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Thread: how long did it take you to get good?

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    Featured Member xoxoGracexoxo's Avatar
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    Default how long did it take you to get good?

    I've been dancing part-time -- one or two days a week -- for about a year now. I don't suck, but I'm not a top earner either. I'm still learning sales skills and how to use my time most effectively. If you are top earner, how long did it take you to get good at this? Sometimes I feel like a dumbass for not having it all figured out by now.

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I became one of the top earners at several clubs within the first year or two. I travelled alot and often sold more than the local girls - of course that could have been partly attributable to the fact I was "new" in those clubs.

    I didn't REALLY get good until 5 years. I'm not the best now, but I do pretty damn well and very often outearn all or most. In most cases I'll burn a hole in the carpet between main floor and lap area, otherwise it's hoppity hop from one lap to the next We shall see if I can do the same here in Seattle I start tonight!

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I must say, I got really good when I started hanging out on Stripperweb in 2003! So, it was 5 years after I started, although, I had not done it full time for the most part. This site really helped me get motivated, travel, and view dancing from a business perspective. Plus, it really helped to know there were other girls like me out there shaking it!

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    ^^I think the 5 year mark is fairly common for most girls to start getting really serious about the business, SW or no. It's also when you've had enough experience to draw on and really know what you're doing. By the time I started hanging out on stripper boards I'd already been at it 5 years too, but I agree the tips and advice definitely have helped a lot! I think it helps shorten the learning curve if you apply the info available here I WISH there had been a SW in the 90s!!!

    Although, I dunno if I'd trade my experience of just taking off into the wild blue yonder with no idea what I'd find until I'd find it - I think I learned a few things that way I never would have learned otherwise, and it was damn fun Now, with all the club and local info we have, I will never go somewhere to dance unless I have info first. Helps with the business I reckon, but definitely takes away from the fun adventure part of it...

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I started off ok but inconsistent, I got better and better over time and started making good money consistantly around the 3 year mark just by trail and error and imitating what I saw the other girls doing, back then I was mostly doing shows and travelling so hustling wasn't a priority. When I switched to tabletop the buzz wore off, hustling drove me nuts so I gave up and started just asking and bugging them till they had a show, it worked most of the time but was less than ideal. At around the 6 year mark I understood why customers did what they did and what worked so I learnt how to work a room and juggle customers, it took me a decade to not take the whole thing personally.
    The first few years good money is part new girl energy and part fluke, income is more dependant on mood than skill so you'll have to stash away some savings to hold you through the bad shifts.
    You don't need to understand why guys spend to make money, if you're in one place on the same shifts a formula will do, to bank in every place on any shift however you do need to understand what motivates customers, how to negotiate the environment using it to your advantage and how to be bloodyminded about your business tuning out distractions, that comes with experience. To accelerate the process keep a journal, it's a good way to process what's going on at work and will help clarify your thoughts and plan your stratergies, it will keep you focused.

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    Veteran Member Scout's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    2-3 months. I hit the ground running. I wanted to learn and learn fast. I worked 4-6 days/week. I was there to practice. I was there to observe. I was there to cram. I wasn't thinking about the money. I was thinking about the game. Soon, I learned the swing of things, what skills worked for me, and most importantly, which customers would spend the most on me.

    I took the job seriously from the get-go.

    At year 3, I work 3 days/week (4 if I'm on a roll) and am very happy with my earnings.

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    God/dess Pretty_Penny's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    no one should ever consider themselves done with "getting good" at anything they want to be great at.

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    God/dess Jenny's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Meh. I still suck. I'm waiting.
    I have taught that the sky in all its zones is mortal and its substance was formed by a process of birth

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    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I was consistently average to above average when I began, but after 2 1/2 months I took the DW home course, and started reading on this board much more (as opposed to just browsing). By 3 months I was a top earner. I consistantly earn in the top 3, even when I travel to another club. Its hard work, I don't gossip, order pizza, or waste time and I get to work on time, if not early.

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    Featured Member evan_essence's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I don't know, it was so gradual. My first three years of dancing during college were fueled primarily by youthful energy, alcohol, and a naive sense that my shit didn't stink. I did it to support myself, but it was mainly about the rebellion. I shudder to think how much money I could have made, and saved, had I been totally about business. Still, I did okay -- actually I fared far better than I did in my personal life at the time -- I think because I had some common sense about it even then. In some ways, it's always been my island of self confidence and purpose. (I know, kinda weird.)

    I can honestly say that, after a three-year hiatus, I was far less cocky in my second stint but more serious about fine tuning what worked and discarding what didn't, mainly because it became all about earning and saving money and taking care of someone I love. I had a head start from the things I learned the first time, but I didn't really hit my personal best until midway thru this latest 3 1/2 year stint. (Counting the college years, that totals close to Bridgette's five year theory.) Coming on StripperWeb definitely helped me solidify my perspective and techniques. It also helped that I jumped clubs whenever things took an irreversible turn for the worse. I burned up a lot of gas mileage, but I'd have quit or killed someone long ago if I had gotten stuck in a rut somewhere.

    Just a footnote. I sometimes feel as though my dancer persona has evolved into a composite of the other dancers here rather than anything to do with my own personality which, in the words of my girlfriend, is so tightly guarded in real life that I keep parts of it from myself. (If I think about that too much, it f*cks with my head.) Some of you ladies, I really want to be more like.

    -Ev

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    In my 3rd month, 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year etc, I thought I was really good too. I was pretty good, but after a bit more experience, I think we begin to see what we really didn't know, that we thought we did If that makes sense. I have yet to see a girl who was really good with less than about 5 years experience - not just with the stage dancing or lapdancing, but with the selling and the whole package. There's good, and then there's good.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    ^^Yeah, I know I'm in the upper bracket-ish of earners at my club, but that's not saying much since many of them don't bother much. There are a handful of us that always go around and chat/hustle, and are in the back room more often. But there are two or three girls I can think of that can get *anyone* into the dance area, every time. They do seem more seasoned, but I look at them and think "what the hell did she just say to get him so fast?!".

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    Featured Member xoxoGracexoxo's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    ^^ Yeah, it's relative I suppose. I was a "top earner" at my first club within a month, but then that was day shift at a tiny dive that hired anything breathing. Most of the dancers sat at the bar all day and left owing money.

    My current club is huge and I have no idea how I stack up. My impression is that I'm somewhere in the middle of the bell curve. There are nights when I make what I consider great money only to go back in the dressing room and hear girls bitching about how little they made, so ????

    Since I can't really compare my earnings to anyone else's, I just evaluate myself night to night on how many sales I can make, and how quickly. I'm getting better, but there are many times when I feel like I could make more money -- or some money -- off someone if I knew the right thing to say or do.

    So, five years, huh? Well, I'm in it for the long haul I guess. One down, four to go.

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    Veteran Member BeBe's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I'm still learning, but have gradually gotten better.
    I now make more money in a shorter amount of time and I can usually make a miracle happen on bad nights where veteran girls have given up and gone home or stayed and performed poorly.

    I keep a detailed log of my success and can date back to the first day I started to see my progress. I'm really happy that I've grown. I was very green when I started, but took it personally when I saw other girls doing so much better. I sought out help and make it a point to find new and more productive ways to hustle. I never give up and prepare for battle everyday I go in.

    It isn't rocket science, but everything doesn't work for everybody. I have to constantly remind myself in a club full of beautiful, hungry, and skilled dancers that I can only do me. It's not about catching up to so-and-so or going out of my comfort zone to stay in the game.

    If I've fought the good fight and still end up on the short end of the stick, I will still hold my head up high because I endured yet another stressful day and gave it all I had, regardless of the outcome.

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Heh, not to say that EVERY girl will require 5 years to get really really good, but it seems to be the magic number in any case I've known about. The info available here will most definitely help, but there's nothing like the real experience to help you see precisely what works best for you. It often requires many attempts to see what it is, exactly, that's working and what's not. Word usage, facial expressions, body language, approach, tone of voice, inflection, sentence structure, etc, all play a part and the only real way to figure out your exact best combination(s) is by trial and error. Which takes some years to go through enough combinations to figure it out. It also takes a little time to figure out how to best apply the info here to YOUR area, club, style and personality.

    The point I'm trying to make is that you younger girls who do well after a short time should not stop trying to learn more and better tricks - no one should. If you are a top earner at your club after only a few months, or couple of years, imagine how good you might be if you KEEP learning for a few more years, and get some travel under your belt to broaden your experience and knowledge

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Veteran Member Rayna Skye's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Hell I been doing it for 4 years, and I still suck too. Lucky for me people just walk up to me and ask me. I genrally do about 3 to 5 hundred dollars without asking. I'm gonna get some of those books I hear people talking about, and try that. If I had to hustle, I wouldn't know I'd starve. Hey but don't guys like thin girls. Ha ha ha.

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    God/dess leilanicandy's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Oh god I should have start when i was 18, That was i could successfully retire and becomw a nurse. Or an nurse instructor!
    If you want the present to be differant from the past, study the past.
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    God/dess Lena's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I dunno, I've been doing this for a long time (like nine years, but there were three or four years of not dancing interspersed). I've had a few stretches where I was really good, but most of the time I'm just average.



  19. #19
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Bridgette, I totally agree with you. I'm always trying new things to improve my look, personality, hustle, etc. and all of that helps. Now it's less about being a top earner amidst other ladies, but against myself. I love learning new techniques and being surprised by what's effective, and what's not. Adaptability has helped me a ton. I'm so looking forward to my 5 yr. anniversary!

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    Featured Member hot4ablackchick's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I've just started go get good after 3+ years. I still have a way to go, but much much better than a few years ago.
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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lola Rose
    Bridgette, I totally agree with you. I'm always trying new things to improve my look, personality, hustle, etc. and all of that helps. Now it's less about being a top earner amidst other ladies, but against myself. I love learning new techniques and being surprised by what's effective, and what's not. Adaptability has helped me a ton. I'm so looking forward to my 5 yr. anniversary!
    Exactly what I was trying to get at. It's been 11 years for me and I still learn new stuff. Hell I even re-learn stuff I did before and forgot about. Keeping it fresh and being able to adapt to the situation is amazingly important.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Veteran Member Aprilleigh's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    i think the biggest thing that helped me, was sitting back and watching what i was doing wrong. it helped that i left dancing and became a dance manager, so lots of girls spoke to me for advice and i was able to spend time absorbing everything. but if you take a night off and go to a different club or your own if you're allowed, grab a few drinks and watch how each girl works, watch their approaches, how long they stay with customers, their attitudes and energy especially body language. it's amazing what you realise when you remove yourself from the action and just watch.
    when i returned to dancing nearly three years later, i went from being a mediocre earner to the top two in my club from applying the knoweledge i had gained from watching
    Appearing at Dreams Gentlemen's Club, Melbourne

  23. #23
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I first started dancing around March of 2004, but then quit after a few weeks. I absolutely hated it, mainly because I had no idea what hustling meant and I thought I had to be blonde with big boobs to make money.
    Starting again in November of 2005, I had a better foundation, with some dancer friends (and SW) to give me tips on what to do. My income fluctuated up and down, depending on 'luck' and mood.
    I still feel like I am there somewhat, but I don't go home with $50 - $100 nearly as much as I used to. Implementing sales techniques has really helped, but I still have this feeling like I will never be the top earner no matter what I do or say because of my controversial and large tattoos. I don't know if that's just me thinking negatively or simply a part of reality.
    Still, I feel like my good nights are fueled by the luck of finding the right guy. I am rarely able to upsell, and I don't think I want to be in this business more than 2 or 3 more years. I want to be great at it until I retire, but I suppose I am willing to accept the fact that I will never look 'normal' and my income will reflect that. As long as I am able to consistently pull in $500 nights, I think that's pretty decent compared to most other jobs I would have with my level of education.

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    Featured Member hot4ablackchick's Avatar
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    ^^^^^I'll second that^^^^

    I know how it feels to be to be the "different" girl in the club. While I and anyone else can do well with the right attitude and hustle, it can still be discouraging when the other girls in the club get dances so effortlessly at times.
    CARMEN IS HOTT 4 A BLACK CHICK!!!!!!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Emily View Post
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    Default Re: how long did it take you to get good?

    I can't say if I am good at "it" yet. but i've been doing this for a couple of years now, on and off. I am seeing an average of 3-5 years from the responses, and I agree with consistency being one of the important element in becoming good at doing anything...you have to practice rigorously especially if you are new at something and on a consistent basis so that way you can see where you need to improve and be able to see results faster..kinda like trying out for a sport team or dieting lol....good luck =)

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