Where To Make Money As A Stripper

I still remember the first time I saw a photo on one of my stripper sisters social media accounts of her earnings for the night. It was a little over $3000. Here I was, busting a gut to make not even make a 10th of that. I was already working in the adult entertainment industry as a stripper and a topless waitress and I had seen my fair share of good nights. Hell, I’d even seen $2000 nights. But they were far and few in between. I decided to scroll through some of her posts. 

There they were. 

More posts of her with bundles of money. This was by no means an irregular occurrence for her. She was constantly making over $1000 a number of nights a week. How did she do it? She had figured out her contractor niche. 

When you sit down and ask girls why they became a stripper, it usually comes down to one thing. 

Money. And lots of it.

via GIPHY

Many will tell you that they were making more money than their previous job but not as much as they were expecting but they frequently saw some girls making big dollars. Others will tell you it took them a while to figure out how to maximize their earnings. Either way, no matter where they started or their natural ability for the job, they all knew there was massive earning potential. 

Before we get stuck into discussing the revenue opportunities, let’s look at a few numbers and conditions. 

Topless Waitressing, Stripclubs or XXX Shows?

Topless waitresses are generally the lowest hourly pay rate. Depending on which state in Australia waitresses can make $30 to $150 per hour for topless waitressing services. Nude waitressing commands an either higher rate but the shifts for nude waitressing are irregular. At the top end of the private work industry is the showgirls who can make between $100 to $1000 per hour. These options are usually just available on the weekends with ad hoc shifts throughout the week if any.

Next up is strip club dancers. Again, pay rates largely depend on which state you work in but are also affected by the pay structure. Some clubs charge the strippers a flat door fee to work, others take a percentage of the overall earnings, whilst others take a door fee plus a percentage. Taking pay structure, customer prices and popularity of the club into consideration girls can make anywhere between $15 to $1000 per hour from working in a strip club. 

On paper, it looks like there is more earning potential from working in clubs. Potentially there is, but that potential is only likely to be realized if you have the skill to pull it off. Yes skill. Good looks alone will only get you so far. If you truly want to maximize your earnings then you need to take a long hard look at yourself. Namely if you have a commercial look and your ability to hustle. If you think making oodles of money is going to come down to how you look, you are most probably (and I am willing to bet my house on it) going to be massively disappointed after a few weeks. 

The below advice is based on my observations from actively working in the adult entertainment industry for over 15 years. I worked in clubs as a dancer and manager and I worked private parties as a topless waitress and XXX showgirl. I also have seen a pattern in the type of girls clients want to book from running an agency and stripclub. Others may have different opinions that vary from my recommendations below and that is ok. This article is intended to help girls identify their work choices in order to maximize their earning potential, especially if they are just starting out. If you are new to the industry you may also want to check out FAQ’s for strippers.

To make this as easy as possible to follow we shall provide the following categories of hustle and commercial look level to analyse. 

Category 1: NO HUSTLE & NO COMMERCIAL LOOK

HUSTLE SCENARIOS

• The thought of speaking to people let alone asking them to book you terrifies you
• You can’t speak English
• You couldn’t negotiate your way out of a paper bag
• You get upset when rejected

Plus

LACK OF COMMERCIAL LOOKS

• It is unlikely you would ever be mistaken for a model
• You look older than 35

I’m not going to lie. This is the toughest of all the categories. As far as desired money earning attributes go, you have everything working against you. To maximize your money in either clubs or private work environments you need to be able to talk to people and have the ability to sell. Without those front-line skills coupled with a lack of commercial look you are going to struggle to make a living. 

If you still desire to become a stripper or topless waitress either strip club or private work is likely to yield you the same results. Income levels are likely to be low in comparison to girls who are able to hustle. 

Recommendation: Strip club AND private work to maximize earning potential. Given that private work is LARGELY dependent on having a commercial look it is likely that you will receive ad hoc shifts. Additionally, look for a stripclub that only takes a percentage of your earnings rather than a door fee or combination as you risk having to then owe the club money. If you then develop hustling skills you could then look at other clubs to work in. You are further recommended to develop a full time career in a day job or study whilst working on the weekends as an adult entertainment worker. As years pass, even if you develop some hustle ability, you are likely to see your income levels fall below minimum wage. 

Category 2: HUSTLE BUT NO COMMERCIAL LOOK

HUSTLE SCENARIO

• You are first on the floor
• You can convince guys to go for a dance within 10 minutes of speaking to you
• You frequently get guys to upgrade to a longer dance
• You frequently get guys to extend
• You ask for tips and get them
• You are usually booked until the end of the night
• A winning personality or oozing sex

Plus

LACK OF COMMERCIAL LOOKS

• It is unlikely you would ever be mistaken for a model
• You look older than 35

Taking a leaf from category 1 you could do both strip club and private work but in this author’s experience if you have high level hustling skills you are likely to be better off in a stripclub that has medium to high levels of traffic. This is largely because private work, unlike club work is largely dependent upon the photos that are used to represent you as well as the sales skills of the person securing the booking. 

Given your ability to engage customers and read their buying signals, stripclubs are the way to go for you. Customers respond to your banter and ability to make them feel desired whilst succumbing to your requests for money. 

If you want to up your money making ability learn pole tricks and stage presence as this is likely to 1) cultivate tips and 2) bring attention to your fun and playful personality (after all, guys want to book strippers who are fun or hot). Lastly, learn what types of costumes will accentuate your assets and hide your flaws as well how to apply makeup to bring out the glamour. 

Recommendation: Strip club work with either medium to high traffic in a metro area or a low competition club in a regional town. 

Category 3: COMMERCIAL LOOK BUT NO HUSTLE

HUSTLE SCENARIOS

• The thought of speaking to people let alone asking them to book you terrifies you
• You can’t speak English
• You couldn’t negotiate your way out of a paper bag
• You get upset when rejected

Plus

LOOK LIKE A MODEL

• A face most girls would kill for
• A body that would rival most Victoria’s Secrets models

If you have zero hustle, you will be eaten alive in stripclubs. Guys are likely to try and take advantage of your lack of hustling skills by demanding your attention for long periods of time for free, leading you on with statements like; 

• “let’s just have a couple of drinks first and get to know each other”
• “Let’s wait until my friend comes back and then we will go and have a dance”
• “Now that I have gotten to know you, you are too nice. I can’t take you for a dance because I will feel bad”

Or the other strippers will take advantage of you by getting you to hang with their customers so other girls can’t approach them whilst they do a couple of quick dances. The adult entertainment industry is tough. It is long hours and hard work. You will meet some of the biggest hustlers. If you can’t swim with the sharks then strip club work isn’t for you. 

Recommendation: Private work. Given that private work is LARGELY dependent on having a commercial look it is likely that you will receive regular work and ongoing work as a topless waitress or if you are after the big bucks, as a XXX stripper. The added benefit is that your agent would have done all the hard work in securing the booking. You just need to show up and you will be paid. Until you learn how to hustle this option will probably yield you regular income. To further your income, it is highly recommended that you invest in some professional photos (like the one below)  to make you stand out against the other girls. 

Category 4: COMMERCIAL LOOK & HUSTLE

HUSTLE SCENARIO 

• You are first on the floor
• You can convince guys to go for a dance within 10 minutes of speaking to you
• You frequently get guys to upgrade to a longer dance
• You frequently get guys to extend
• You ask for tips and get them
• You are usually booked until the end of the night
• A winning personality or oozing sex

Plus

LOOK LIKE A MODEL

• A face most girls would kill for
• A body that would rival most Victoria’s Secrets models

As far as money making potential goes for the adult entertainment industry goes, you have hit the jackpot. The world is your oyster. You are likely to be the top money earner in whatever club or agency you work for, whether it be as a topless waitress, stripclub dancer or XXX stripper. 

Recommendation: Strip clubs and private work. Depending on you personal boundaries you have a number of options available to you. In order of money making potential we recommend the following;

1. XXX stripper for private parties followed by strip club work. You would ideally need to be working in a city as the money making potential for XXX strippers is much larger. Western Australia and regional centers throughout Australia pay the highest amounts for XXX show but regional areas don’t provide as much work. If Western Australia doesn’t appeal to you, try Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast & Brisbane or Adelaide. You will find that XXX shows are predominately available on the weekends. If you are wanting to make more money you could pick up some mid week shifts at a stripclub or do a late shift on the weekends after pumping out a few private party XXX shows. 
2. Stripclub dancer and topless waitress. A slightly different strategy could be used here regarding location. Mining towns with strip clubs have had good histories of massive money making potential. A number of dancers I know used to make $7,000+ per week working in mining towns. If you go down this path it will likely mean lots of travel as many of the mining town stripclubs like to have a rotation of girls and they will only allow you to stay for a few weeks and then you must leave for a few weeks before you can come back. This may result in you having to work between a few clubs around the country. To add to your income stream you could also do topless waitressing outside of club hours. 
3. If travel is out of the question, and you aren’t keen on becoming an XXX stripper, then find a local club with the highest money making potential and also do topless waitressing shifts before your strip club shift. A number of agencies have regular, ongoing topless waitressing shifts at pubs where you can make a few hundred dollars in a few hours in the afternoon. 

None of the above are absolute. You may find that you fall somewhere between two of the above categories. Determine from the above four categories where you sit.

We hope you have found this article useful and it assists you in making more money. You can learn more about sales techniques within the stripping industry (coming soon) or even research strip clubs around the country (coming soon). If you have found this article useful, please share it with your friends.