i could be if i travelled an hour or six down the road. so i mean, i don't know, i've worked nights where there's more customers than girls and still walked with 200 after tipouts, so i don't know, i guess i feel like at least 200 minimum a shift average after tipouts is possible just about anywhere, since i work in such a competitive environment and still do 'ok not great'.
M&M, I know we aren't gunna agree, nut other than that I still like ya!
Liz, you are right there are a few extras going on and excise is cracking the whip HARD. The two girls I mentioned, I haven't seen at all this week. Basically bacause they were told they couldn't do the "dances" that they usually do. This club is totally under the microscope right now, so that's part of the reaosn I'll be leaving this afternoon to go on a road trip.
Anyway, M&M I have seen these girls in very lewd positions that are way above and beyond the "call of duty". So yes they are doing them.
Kitana





Well im not really.I have alot of club loyalty for the chain I worked for because it was always a win win situation for everyone involved.Originally Posted by Lizette
Some girls really find a home in different clubs and i think club loyalties are a good thing.But if extras are going on,or incouraged,then for your own welfare,its time to start looking for a new club.
lol they usually are and should be ignored.Something has to be going on unless the bragging dancer is full of sh*t.
Most times,if someone is making money,every one in the room knows it.





hehehehehhOriginally Posted by kitana
dont think this means ya get my Bud Lite!!!!lolol
I too have seen girls give lapdances that could rival a young Nadia or Olga Korbet as far as the positions they can wiggle into(oh thank heaven for them!),most are still within the legal limits of where they are.Anyway, M&M I have seen these girls in very lewd positions that are way above and beyond the "call of duty". So yes they are doing them.
Kitana
Its hard to draw the line at "extras".Outside of where the limits are set by state and club,girls set thier own limits, and usually no two girls have the same limits or deffinitions as to where the "extras"line is.
Here's a thread on a similar topic....
"Raise your hand if you make under $200/shift"
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36808
If you can't win. Make the fellow in front of you break the record.




I average 150 to 200 on weeknites and up to 500 on the weekends. I don't always make that much, but I almost never have to hustle for dances and I don't drink. I honestly don't care when I have a bad night because I love my dirty, dingy club, I love the girls and managers, I love not having a schedule, and we have the most down to earth customers. Wow!!! I actually love my job. After jumping from club to club for 2 years, it's nice to have regulars and be comfortable............





LOL!!!!!!Originally Posted by verfolgung
I got such a flamin over that one my butt is still red!!!
see??![]()
It got a little heated,and alot was deleted,but there are still some good points left.
As you can see,I still think its a waste waste watse!!!!
lol!!!


Not to belabor the point but I'm not so sure about that. Look at TUSCL and see how many clubs there are. The dancers here are not representative of the 'average' dancer. From my reading of them they tend to work in higher end clubs. The "average" dancer isn't working in a big chain club or high end gentleman's club. She is a regular in one or two local clubs and pulling 3-5 shifts a week and probably making between $500 and $1250 a week, depending on the area of the country she is working in and the economic level of the main client drawn by the club she is working in.Originally Posted by BigGreenMnM
The reason dancers work for lower incomes than what you are suggesting is simple enough. Strip-club dancing works the same as any place else. You move up and down the pay scale ladder depending on your talents, your access [who you know], your ability to move easily to find the jobs with the bigger payouts, etc, and so forth. So you wind up with dancers who have talent, know people, and are willing to move to find the best gigs, and they make $100+grand a year. You also have dancers who need to stay close to home, have minimal contacts in the industry, and are perhaps not as good dancers or not as great looking [whatever that means] and work for less money, making $50grand- a year.
All I am saying is that I have been to any number of clubs in the north east [more then I would ever want to count] and I seriously doubt that more then a handful of them, from what I have seen first hand, can support 30+ dancers making 500+ a shift. There just isn't that kind of money in these clubs. The top end, yes. I'll even give the benefit of the doubt and move that down to mid-range, but that still leaves 50% or more of the clubs that just don't generate those kind of $$$. [BTW, the proof of that pudding regarding what I am saying being accurate is how prevalent extras have become. If dancers could make that kind of scratch working clean why would anyone do extras? The answer is, they can't so they do... at least some of them do, anyway.]
Those that don't take shouldn't be taken.
To those special folk who realize all we are doing is throwing ideas about and who know the difference between opinion and Id, I appreciate reading your thoughts [and respect them whether I agreed with you or not].
To less open minded folk who feel the need to silence those in opposition to their view of the world I suggest to you that you just might be your own worst enemies.
Karma to the people!
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