Just considering right now, but who has been in the strip club business and what warnings and advice do you have?

Yeah, so i wouldn't be the talent. And yes, i just spent six hours looking on gooogle for all the tips, tricks, and trivia i could think of. Does anyone on WBW have first hand knowledge on what would be involved? Things someone wouldn't think to look up? Thanks!!!

I'm curious, for what purpose are you asking - do you know someone who is planning on becoming a stripper, or are you considering getting into the 'behind the scenes' of it all yourself?

My suggestion is don't eat the food.

My suggestion is eat the food.

My food is eat the suggestion.

Are you thinking of opening up a strip club?

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Originally posted by Kanzen

My food is eat the suggestion.

Is that food for thought ?

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Originally posted by jhope1

I'm curious, for what purpose are you asking - do you know someone who is planning on becoming a stripper, or are you considering getting into the 'behind the scenes' of it all yourself?

I'm just in the planning-to-plan stage right now. I figured there were some experts on both sides of the talent/owner equation. I'll take any tip or insights on all sides. And as to the food-- my preliminary calcualtions show the food is nearly half your plunder.

I've talked to several people in the industry and followed some lawsuits related to strip club ownership and their related issues, although I've never worked in one myself. So my thoughts just may be the ramblings of an old man. Also, this is really open ended since I think it largely matters on the location of the club - downtown major metro area, rural, other?

One, you have to figure out how your strippers get paid. Depending on the laws for where you are, you could run into some problems with the pay. Are they employees or independent contractors? Do you pay them an hourly rate when they come in? A lot of places require the strippers to pay the club when they come in for a shift. I know that the club closest to where I live requires the girls to pay $35 per shift (and there are two shifts per day) on Sundays-Wednesdays and $80 per shift Thursdays-Saturdays. They also got sued for that practice several years ago and lost and had to pay their current and former employees what essentially amounted to back pay, plus other damages. Now their contracts state that any dancer that works there waives their right to sue the club or its owners for that payment practice - I'm not sure if you're able to legally waive that right, but it's worked for them for the past several years, so maybe. But again, maybe the laws where you live are completely different, so eh. It may be worth it to burn some money for short consult with an employment law attorney on that one.

Second, you'll have to figure out how you're going to bring in the customers. For the places I've lived, the areas that have had multiple strip clubs in a more concentrated area have typically had something that differentiated their club from the others - it was the largest, it went with a "classier" look that focused on more upscale, it was next to the sporting arenas, it had free cover before 5:00 p.m., it had one dollar drafts from 3-6 p.m., or whatever. In more remote areas that only have one strip club in the area, the fact that you have butt nekkid women running around is probably enough. But you still have to figure out how to maximize your profits from the customers while not bleeding them so dry that they won't come back. And a lot of that will depend on the location of the club.

Third, make sure you have decent security. Whenever you have guys drinking while watching women get naked, you're bound to have problems with some of them at some point. I've also heard that it may be just as effective to have the security monitors in plain sight near the ID check when you come in to the club (but then leave them behind when you get into the club itself). And, if you don't make a conscious effort to make it clear that your club is a no touch club (or however you want to call it), you'll be battling the assumption that the club is dirty and a cover for prostitution. From what I've noticed, it's easier to get attractive dancers who will make less money if they feel safe and like they won't get molested every time they go to work. But really, the decent security part should just be common sense for anyone looking at getting into this industry.

Really, my biggest advice is to make sure you're very comfortable with what you're doing before you jump into it. That's just more general business advice. I've known several people who thought it would be awesome to run a bar - their thoughts were that they liked to drink and liked to go to bars, so it must be easy to run it. But it's actually really complicated and can be a financial nightmare if you don't fully know what you're getting into. I figure a strip club is similar - you'll have drinks and you might have food, so similar to a bar that way, but then you throw in women getting naked for money and it just gets more complicated.

Mr. Cook's response notwithstanding, if you come to a porn site for business input, your plans ( whatever they may be) are doomed.

I agree with kylecook, on all points. However there is also the music to consider. I have been employed as a DJ in the industry. The music and the girls will be a problem. (Depending on the girls). The girls want to dance to what they want, the club owners want a certain format and the DJ gets the shitty end of the stick. The club owners tell the DJ " DON'T PLAY ANY HIP HOP". The girls on the other hand want to here certain songs that fall in that category. The DJ wants to do what the boss says! Who is the boss? The club Owner who provides the means or the girl that pays you 15 to 20% of what she made because you played what she wanted, she felt SEXY AND HOTTTTT!!!!!! It dosn't always work out that way, sometimes no matter how good you treat the girl as a DJ, sometimes they still try to get out of paying the DJ.

I worked in clubs where the DJ got $150.00 or 10% of what each dancer brought in. If the club didn't enforce that the DJ got shafted ALOT!!!!! The club does not allow the DJ to force the girls to pay properly. It is called (Twisting arms). The club is not worried about the DJ, because as we all know, the guys come to see the girls. All the same the DJ is still just as important. The DJ is also your MC for the night. He adds to the atmosphere.

AND MOST IMPORTANT!!!!!! I almost forgot. Just as kylecook said the girls need to know that they are not going to be molested or sexually harassed at work. Yes, sexually harassed. The DJ is to never bee toooo close to the girls. It causes him and the club problems.

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Originally posted by F1098

Mr. Cook's response notwithstanding, if you come to a porn site for business input, your plans ( whatever they may be) are doomed.

I had to laugh a little at that.

My advice is: don't do it.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone asked roughtly the same question, but with the addition that Warren Buffett hadn't responded to their request yet.....

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Originally posted by kylecook

...

I had to laugh a little at that.

Quote:

Originally posted by F1098

Mr. Cook's response notwithstanding, if you come to a porn site for business input, your plans ( whatever they may be) are doomed.

Oh sure...there go my plans for asking you lot what to do with my life.

Thanks jerks.

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Originally posted by anygirl

My advice is: don't do it.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Anygirl, do you have a specific reason why not to?

Oh hush up girl ! Work on getting the ATM machine for the joint. Thats where the real money is.

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Originally posted by Sugarpie

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Oh sure...there go my plans for asking you lot what to do with my life.

Thanks jerks.

If I would start a club like that, my first step would be to find out what licenses I would need.

Because you basically got a bar that does some extra stuff yes?

License to serve liquor
License to handle and serve food
License for certain opening hours

Also thought about how to avoid pimping, or tough guys demanding to be your "security". This potential unwanted criminal activity and the grey areas of the law would bother me most of all to be honest.

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Originally posted by zeesario

Also thought about how to avoid pimping, or tough guys demanding to be your "security". This potential unwanted criminal activity and the grey areas of the law would bother me most of all to be honest.

No need to worry about that, James Gandolfini died this year.