Comments on: The Economics of Stripping

By: Rebecca Avalon

Rebecca Avalon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:25:59 +0000

I just came across this article. It is a perfect example of why I teach new entertainers that the “Wanna Dance?” approach is not the way to become a SuperStripper!

By: Leonid S. Knyshov

Leonid S. Knyshov — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:56:54 +0000

If you want to learn how to sell from the masters, go to a strip club.

Be sure to leave your charge cards far outside the walking range and to carry no more than $50 in cash with you. $30 is just not enough for fun as the cover fee will eat most of it. $50 can last quite some time for stage tipping.

The dancers' sales and customer targeting skills are second to none. I worked in a car dealership, where I could literally make you give me your trade-in car for free, but they are above that level. Every objection you will raise is something they have heard before countless times and to which they have well-rehearsed responses. I tipped a few dancers for particularly good seduction techniques.

In a semi-dead club, the conversations can be interesting. And there are endless stories...

Unfortunately, rarely do I see dancers that actually perform an elaborate dance. I tip for acrobatics. The better trained dancers also tend to have more interesting stories. The ATM machine comes with a $10 fee, for example. Then there is the fuzzy math and "inaccurate" accounting and the separate of "this is my fee, and this I need to pay to the house, so I need to ask you for more".

Some do go too far and engage in bait and switch. Same as any other business they net less revenue ultimately. Of course, there are also review sites for each dancer. :)

I find the overall atmosphere fascinating just watching others get completely drained.

By: Rob Gokee

Rob Gokee — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:55:23 +0000

For a blog post with a scandalous use of an example business, this was an incredible lesson in marketing and focusing in on your target. I've experience most of these examples at a strip club (except for the phone number thing, of which I bow down to you), and never broke down the principles in terms of business the way you have. I'll be applying these to my own business, thanks for the insight.

By: Kansas

Kansas — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:15:47 +0000

Well I am quite agree with you and you have compare these two business perfectly. But don't you think that in strip club, girls able to see and read body language and face expression as well. This is not at all possible in internet business.

Your review about my question.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:02:54 +0000

For me field research is just going to any strip club :) There are some guides and books out there about how to make money stripping, thedancersguide.com by Kasey Coles is one of the most famous. Yet, he's a man. I

By: micah

micah — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:13:03 +0000

Ive never been asked to do field research before. I imagine that the strippers themselves dont really care about the economics outside of the basic supply/demand construct.

By: micah

micah — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:13:03 +0000

Ive never been asked to do field research before. I imagine that the strippers themselves dont really care about the economics outside of the basic supply/demand construct.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:06:12 +0000

Nice, you should probably write for us to do field research. Funny how i've met 2 persons that explain the economics of strippers, yet they are not strippers.

By: georgegsmithjr

georgegsmithjr — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:49:15 +0000

That was spot on.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:23:32 +0000

The skills of a stripper go far beyond simply pitching. They have segmented the market and have tailored their pitch/message to each of the different segments. For example, you better believe that a girl is going to communicate differently with the single guy in a business suit (probably a business traveler) sporting a wedding ring vs. the young frat boys vs. the guys who come in a group for a bachelor party (and so on). These girls are saavy, and can probably teach a thing or two to professional marketers.

By: micah

micah — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:19:19 +0000

In the content business, there will always be customers that consume
your content without payment. Just the nature of the beast. but, if you
are in the content business with an intent to turn a profit, you will
begin to generate content that does this best. In essence, readers are
self-selecting the content by engaging in the ads. The dead beats will
probably (at least some segment will) stop getting content that is
interesting to them and find other places to consume that content.

In a one to one relationship, its much easier to see and react to the
best customers (or the worst), in a one to many anonymous situation
(blog on the internet) it becomes much harder, and one must shoot for
the mass effect rather than the singular.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:10:27 +0000

Dude, this was sheer brilliance. Only you could cleverly craft what would otherwise be a dirty, slimy recount of your trips to the strip clubs into a business lesson. By all means, bring on the economics of Drug Dealing!

By: Anne Arundel

Anne Arundel — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:08:49 +0000

But tell me how you are going to difference or recognise this one in internet world – “4) Customers that are cheap or refuse the company of a dancer, will soon find themselves completely shut out.”

I have a blog which show latest gadgets and I put adsense in that. In such case how I will be able to recognise the right customer.

By: Mediamum

Mediamum — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:03:23 +0000

Completely awesome and spot on. Does the 80/20 rule also work in strip clubs? I hope you get an Ignite Boulder presentation together for this!

By: micah

micah — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:09:03 +0000

The economics of the club are interesting as well. They are very similar to barber shops, salons, tattoo shops, etc. Although many clubs have different economic models. You have outlined the most basic. The part that I disagree with is that clubs are somewhat selective (depending on the “image” the club is trying to present), primarily because the better the dancer the more booze, etc a patron buys. All of that money goes straight to the club…