Dancer's Expected Income: Unrealistic Expectations
motorhead
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Sunday, my current favorite texts me and says she was so frustrated Saturday night. She "only" made $100.00. So I begain doing a little research.
The median annual wage for "all occupations" in the state of Michigan is $16.26 per hour. Working a typical 8-hour shift and deducing 25% for taxes, FICA, Medicare, the daily take-home is rought $97.55.
And looking at some other service relation occupations:
Retail sales $10.07 (per hour)
Travel Agent $13.87
Telemarketer $9.41
Travel Guides $10.96
Gaming Dealer $9.41
Pest Control $16.53
Bartender $8.78
$100 a night is awful? Out of touch?
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Really do need that "edit" button
deducing = deducting
rought = roughly
service relation = service related
I think they are 'out of touch' because it's what they become accustomed too. Rightly or wrongly.
In my industry, young guys with strong backs can earn $800-$1000/day but if they don't acquire skills and advance they are wrecked in 10-15 years and back pounding nails or flipping burgers for low wages. There are NO 60-year old roughnecks in my industry. When I fill a temporary vacancy on a rig I am wasted and gasping after a couple of hours.
It is perfectly fair for dancers to have these high expectations. As my old farmer neighbours are never tired of saying:
"Ya gotta make hay when the sun shines."
the ones i know well, would expect to earn a minumum of around 400+ for a day shift (12pm-7pm) and 900+ for a night (9pm-2am) so not bad at all and this is not just weekend days/nights its all week. (tho of course i only know really good ones!!). they pay 65-80 (a little more if they dont want to go on stage) to the house and have to tip the DJ, but the rest is their's to keep. so a pretty decent wage?
and if they are doing extras they prob making much much more ?? i know one girl, who works about two afternoons a week, making say 900 each day and then packs in, as thats enough for her till next week!
somehow however, they are always skint !!
some have a plan and get out rich, i know one who's gonna retire a millionaire afetr investing in property etc and well done to her (she's got the best tits i ever found in my life by the way, million dollar tits eh?)
others meanwhile have 160 pairs of designer shoes in a closet and a stupid sports car they cant afford to keep the payments up on even with all that money coming in...
How much does she earn on weeknights? I'm guessing a lot less, and they have to feed off their earnings during the busy days. Also have to factor on how the club operates and how much dancers have to pay for everyone elses' cuts (DJ, Bouncer, House Mom, etc.)
Often, at least to me, they come across as them feeling entitled to make exhurbitant amounts of money.
Sometimes when I hear about how much dancers make (or claim to make), I think to myself - that is more than many professionals make whom have payed their dues getting a college degree and busting their humps in their career.
Also, when dancers get upset b/c customers will not spend $$$ on them or at least as much $$$ as they think they should I think to myself, many customers also have families to support plus a life outside the club, and bills. Most of us do not have endless funds to support the lifestyle you want for yourself.
Of course, there are a few $1000 nights here and there and a few $100 nights too.
I pay my favorites about $50 an hour plus drinks and all their tip-out fees. I refuse to pay them more than my accountant makes.
$100 bucks a night and I'd quit. I'm not showing my body, which I think very highly of, for $100. Its not worth it. Also consider the cost of living in my area, Seattle, is extremely high.
You get out of stripping what you put in. You want to fuck around all shift, do drugs, not take care of your body, go from seat to seat "wanna dance", then I don't know what to tell you. It's not me though
I remember one of my favorites told me she pulled in $4000 during the weekend in one club when it was very busy in the late summer. Now that is good money in my opinion. She's not stupid so I'm sure she saved a lot of that for those times when business is slow. Of course she has to pay for a hotel at the beach while working there so that can run $100 to $200 a night easy.
Maybe tipouts are a bitch, but it seems to me they make more than what we're sometimes lead to believe.
Strippers seem to have a dynamic similar to professional athletes (NFL, NBA, etc.). Abnormally high earnings for a relatively short period of time (average 3-4 years).
And like athletes, most probably end up like with little to show for it (goggle "Allen Iverson broke" for latest high profile example)
I'm not sure I would say dancers are unrealistic about how much they can make in a night. They know how much they can earn on a good night or a bad night, and they see it's more than they can make at Walmart or Burger King. People without education or skills will earn a little over the minimum wage, say $16,000 to $20,000 a year, by working 8 hour days for 5 days a week. Strippers can realistically earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year while working only 3 or 4 days a week, and they don't get bothered by those annoying payroll taxes. For a young, attractive girl, stripping may be the best career choice.
Perhaps dancers are more unrealistic about their long-term prospects. After 10 years of dancing, most girls find that their looks are starting to decline and that they few skills required in the straight job market.
First I asked her what she averaged a week and she said $1000. I informed her that that equalled $52,000 a year and put her solidly in the middle class for this area. I also informed her that anyone else mazking this money would be lucky to take home $39,000.
I further asked her where else she could:
1) Drink at work
2) Smoke at work
3) Do blow at work
4) Show up whenever she wanted
5) Bitch at customers
6) Have customers buy her tits
7) Be so drunk at work she can hardly stand
8) Have tax free money daily
She didn't quite know how to respond so she said she could get a secretary job anytime she wanted. I informed her that to take home the same money, she would have to also fuck her boss and half of her coworkers for money to make the same money.
This all slid off her like water off a duck and I gave up and had her suck me off in the VIP.
SIGH!
sc said it well, but like 25 said, art hit it pretty well also. I think it a combination of the two.
Oh thank goodness. And here I was about to think you were just another ditzy stripper. :)
He says as he quickly sucks out the door to find his full plate armor and flame retardant jumpsuit... :)